All the Small Things lyrics meaning

If what they say is true, that trends recycle every 20 years, then we’re due for the next resurgence of punk rock. And, the more that we think about it, the next punk rock era seems to be knocking on the door as we speak. (Come on in, punks.)

Further, one of the most popularly known punk rockers, Blink-182’s drummer Travis Barker, seems to be ushering in this new evolution of the genre into the 2020s. In just the past two years, Barker has signed viral personality Jxdn to his label DTA Records, helped produced albums for Machine Gun Kelly, played on the Willow Smith song, “Transparent Soul,” collaborated with blackbear, and also signed Avril Lavigne to DTA Records. At this rate, Barker will single-handedly account for the majority of the punk revival. (His Kardashian clout doesn’t hurt either.)

So, in honor of Barker’s lasting and ever-evolving legacy, let’s check out the tune that cemented his career with Blink-182—“All The Small Things.”

The meaning of song lyrics.

Believe it or not, “All The Small Things” by the Blink-182 punk rockers is a love song. Tom DeLonge is credited as the main songwriter on the track and has confirmed that he wrote it for his girlfriend at the time, Jennifer Jenkins. (DeLonge and Jenkins would marry in 2001 and then divorce in 2019.) In fact, DeLonge previously explained that the second verse was inspired by a romantic gesture from Jenkins. She had lovingly left roses on the stairs for DeLonge after he had been recording late into the night.

Late night, come home
Work sucks, I know
She left me roses by the stairs
Surprises let me know she cares.

The Surprising Simplicity.

“All The Small Things” is arguably Blink-182’s most recognizable song in the band’s catalog, and it’s perhaps one of the most simple in terms of lyricism. Its simplicity, though, is two-fold. On one hand, the verses are brief, punchy even, in the way that a haiku can deliver a quick jab and cross. For instance, in the first verse, each line is only four or five syllables.

All the small things
True care, truth brings
I’ll take one lift
Your ride, best trip
Always, I know
You’ll be at my show
Watching, waiting
Commiserating.

And on the other hand, the chorus of na-nas was a straightforward homage to one of DeLonge’s favorite bands the Ramones. “All The Small Things” was also written at the end of the songwriting process for Blink-182’s popular album, Enema of the State (1999), and DeLonge was looking to make the song catchy for radio. (Spoiler: It was a hit on the radio.)

The music video.

In addition to the song’s success—peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100—the music video for “All The Small Things” saw a surprising amount of success. The music video, directed by Marcos Siega—won the award for Best Group Video at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.

The music video itself is a parody of several other popular music videos from the late ’90s and early ’00s era. The video specifically mocks the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” video, NSYNC music videos, Britney Spears’ “Sometimes,” and Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” video.

Check out the music video for “All The Small Things” below.

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc

“All the Small Things” is a love song, one which, in reality, never really overtly reveals itself as such lyrically. What can be deemed the most blatantly-romantic passage is the second verse, where the vocalist puts forth that a particular female, i.e. the addressee, ‘left him roses by the stairs’. Whereas of course such a statement would imply that they’re lovers, again, such is not directly stated.

In other words, this piece is very metaphorical, and one may even say ambiguous. In fact if not for the aforenoted second verse and a certain line in the chorus, where the vocalist refers to the addressee as ‘his little windmill’, this piece could be taken as speaking to something other than romance.

For instance, the phrase “all the small things” is sort of a general colloquialism in and of itself, pointing to, in context, what some of us would refer to as the little things in life. Or stated otherwise, our lives tend to be edified more meaningfully through displays of genuine affection than anything material. So for instance going back to the second verse, leaving someone “roses by the stairs” after a hard day’s work, as the vocalist’s sweetheart does for him, probably isn’t going to cost a whole lot of money. But in any event, the point being made is that to the recipient, it’s the thought that counts, as such “surprises” in his mind lets him know that his lady truly cares.

Take Me Home

Outside of the above, we also find him entreating the addressee to ‘take him home’ and a whole bunch of other, shall we say poetic, existential-like musings. Furthermore there’s also a plethora of ‘na-nas’ thrown in for good measure – mutterings that don’t mean anything in and of themselves.

