"Come Out and Play" (sometimes subtitled "Keep 'Em Separated") is a song by the American punk rock band the Offspring. It is the seventh track on their third album, Smash (1994), and was released in August 1994 by Epitaph Records as its first single. Written by frontman Dexter Holland, it is considered the Offspring's breakthrough song, as it received widespread radio play, with first attention brought by Jed the Fish of KROQ-FM. The song reached number one on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, bringing both the band and the punk rock genre to widespread attention. Its accompanying music video was directed by Darren Lavett.
The song also appears as the second track on their Greatest Hits album (2005).
Music and lyrics
Stylistically, the track combines "heavy riff-based punk" with surf-style guitar work.
Dexter Holland said that most songs on Smash "were just about whatever was happening in front of me". In the case of "Come Out and Play", it was about gang and school violence: "Back then I was a grad student and I was commuting to school everyday in a shitty car, driving through East L.A. Gangland central. I was there the day of the L.A. riots. So I was very aware of that part of the world, and a lot of that gun stuff came out in songs like 'Come Out and Play'." The line "you gotta keep 'em separated" was sung by Jason "Blackball" McLean, a friend and a fan of the band. Inspiration for this line came from Dexter Holland's experience in a laboratory cooling Erlenmeyer flasks full of hot liquids.
Critical reception
Jennifer Nine from Melody Maker named "Come Out and Play" Single of the Week, saying, "If only all sweaty hardcore boys jumping around in their big boots sounded this cool and this happy. A big fat groovy thing." Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "This single was shipped to American college and rock radio a while ago as promo-only. Contrary to expectations, airplay soared and the album Smash has now reached platinum status in the US. It's a quirky, noise-y rock song that sports an interesting rhythm that could go down well with album rock programmers in Europe."
Music video
"Come Out and Play" was the first Offspring song for which a music video was created. The music video, directed by American director Darren Lavett, was shot in May 1994 and debuted on MTV in the summer of that year. The video is almost entirely in black-and-white with sepia tone segments, and features the band performing the song in the garage of a house with tinfoil covering the walls. There is also footage involving dogs fighting over a chew toy with a crowd watching, a horse race, a sword fight and some clips of several snakes and snake charmers, as well as some fencing scenes.
Legal issues
In 1994, Posh Boy Records owner Robbie Fields submitted a written claim to Epitaph Records via the Harry Fox Agency, alleging that the two-bar Arabian guitar phrase repeated throughout "Come Out and Play" copied the guitar solo from "Bloodstains", a song by the Fullerton, California punk rock band Agent Orange written in 1979 to which Fields, as the song's publisher, owned the copyright. Offspring lead vocalist and primary songwriter Dexter Holland had cited "Bloodstains" as one of the songs that sparked his interest in punk rock, saying it "really influenced me, especially that Arabian-sounding lead. I've written a lot of stuff like that", and the Offspring's public admiration had brought Agent Orange increased attention. Fields contended that the similarity between the two guitar parts amounted to the Offspring sampling Agent Orange, and requested that Epitaph pay a licensing fee of for each copy of Smash sold—equating to $60,000 or more at the time—which he would split evenly with Agent Orange frontman and "Bloodstains" writer Mike Palm. "We've told [Fields] a hundred times he's not getting paid. He's not getting a cent", Wixen said in 1996, stating that Fields and Palm would have to sue if they wished to pursue the claim. or the band denied permission.
- Aside from Yankovic, five other parody versions of the song were recorded and released: "Put the Cheese Away (Keep It Refrigerated)" by Joe and the Chicken Heads (1995), "Come Out and Pray" by ApologetiX (1997), "Wrong Foot Amputated" by Bob Rivers, "Get Them Immigrated" by Manic Hispanic (2001) and "Keep Her Penetrated" by Blowfly (2006).
- A master track of this song is featured in the video games Rock Band 2 and Rock Band Unplugged.
Alternate appearances
As well as appearing on Smash, the song also appears as the second track on their 2005 Greatest Hits album. The music video also appears on the Complete Music Video Collection DVD, which was also released in 2005. The song is heard in the carnival fight scene in Nobody 2.
Track listings
Personnel
The Offspring
- Dexter Holland – vocals, guitar
- Noodles – guitar, backing vocals
- Greg K. – bass
- Ron Welty – drums
Additional musicians
- Jason "Blackball" McLean – additional vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1994–1995)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|-
|Australia Alternative (ARIA)
|align="center"|1
|-
|-
|European Hot 100 Singles (Music & Media)
|align="center"|67
|-
|European Alternative Rock Radio (Music & Media)
|align="center"|23
|-
|-
|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)
|align="center"|2
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1994)
!Position
|-
|Australia (ARIA)
|align="center"|54
|-
|US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)
|align="center"|33
|-
|US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)
|align="center"|61
|-
|France (SNEP)
|align="center"|69
|-
|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)
|align="center"|58
|}