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Song · The Offspring

“Come Out and Play” by The Offspring

From the album Smash (1994)

“Come Out and Play” by The Offspring appears on 97 radio countdowns from 35 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1994 on the album Smash. Its best result is #2 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #1 alternative song of 1994, #86 alternative song of all time and #25 of the '90s.

97countdowns
35stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
6top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

Watch

The Offspring - "Come Out And Play"

Video from YouTube (Epitaph Records). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Come Out and Play", sometimes billed with the subtitle "Keep 'Em Separated", sits seventh on the Offspring's third album, Smash, and in 1994 Epitaph sent it out as the record's first single. Dexter Holland wrote it and sings it, and it's the song that blew the doors open for the band: KROQ-FM's Jed the Fish was the first to push it, the rest of radio followed, and it went all the way to number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, dragging punk rock into the mainstream right along with it.

It's built on a slinky, snake-charmer guitar line from Noodles that coils around a Ron Welty drum beat that never lets up, with Greg Kriesel's bass pushing hard underneath. Holland's nasal yelp cuts through the whole thing, and Jason "Blackball" McLean chips in the extra vocal. Thom Wilson produced and engineered it, with Ken Paulakovich adding engineering, and he keeps it tight and punchy, all hooks and no fat.

Darren Lavett directed the video, and the song later took the second slot on the band's Greatest Hits in 2005. It remains the song that broke them.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 2 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994 107
1994 4 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1994 91
1994 2 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1994 106
1994 13 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1994 101
1994 5 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994 100
1994 18 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994 25
1994 4 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1994 100
1994 15 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 94 Songs of 1994 94

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 25 CRNC 90.1 CRNC Top 90.1 Songs of the '90s 91
1994 641 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 67 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 29 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 321 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 193 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 193 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 218 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1998 55 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) 100
1999 14 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 15 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 25 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 21 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 50 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 71 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 54 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 77 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 238 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 6 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) 100
2000 36 DC101 DC101 Top 101 Rock Songs of the 90s 101
2000 48 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 28 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2000 15 The Edge KEDJ Countdown 2000 (106 songs) 106
2001 50 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 65 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 14 K-Rock K-Rock Top 92 Party Songs of All-Time (2002) 92
2002 57 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 55 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 77 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 43 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2004 24 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 119 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 12 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 36 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 26 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 28 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 35 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 48 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 64 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 11 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 306 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 50 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 253 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 49 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 14 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 244 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 79 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2010 89 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 246 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 246 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 56 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 New Rock Songs of All-Time 102
2013 251 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 254 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 75 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 72 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2016 349 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2017 355 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 340 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 55 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2019 149 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 45 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 58 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 39 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 79 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 112 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 163 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 20 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 269 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 145 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 1037 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 124 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 30 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 248 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 37 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 54 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 374 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 104 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 187 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 44 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 115 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 43 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 63 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 138 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 97 107.7 The End The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) 100
2025 709 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 29 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 124 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 122 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 89 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Come Out And Play; Come Out And Play (keep 'em separated); Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated); Come Out & Play; Come Out & Play (Keep 'em Separated); Come Out And Play (Keep 'em Separated).

Charting alongside it in 1994

Best songs of 1994 →
  1. 1Black Hole SunSoundgarden
  2. 2CloserNine Inch Nails
  3. 3Self-EsteemThe Offspring
  4. 4Interstate Love SongStone Temple Pilots
  5. 6Basket CaseGreen Day
  6. 7ZombieThe Cranberries

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