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)
Tropical London
Rancid Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you lose me, girl, you lose a good thing, that's one thing I know for sure.
When you were sick, girl, I held your hand,
When you were troubled I tried to understand,
Staying with you I did anything I can,
Cause losing you was not part of the plan.
I met a girl in a tropical London,
Abandoned in a tropical London, Oh no, oh no,
If you lose me, you lose a good thing, that's one thing I know for sure.
If you lose me, girl, you lose a good thing, that's one thing I know for sure.
A souvenir reminds me of you,
Every day I catch a glimpse of us too,
I'm the one going through the rescue,
That's why I'm confused you withdrew.
Melbourne is a tropical London
I met a girl in a tropical London
Abandoned in a tropical London
Oh no, oh no,
If you lose me, you lose a good thing, that's one thing I know for sure.
If you lose me, girl, you lose a good thing, that's one thing I know for sure.
Medication, met you in
Authentication, it's a
Hazardness, valley of deception,
Walk alone,
But it was not my intention,
Not my invention,
And now my heart's been ripped wide open!
Melbourne is a tropical London
I met a girl in a tropical London
Abandoned in a tropical London
Oh no, oh no,
If you lose me, you lose a good thing, that's one thing I know for sure.
If you lose me, girl, you lose a good thing, that's one thing I know for sure.
That's one thing I know for sure.
The lyrics of Rancid's song "Tropical London" is about losing someone, and how the loss can be devastating to the person left behind. The song is a plea to the other person, urging them to recognize the value of what they have, and not throw it away. The singer talks about the good things he did for the other person, how he supported her through her struggles and how he tried his best to make things work. He warns the other person that losing him would be a mistake, as he is a good thing.
The lyrics also mention "Melbourne is a tropical London." This line can be interpreted as a contrast between two vastly different places. The idea here is that even in a place as different from London as Melbourne, the singer still found love and connection. However, the connection was lost due to the other person's reluctance to commit. The lyrics express confusion, hurt and regret about the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
If you lose me, girl, you lose a good thing, that's one thing I know for sure.
Losing me would be a big mistake, and I am confident in that.
When you were sick, girl, I held your hand,
I supported you when you were going through a tough time.
When you were troubled I tried to understand,
I made an effort to empathize with your struggles and be there for you.
Staying with you I did anything I can,
I went to great lengths to stay by your side and make things better for you.
Cause losing you was not part of the plan.
I did not want to lose you and tried my best to keep our relationship intact.
Melbourne is a tropical London,
Melbourne reminds me of London's tropical weather.
I met a girl in a tropical London,
I met a girl in Melbourne who reminded me of London's tropical weather.
Abandoned in a tropical London, Oh no, oh no,
I feel abandoned in Melbourne because of the memories it brings back.
A souvenir reminds me of you,
I have a memento that brings back memories of you.
Every day I catch a glimpse of us too,
I am reminded of our relationship on a daily basis.
I'm the one going through the rescue,
I am trying to save our relationship and make things better.
That's why I'm confused you withdrew.
I am confused and hurt that you chose to withdraw from our relationship.
Medication, met you in
I first met you when I was on medication.
Authentication, it's a
Our relationship was genuine and authentic.
Hazardness, valley of deception,
Our relationship was risky and filled with deceit.
Walk alone,
Now I am alone without you in my life.
But it was not my intention,
I never meant for things to turn out this way.
Not my invention,
I did not create this situation; it was beyond my control.
And now my heart's been ripped wide open!
I am in immense pain and heartbroken.
That's one thing I know for sure.
I am certain of the fact that losing me would be a mistake.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Uriel Gallardo
My Gf just broke up with me because she loves another guy, after everything I gave to her, after we went through a lot of hard and happy moments.
I've been listening this song all day long
Lynwood Jackson
fuck her, my man. It's four years later; are you still above ground?
J D
The song is about his splitting up from Brody , his wife at the time. She is from Melbourne, that's why Melbourne is mentioned.
J D
@Misfit 138 Hahaha! That comment was 8 years ago. Back then you couldn't directly reply to people like we're doing now. I was responding to someone asking about Melbourne, I wasn't just stating this out of nowhere but it does look that way. Peace dude ✌️
Misfit 138
Really? Well your detective skills are off the charts Captain obvious.
Ice Yogurt
Thx Rancid for the music. When I'm happy and wild u're there. When my heart broke u're there
technoman232
I LOVE THIS SONG, ITS ONE OF THE BEST RANCID SONGS!
Painis jeared
oh my god, the second i heard this song, my mind was blown
snugs
Why don't they play this live? I love this song
punkNdrunk
Man my girl dumped me and this helped me sooo much! repeat for days