But going back to the “take me home” statement, in the chorus the vocalist also puts forth that he “will not go”. So perhaps in the grand scheme of the lyrics, what he’s trying to imply is that this is a troubled relationship, which wouldn’t particularly make sense in lieu of the roses and such. 

So it may be best that we end this analysis there, by recognizing that this is a love song, one in which you can tell the vocalist loves and wants the addressee, but there’s other parts of the lyrics that are not as discernible.

Tom DeLonge talks about “All the Small Things”

According to Tom, this is a song that he wrote for his then girlfriend. He also stated that the lyrics of the song are based on real events. For example, he actually once got home from a hard day’s work only to find a bunch of “roses by the stairs” that his girlfriend had lovingly left for him.

When was this Song Released?

“All the Small Things” was released on 1 June 1999. It is from “Enema of the State”, the group’s third LP, with the project being a product of MCA Records.

Writing of “All the Small Things”

Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge hold all the writing credits to this song.  

Tom, who left Blink-182 in 2015, initiated the writing of this song, as he felt that “Enema of the State” needed at least one track that was created specifically for radio. And he is also recognized as the track’s primary author. The inspiration came from his relationship with Jennifer Jenkins, whom DeLonge (who’s also the lead vocalist) was dating at the time and did go on to marry in 2001.

The late Jerry Fine (1969-2008), who was a regular Blink-182 collaborator, produced this track.

Achievements

Blink-182, which was formed back in the early 1990s, is a band that is still considered pertinent to this day. However, “All the Small Things” still stands as the biggest hit single in their discography. For instance, it is their only track to date to have been certified double-platinum by the BPI. It also marks the only time that Blink-182 has made it onto the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, where the song peaked number 6. Additionally, it topped the US Alternative Airplay ranking. It achieved this same accomplishment on the UK Rock & Metal chart. Overall it proved to be a notable success throughout Western parts of the world.

All the Small Things  has also been placed onto a number of ‘greatest songs’ lists, including the following:

• Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Pop Songs” (2000)
• MTV/Rolling Stone’s “Top 100 Pop Songs Since 1963” (2000)
• VH1’s “Top 100 Greatest Gongs of the 2000s” (2011)
• NME’s “50 Most Explosive Choruses” (2014).

Some More Interesting Facts

The boy band-parodying music video to this song was helmed by director Marcos Siega. The clip won both a MTV VMA (Best Group Video) and Kerrang! Award (Best Video) in 2000.

Another interesting fact surrounding the video is that it was via its production that Mark Hoppus met one Skye Everly (who worked for MTV), whom he would go on to marry in 2000 (and remains wed to this day).

The music video also made headlines more recently, in 2022, when a Blink-182 fan actually put together an impressive Lego set based on the clip.

As time progressed, Tom DeLonge, as well as his bandmates, developed a disdain for this song.

Of course a tune that has proven as popular as this one is going to have a notable pop media presence, especially. And that is exactly what has happened in the case of “All the Small Things”. It has appeared in numerous films, TV Shows and even videogames.

Blink-182’s “Enema of the State”

“Enema of the State” is an album by Blink-182, an  American rock band from California. It was officially released on June 1 of 1999 as their 3rd studio album.

The album was recorded in at least five recording studios in California, including Signature Sound.

Its production has been credited to American record producer and sound engineer, Jerry Finn while MCA Records, an American record label, was responsible for its official release.

“Enema of the State” was a commercial success, selling over 15 million copies globally and becoming one of the band’s most successful albums. In 2015, it was placed at No. 134 on music magazine, Spin’s list of the best albums of the past 30 years (1985 to 2014).

In support of the album, three singles were officially released. “All the Small Things” was the second of these singles. In addition to the singles, Blink-182 embarked on their first arena tour, the “Loserkids Tour”. As part of the tour, they performed at the 2000 “Reading Festival” in the UK.

“Enema of the State” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and No. 15 on the UK’s OCC. The album appeared on top-10s in other parts of the world including:

• New Zealand – 2
• Italy – 5
• Canada – 7
• Austria – 6
• Australia – 4

In the United States, the album received a 5x platinum certification by the RIAA. Music Canada of Canada and Australia’s ARIA certified it 4x platinum and 3x platinum respectively. It attained platinum status in the UK and gold in a number of countries including Austria, Indonesia, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland as well as the Philippians.

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