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19 timeless blink-182 ‘Take Off Your Pants’ lyrics that hold up 18 years later

blink-182 accomplished something few artists ever do by making a strong follow-up to their breakout record. Take Off Your Pants And Jacket turns 18 today, and in honor of the bold, unapologetic record, we’re grabbing our favorite lyric from each track (including the bonus tracks, so brace yourself).

1. “Anthem Part Two”

A rallying cry for every kid pissed at their parents, the leading track for Take Off related to teenagers everywhere, which is probably why we’re still listening to it. The same issues we were dealing with as kids are still present as adults.

“Kids are victims in this story/Drown our youth with useless warnings/Teenage rules, they’re fucked and boring”

2. “Online Songs”

Don’t lie: You think about the ex who broke your heart freshman year of high school when you hear this one, or the ex after that, or your most recent ex.

“Why am I still hanging around/When I know it brings me down?/I’m hating everything”

3. “First Date”

Sweaty palms, nervous jitters and dry mouth. The feeling is all too familiar. Tom DeLonge said it best: “Every dude gets nervous, whether we admit it or not.”

“I dread the thought of our very first kiss/A target that I’m probably gonna miss”

4. “Happy Holidays, You Bastard”

If teenage angst had a soundtrack, this would be it. Pissed at this, mad at that and only two presents? Everything is so lame.

“It’s Christmas Eve and I’ve only wrapped two fuckin’ presents/Christmas Eve and I’ve only wrapped two fuckin’ presents/And I hate, hate, hate your guts/I hate, hate, hate your guts”

5. “Story Of A Lonely Guy”

The lyricism to the fifth Take Off track would’ve fit perfectly in the Box Car Racer album. DeLonge’s dark, post-hardcore inspirations take the wheel, hinting at what was to come from his side project.

“Lost the words, lost the nerve/Lost the girl, left the line/I would wish upon a star/But that star, it doesn’t shine/So read my book with a boring ending/A short story of a lonely guy”

6. “The Rock Show”

It’s Warped Tour season, so we had to mention one of the go-to summer anthems. Everyone has a Warped Tour love story, and this song will always epitomize it.

“Acting stupid, getting drunk with my best friends/I couldn’t wait for the summer at the Warped Tour/I remember it’s the first time that I saw her there”

7. “Stay Together For The Kids”

Easily the hardest-hitting song on the album, “Stay Together For The Kids” served as an anthem for kids with separated families. Nobody describes the uncomfortable feeling of a family in shambles than blink-182.

“This house is haunted, it’s so pathetic, it makes no sense at all/I’m ripe with things to say, the words rot and fall away/What stupid poem could fix this home, I’d read it every day”

8. “Roller Coaster”

This was actually a pretty romantic verse until the whole car going airborne line. Mark Hoppus wrote the song after having a nightmare when he and his future wife started dating, explaining the feeling of fear when starting a new relationship.

“Lay beside me and listen at the wall/We’ll keep on lying until the summer comes/I had that dream about you again/Where you drive my car/Right off a fucking cliff”

9. “Reckless Abandon”

This one just about sums up a high school summer vacation, plain and simple.

“Break a window and bust a wall/Making fun of your friend’s mom/Turn the music up way too loud/Charge the pizza to the house/Everybody would waste it all/To have a summer that they could call/A memory that’s full of fun/Fucked up when it’s all done”

10. “Every Time I Look For You”

Many can relate to dead ends in life. Whether it’s a job, or in this case a significant other, sometimes it seems as if you’re just treading water until things go downhill.

“More time apart will give you/A few more months to argue/Is this too much to live through/It always seems too far to drive/The point home, send more letters/Pray tomorrow ends up better”

11. “Give Me One Good Reason”

Some saw Take Off as a lesser blink-182 album due to most of the issues being high school related. However, this attitude seems to spill into adult life, judging people different than you without reason.

“Hate the jocks and preps, the hippie fucking scum bags/Heavy metalers with their awful pussy hair bands/Counting seconds until we can get our way/Ditching school almost every single day, oh yeah”

12. “Shut Up”

Hoppus put it best: “This is my message to those people. Like Bad Religion says: ‘Everybody knows what’s best for you.’”

“Get the fuck up, she said/Your life is meaningless/It’s going nowhere/You’re going nowhere/You’re just a fuck up, she said/I’ll live alone instead/She said, “You don’t care”/I know I don’t care”

13. “Please Take Me Home”

blink-182 hid some pretty emo-inspired lyrics behind their upbeat sound. This is another example of hoping for things to work out when you know they won’t.

“Buy hope, hope that it lasts/Give in, forget the past/Be strong when things fall apart/Honest, this breaks my heart”

14. “Time To Break Up”

Getting caught up in the moment happens to everyone, as evidenced by the hot and cold scenario in the first bonus track.

“Shit fuck I made a mistake/I thought I needed a break/The truth is I’m such a dick/It’s broke and can’t be fixed”

15. “What Went Wrong”

This might be an ironic lyric looking back on the rest of the album’s subject matter, but these love songs are anything but sappy.

“I’m sick of always hearing/Sappy love songs on the radio/This place is fucking cursed in its plague/And I can never escape when my heart it explodes”

16. “Mother’s Day”

Teenagers read this website, so we’re gonna just keep this blink-182 lyric at the forefront.

“It’s Mother’s Day”

17. “Fuck A Dog”

Despite the disgusting subject matter, the song is catchy. There’s no denying that.

“Ar, me and me first mate, ya scurvy cur!”

18. “Don’t Tell Me It’s Over”

If any band are known for witty wordplay, it’s blink-182. This is one of our favorite choruses, and it’s a few more syllables away from a full-blown tongue twister.

“Don’t tell me that it’s over/I’m not used to this temptation/And when you come back running/There is no use for explanation”

19. “When You Fucked Grandpa”

This album really isn’t meant for children. Who would’ve guessed?

“Did he hold you till the sun did rise?/And did he look into your eyes”

See more: 10 pop-punk shows we wish we could have gone to

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