Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991… Read Full Bio ↴Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, former members of the band Operation Ivy, Rancid is often credited as being among the wave of bands that revived mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s. Over their 32-year career, Rancid retained much of its original fan-base, most of which was connected to its underground musical roots.

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)

Liberty and Freedom
Rancid Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Out in the open
They ain't gonna hide
Police state upon us
Prepare to collide

They're gonna keep you down
Step on your neck
Can't move no more

The weapon of their choosing
Is censorship and war
And I can see the line up now
Everyone one is just partisan
You see one side claims victory
But it's just a zero sum

Liberty and freedom
In quotations spray
Painted on the wall
Verbalized explosion
We will come back some day

If your ideas are suspect
Now your in contempt
Report to the committee
No one is exempt
And the zealots and crusaders
They can't justify with threats
And intimidation
Designed to terrify

Liberty and freedom
In quotations spray
Painted on the wall
Verbalized explosion
We will come back some day

Liberty and freedom
In quotations spray
Painted on the wall

Verbalized explosion
We will come back some day

Overall Meaning

Rancid’s “Liberty and Freedom” is a politically charged song that highlights the government's oppressive nature and censorship, among other issues. In the opening lines of the song, Rancid hits us with a powerful image- a police state that does not even bother to conceal its ogre-like nature anymore. The general public is forced to confront this steaming reality, with catastrophic consequences if ignored. The second verse is even more damning, with a call to arms against censorship, discrimination, and willful suppression among other things.

The song, in its entirety, is a contemplation of the hypocrisy inherent in government systems proud of their freedom and individual rights. It shows how it is possible for government officials and officials who lack moral scruples to manipulate symbols of our liberty and freedom. The song touches on the fact that we need to fight for our rights as people if we are to achieve freedom, adding that “Liberty and Freedom” in quotations spray-painted on the wall is just a symbol of what we need to achieve.

Line by Line Meaning

Out in the open
The authorities are not going to try and hide what they are doing

They ain't gonna hide
They have no intention of trying to conceal their actions

Police state upon us
We are under the control of a regime that uses authoritarian methods to maintain its power

Prepare to collide
We are headed for a conflict with this oppressive system

They're gonna keep you down
The authorities will work to suppress and subjugate the populace

Step on your neck
They will make it difficult, if not impossible, for people to succeed or challenge the status quo

Can't move no more
The powerlessness of the people in the face of this oppressive regime

The weapon of their choosing
The tactics the authorities will use to maintain control

Is censorship and war
They will silence dissent and suppress information, while using violence to enforce their rule

And I can see the line up now
The conflicting sides in this struggle for power are becoming clear

Everyone one is just partisan
Each side is fighting for their own interests, with no concern for the greater good

You see one side claims victory
Both sides are claiming they are winning this struggle

But it's just a zero sum
In this conflict, whatever one side wins, the other side loses

Liberty and freedom
The fundamental rights and values that are currently under threat

In quotations spray
They are no longer a reality, but a concept that is being mocked and challenged

Painted on the wall
Visible for all to see, like a taunt or a challenge

Verbalized explosion
A call to action, a detonation of the pent up frustration and anger

We will come back some day
We will not give up the struggle for liberty and freedom

If your ideas are suspect
Even the freedom of thought and speech is being threatened

Now your in contempt
People who question or challenge the regime are considered criminals or enemies of the state

Report to the committee
A reference to the McCarthy era, when people were compelled to testify before Congress about their political views and affiliations

No one is exempt
Anyone who deviates from the official line is at risk, regardless of their status or position

And the zealots and crusaders
The people who are driving this oppressive regime

They can't justify with threats
Their tactics are not morally defensible or rational, so they resort to intimidation and violence

And intimidation
A reference to the tactics used to control and suppress the population

Designed to terrify
The goal of these tactics is to make people afraid to speak out or challenge the regime

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: TIMOTHY (USA) ARMSTRONG, LARS FREDERIKSEN, ROGER MATTHEW FREEMAN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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