| Come Out and Play | |
 | |
| First Released | Smash |
| Recorded | Track Record in North Hollywood, California |
| Length | 3:17 |
| Singer/Guitarist | Dexter Holland |
| Guitarist | Noodles |
| Bassist | Greg K. |
| Drummer | Ron Welty |
| Produced by | Thom Wilson |
"Come Out and Play" (also referred to as Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated) or simply Keep 'Em Separated) is the seventh track on The Offspring's 1994 third album, Smash. It was released as the album's first single, and was the song that gave The Offspring international fame.
"Come Out and Play" is the third track on Smash where Jason "Blackball" McLean (who appears on "Time to Relax", "Genocide" and "Smash") speaks; this time, he says the famous line "you gotta keep 'em separated".
Chart performance[]
In order to promote Smash, Epitaph Records founder and Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz reportedly sent a promo copy of "Come Out and Play" to the Los Angeles-based modern rock station KROQ, who immediately played the song on heavy rotation. Thanks to the airplay on KROQ, "Come Out and Play" peaked at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks for two consecutive weeks in the summer of 1994, giving the band their first ever number one single and rise to popularity. The single hit #39 on the Top 40 Mainstream, and also became The Offspring's first top ten hit it on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, where it peaked at number ten.
Lyrics[]
You gotta keep 'em separated
Like the latest fashion, like a spreading disease
The kids are strappin' on their way to the classroom
Getting weapons with the greatest of ease
The gangs stake their own campus locale
And if they catch you slippin' then it's all over, pal
If one guy's colors and the other's don't mix
They're gonna bash it up, bash it up
Bash it up, bash it up
Hey, man, you talkin' back to me?
Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated
Hey, man, you disrespecting me?
Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated
Hey, don't pay no mind, if you're under 18
You won't be doin' any time, hey, come out and play
By the time you hear the siren, it's already too late
One goes to the morgue and the other to jail
One guy's wasted and the other's a waste
It goes down the same as the thousand before
No one's getting smarter, no one's learning the score
Your never ending spree of death and violence and hate
Is gonna tie your own rope
Tie your own rope, tie your own
Hey, man, you disrespecting me?
Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated
Hey, man, you talkin' back to me?
Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated
Hey, don't pay no mind, if you're under 18
You won't be doin' any time, hey, come out and play
It goes down the same as the thousand before
No one's getting smarter, no one's learning the score
Your never ending spree of death and violence and hate
Is gonna tie your own rope
Tie your own rope, tie your own
Hey, man, you talkin' back to me?
Take him out, you gotta keep' em separated
Hey, man, you disrespecting me?
Take him out, you gotta keep' em seperated
Hey, don't pay no mind, if you're under 18
You won't be doin' any time, hey, come out and play
Appearances[]
- 1994 - Smash