Rancid has had two lineup changes since its inception, with Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman being continuous members. Their current lineup consists of Armstrong on guitar and vocals, Freeman on bass and vocals, Lars Frederiksen on guitar and vocals, and Branden Steineckert on drums. The band was formed by Armstrong, Freeman, and former drummer Brett Reed, who left the band in 2006 and was replaced by Steineckert. This lineup recorded their first album, with Frederiksen joining the band on their subsequent tour.
To date, Rancid has released ten studio albums, one split album, one compilation, two extended plays, and a series of live online-only albums, and has been featured on a number of compilation albums. The band has sold over four million records worldwide, making it one of the most successful punk rock groups of all time. The band rose to fame in 1994 with its second studio album, Let's Go, featuring the single "Salvation". In the following year, Rancid released its highly successful album ...And Out Come the Wolves, which produced its best-known songs "Roots Radicals", "Ruby Soho", and "Time Bomb", and was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA, selling over one million copies in the United States alone. Its next six albums – Life Won't Wait (1998), Rancid (2000), Indestructible (2003), Let the Dominoes Fall (2009), ...Honor Is All We Know (2014) and Trouble Maker (2017) – were also critically acclaimed, though not as commercially successful as ...And Out Come the Wolves. The band released their tenth album, Tomorrow Never Comes, in June 2023.
Studio albums
Rancid (1993)
Let's Go (1994)
...And Out Come the Wolves (1995)
Life Won't Wait (1998)
Rancid (also known as "Rancid 2000" or "Rancid 5") (2000)
Indestructible (2003)
Let the Dominoes Fall (2009)
...Honor Is All We Know (2014)
Trouble Maker (2017)
Tomorrow Never Comes (2023)
L.A. River
Rancid Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
got nothing to do
But dream all night
of movie stars and Cadillac cars
And beautiful girls
and big city lights
LA River dragnet coming down
From every corner
of this great old nation
Good kids succumb
to the depths of temptation
Homecoming queens
get lost in the cracks
and Quarter Back Heroes
Get strung out on Smack
LA River dragnet coming down
LA River dragnet coming down
You wake up one day
with a monkey on your back
With foil on all your windows
and you're hiding all your tracks
The sheriff's shotgun don't make a sound
When it's pointed at your corpse
After he shot you down
LA River dragnet coming down
LA River dragnet coming down
Rancid's song "L.A. River" tells the story of small-town kids dreaming of a life of glamour and excitement in the city of Los Angeles. The song begins with the depiction of young boys having nothing to do in their small town but dream of movie stars, Cadillac cars, beautiful girls, and big city lights. However, the song takes a dark turn as it describes the fate of many innocent young people who become victims of the LA River dragnet. The LA River dragnet is an allusion to the police's efforts to catch drug addicts and other criminals in the city of Los Angeles. The song describes how young, promising children from all corners of the country end up succumbing to temptation and getting lost in the cracks of the big city.
The song also discusses how homecoming queens and Quarterback heroes get strung out on drugs, and how addiction can take hold of even the most promising and successful people. The song paints a harrowing picture of the law enforcement's role in the drug epidemic, as the LA River dragnet comes down on those who find themselves caught up in the city's cycle of addiction. The final verse of the song speaks to the tragic fate of those who become addicted, as they hide all their tracks and end up facing a sheriff's shotgun.
Overall, "L.A. River" is a powerful commentary on the cycle of addiction and the tragic consequences of drug abuse. The song highlights the destructive nature of addiction on individuals and the wider community, while also critiquing the role of law enforcement in the drug epidemic.
Line by Line Meaning
1951 Small town kids
This song talks about small-town kids in the year 1951.
got nothing to do
These kids have no activities to engage in.
But dream all night
Their only option is to daydream all night long.
of movie stars and Cadillac cars
They dream of living a life like that of movie stars, driving expensive Cadillac cars.
And beautiful girls
Attractive girls are not left out in their dreams.
and big city lights
These kids desire the sparkle of the big city lights.
LA River dragnet coming down
There is a pending crisis in the LA River, and the police have to intervene.
From every corner
The crisis affects people from all corners of the country.
of this great old nation
This line refers to the United States, a land full of opportunities.
Good kids succumb
Even good kids fall into the temptation trap.
to the depths of temptation
The depth of temptation so strong that it can affect anyone, no matter how good they are.
Homecoming queens
Even homecoming queens, the most respectable people in society, can fall prey to the crisis.
get lost in the cracks
They find themselves in a situation with no way out.
and Quarter Back Heroes
Even heroes like the Quarter Back can be a victim of addiction.
Get strung out on Smack
The addiction can have severe consequences.
You wake up one day
The addiction creeps up on you, and one day you realize it's too late.
with a monkey on your back
You wake up addicted and feel like you're carrying a monkey on your back, and you cannot get rid of it.
With foil on all your windows
You try to hide from the world and cover everything, even your windows with foil.
and you're hiding all your tracks
You try to hide any evidence of your addiction, hoping no one finds out.
The sheriff's shotgun doesn't make a sound
The sheriff comes to arrest you, and you do not hear him coming.
When it's pointed at your corpse
The result of addiction can be deadly, and authorities may deal with a corpse.
After he shot you down
To save you from yourself, the sheriff may have to shoot you down.
LA River dragnet coming down
The Los Angeles River crisis continues, and the authorities have to intervene.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: LARS FREDERIKSEN, ROGER MATTHEW FREEMAN, TIMOTHY ARMSTRONG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Cra-ZPunk
BOOM SHAKALAKALAKA BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!
@JL-qo1hg
Deadly
@dannybedoya4053
Reminds me of 'boris the spider' from the who
@AwesomeHotSauceandKristosCast
All I can think of is South Park's Timmy when he says "shimmy shimmy..." Sounds like a song from Timmy's band. Sorry Matt, but Geezus.
@damageinc-uo3zs
We didnt all watch that tho Lollll
@JL-qo1hg
This song doesn't fuck around