The Party Song

Album: Enema Of The State (1999)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this fast-paced Enema Of The State track, Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus regrets going to a frat party full of drunk losers and girls trying too hard to get attention. Guitarist Tom DeLonge explained in one of the band's tour programs:

    "That song is about going to one of those parties and people getting drunk and being stupid and girls trying to be the center of attention. It's just about girls trying too hard, acting like dimwits. I think we've all been there, we've all been to those parties where there's all these guys creeping out on three girls who just can't get enough attention."
  • This was the last song to be finished for the album. The band was mixing it when the album's lead single, "What's My Age Again?," debuted on the Los Angeles radio station KROQ.
  • Blink's reputation was getting too big to be able to go to a frat party unnoticed. Around the time they released Enema, the band showed up in the teen comedy American Pie, and videos like "All The Small Things" were becoming staples on MTV. They also embarked on their first arena tour, which found them playing sold-out shows across North America.
  • When we said this was fast, we weren't kidding. In fact, the band has only performed it a couple times live because it's too hard to keep up with the pace. One of its rare appearances was during Blink's Las Vegas residency in 2018, where Matt Skiba (who replaced DeLonge in 2015) helped Hoppus pull off the vocals.

    "It's super fast," Hoppus told Las Vegas Weekly. "There's nowhere to breathe. We had to work long and hard at rehearsal so that I sing the majority of the line and Matt sings the end of the line, just long enough for me to take a break and start the next line. It was a lot of work to do, and we played it and some people were like, 'I can't believe they're playing this!' and some people were like, 'What is this song?' These are good problems to have, that your catalog is so big some people don't recognize the songs."

Comments: 3

  • Di from Des Moines, IaNot sure what DJ from Hope, Nj is on about, the chorus to this song is not, "vagina, vagina, vagina" although that would be funny. It's just, "nuh nah nuh, nuh nah nuh, nuh nah nuh"
  • Dj from Hope, NjOne of my favorite things about this song, and I'll admit right up front that it is in a vein of humor more appropriately suited to what one would expect from a 6th grade boy, but the fact that the band got a song played on main-stream commercial radio stations when the chorus to the song is, "vagina, vagina, vagina" is pretty funny...in a junior high school sort of way.

    I don't think guys ever lose their juvenile sense-of-humor, which is probably the reason women don't understand why so many guys still find The Three Stooges so funny.
  • Dj from Hope, NjI have to disagree a bit with Gabe's Songfacts post. It seems to me to be about a guy who goes to what is supposed to be a fun party looking to have a good time and if he's lucky, get laid. (the line, "maybe we'll watch the sun rise" meaning to spend the night and have sex with her)

    He meets a girl who is obviously really hot but after a few minutes with her he realizes she is so vain and shallow that he is more than willing to pass up the chance to have casual, hookup-type sex with her and would rather go home alone
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")

Holly Knight ("The Best," "Love Is A Battlefield")Songwriter Interviews

Holly Knight talks about some of the hit songs she wrote, including "The Warrior," "Never" and "The Best," and explains some songwriting philosophy, including how to think of a bridge.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Supertramp founder Roger Hodgson

Supertramp founder Roger HodgsonSongwriter Interviews

Roger tells the stories behind some of his biggest hits, including "Give a Little Bit," "Take the Long Way Home" and "The Logical Song."

U2 Lyrics

U2 LyricsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the lyrics of U2?