Along with fellow California punk bands Green Day and Rancid, The Offspring have been credited with reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s. To date, The Offspring has released eight studio albums, one compilation, four EPs and three DVDs. They have sold over 34 million albums worldwide, making them one of the best-selling punk rock acts of all time. Each album since the release of their 1994 album Smash has sold over a million units.
Since the release of Smash, which is the best-selling independent label album of all time, The Offspring has achieved commercial success over five albums, with singles such as "Come Out and Play", and "Self Esteem". The band’s next three albums, Ixnay on the Hombre, Americana and Conspiracy of One, were also successful, with Ixnay on the Hombre and Conspiracy of One reaching platinum certification, and Americana achieving multi-platinum status. Longtime drummer Ron Welty left The Offspring in early 2003, and was replaced by Atom Willard. Later that year, the band released their next album, Splinter, to moderate sales and fairly warm reviews. In 2005, The Offspring released a greatest hits album and toured in support of the compilation. Their eighth studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, was released on June 17, 2008 with the hit singles "You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid" and "Hammerhead."
Days Go By is the band’s ninth studio album and is due to be released on June 26, 2012. The Days Go By Songfacts reports that the title track was released as the first single and was premiered on KROQ on April 27, 2012.
2. Offspring was a short-lived English pop duo of the early 1970s, consisting of Mike Brayn and John Howard, who met at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex, United Kingdom. They released just one single, 'Windfall' (1972). Their planned studio album was never completed.
Rise And Fall
The Offspring Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Once followed, but always led
You thought you'd rise above it all
It's all inside your head
All ripping it up in shreds
I know someday you're gonna fall
But I told you so
Now you've lost control
And I don't wanna be the rise and fall
So gimme more or nothing at all
You're in an awful way
Sucked in by what you crave
They just can't wait to see you crawl
And you can only laugh
Give in to the other half
They're only tearing down your walls
They've come to see you rise and fall
They're only tearing down your walls
They've come to see you rise and fall
And I don't wanna say you've lost control
Rise and fall is
Good and evil,
Appearance and reality,
Judgment and reflection.
It is to judge and to be judged,
To dream and to accept.
It is Triumph and despair,
Wish and realization,
And we are both.
In "Rise and Fall" by The Offspring, the lyrics speak of a character who believed they were above it all, but they end up losing control and falling. The singer warns this individual that they're in an awful way, having been sucked in by what they crave, and they can only laugh as they give in to the other half. The other half is portrayed as waiting to tear down the individual's walls and see them crawl.
The chorus repeats the theme of the rise and fall, with the singer emphasizing that they don't want to be the rise and fall. They don't want to say they told the individual so, but they did. In the end, the lyrics suggest that we all experience the rise and fall in our lives, as it represents the duality of good and evil, appearance and reality, judgment and reflection, and wish and realization.
Overall, "Rise and Fall" is an introspective song that reminds us of the human experience. It highlights the importance of not getting too caught up in ourselves and forgetting that we are all susceptible to the rise and fall.
Line by Line Meaning
This time you're really dead
You have reached a critical point of no return.
Once followed, but always led
You used to be a follower and now you are leading your own destruction.
You thought you'd rise above it all
You believed you were better than everyone else and invincible.
It's all inside your head
Your problems come from within yourself.
All ripping it up in shreds
Your world is falling apart.
I know someday you're gonna fall
Your actions will catch up with you and you will suffer the consequences.
And I don't wanna say I told you so
I don't want to be smug or gloating about your downfall.
But I told you so
I warned you about the consequences of your actions.
Now you've lost control
You are no longer in charge of your own destiny.
And I don't wanna be the rise and fall
I don't want to be associated with your downfall.
So gimme more or nothing at all
Don't give me anything that is going to drag me down with you.
You're in an awful way
You are in a desperate situation.
Sucked in by what you crave
Your desire for something has led you to this point.
They just can't wait to see you crawl
Others enjoy watching you suffer and be humiliated.
And you can only laugh
You are in so much pain that all you can do is laugh.
Give in to the other half
You are giving up control to others.
They're only tearing down your walls
Others are destroying your defenses and leaving you vulnerable.
They've come to see you rise and fall
Others are watching and waiting for you to fail.
And I don't wanna say you've lost control
I don't want to rub salt in the wound of your loss of control.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CATHAL JOSEPH SMYTH, CHRISTOPHER FOREMAN, CHRISTOPHER JOHN FOREMAN, DANIEL MARK WOODGATE, GRAHAM MCPHERSON, LEE JAY THOMPSON, MARK WILLIAM BEDFORD, MICHAEL BARSON
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