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)
Nihilism
Rancid Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drive down on Sharmon Palms
White ghettos paint a picture
Broken homes and broken bones
I was so full of scotch I could not stand up
I was hittin the shots and I moved to a cup
Release me from moral assumption
Total rejection total destruction
Nihilistic feelings are moving if I try real hard
I'll see right through them
Nihilism!
Walkin a path of self destruction
Not affected by the repercussions
Lady on the billboard offer me a drink
Said not right now I need time to think
Nihilistic feelins are movin
If you try real hard
You'll see right through them
I was so full of scotch I could not stand up
I was hittin the shots and I moved to a cup
White ghettos paint a picture
Broken homes and broken bones
The song "Nihilism" by Rancid is a commentary on the bleakness and despair of life in the Union District, a run-down neighborhood characterized by white ghettos, broken homes, and broken lives. The song's narrator is inebriated and feels a sense of hopelessness and meaninglessness, leading him to embrace nihilism as a philosophy. He rejects morality and societal norms, seeking total destruction and rejecting any possibility of redemption or salvation.
The lyrics are presented with a sense of detachment and disillusionment, as if the singer has already accepted the futility of life and is simply observing it from a distance. The references to alcohol and self-destructive behavior further emphasize the sense of despair and desperation in the song. The line "Nihilistic feelings are moving if I try real hard / I'll see right through them" suggests that the singer is aware of the emptiness of his nihilistic worldview but is unable to escape it.
Overall, "Nihilism" is a bleak and powerful commentary on the human condition, exploring themes of despair, meaninglessness, and the destructive effects of societal inequality.
Line by Line Meaning
Come into the union district
Arriving at the area of united working-class people.
Drive down on Sharmon Palms
Going down the street named Sharmon Palms.
White ghettos paint a picture
Poverty-stricken neighborhoods with mostly white residents create a particular visual impression.
Broken homes and broken bones
Describing a place that has both domestic and physical problems.
I was so full of scotch I could not stand up
I drank too much scotch and became too drunk to stand.
I was hittin the shots and I moved to a cup
I transitioned from drinking shots to drinking out of a cup.
Release me from moral assumption
Remove the expectation of my behavior based on moral standards.
Total rejection total destruction
Complete rejection of societal norms and a desire to destroy the current system.
Nihilistic feelings are moving if I try real hard
It takes effort to tap into the nihilistic emotions I am feeling.
I'll see right through them
I will be able to fully understand and embrace these feelings.
Nihilism!
A call to embrace and live by nihilistic ideals.
Walkin a path of self destruction
Going down a road that will ultimately lead to one's own downfall.
Not affected by the repercussions
Not considering or caring about the consequences of one's actions.
Lady on the billboard offer me a drink
An advertisement on a billboard is tempting me to drink.
Said not right now I need time to think
I declined the offer and preferred to think it over first.
Nihilistic feelins are movin
Nihilistic emotions are stirring inside me.
If you try real hard
It takes effort to understand nihilistic feelings.
You'll see right through them
You will be able to fully understand and embrace these feelings.
I was so full of scotch I could not stand up
I drank too much scotch and became too drunk to stand.
I was hittin the shots and I moved to a cup
I transitioned from drinking shots to drinking out of a cup.
White ghettos paint a picture
Poverty-stricken neighborhoods with mostly white residents create a particular visual impression.
Broken homes and broken bones
Describing a place that has both domestic and physical problems.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: LARS FREDERIKSEN, ROGER M. FREEMAN, TIMOTHY ARMSTRONG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Faisal Barry
Come into the union district
Drive down on Sharmon Palms
White ghettos paint a picture
Broken homes and broken bones
I was so full of scotch I could not stand up
I was hittin the shots and I moved to a cup
Release me from moral assumption
Total rejection total destruction
Nihilistic feelings are movin
If you try really hard
You'll see right through them
(Nihilism, nihilism, nihilism, nihilism)
Come into the union district
Drive down in Sharmon Palms
White ghettos paint a picture
Broken homes and broken bones
Raking a path of self destruction
Not affected by the repercusions
Lady in the billboard offer me a drink
Said not right now i need time to think
Nihilistic feelings are movin
If I try real hard
I'll see right through them
(Nihilism, nihilism, nihilism, nihilism)
Nihilism
Nihilism
Nihilism I was so full of scotch I could not stand up
Nihilism I was hittin the shots and I moved to a cup
Nihilism Come into the Union District drive down on Sharmon Palms
Nihilism White ghetto paints a picture broken homes and broken bones
(Hey, hey, hey, hey)
Belenossi
Lyrics:
Come into the union district
Drive down on Sharmon Palms
White ghettos paint a picture
Broken homes and broken bones
I was so full of scotch I could not stand up
I was hittin the shots and I moved to a cup
Release me from moral assumption
Total rejection total destruction
Nihilistic feelings are moving if I try real hard
I'll see right through them
Nihilism!
Walkin a path of self destruction
Not affected by the repercussions
Lady on the billboard offer me a drink
Said not right now I need time to think
Nihilistic feelins are movin
If you try real hard
You'll see right through them
I was so full of scotch I could not stand up
I was hittin the shots and I moved to a cup
White ghettos paint a picture
Broken homes and broken bones
Zick Scitt Swinn
Rancid has always put me in a better mood than what i was in before i listen to their songs.
Coreybob123
I don’t know you but I like you
bunny hop
but where are they now..people listen this song..
khaki skorts
Tim's lyrics are amazing. When you take the time to listen to them or read them, you realize that he is a poet!
Visceral Verbals
Apart from what that person said, you mean when you can understand him?
Mags Fulmer
Except lars wrote majority of all the lyrics.
MacGuffin
A lot of people think they're espousing a nihilistic worldview in this song, but pay attention to the lyrics: "Nihilistic feelings are moving. If I try really hard, I'll see right through them." It's a song about Lars going into his old neighborhood and getting those feelings, but not celebrating nihilism.
ledzeppelinzoso
1:34
Omar Ulises Fuller
Alex Brook dude, you dont get to be nihilistic, you dont happen to get nihilistic, u should start reading some hermeneutics
Alex Brook
+MacGuffin Hahaha, being Nihilistic myself I can see exactly how that happens lol. I go into my old area where I used to live I get Nihilistic and reminders of how shit and depressing it was to live there. Now I live in an area right next door to my old one, which is just as shit and depressing, I'm still Nihilistic and reminded of how shit and depressing, albeit slightly not much better, it is to live here. I'm just concentrating now on saving money so I can move to a Cottage somewhere in the middle of fucking nowhere like the country. I think I'd like that lol.