Come Original by 311 Lyrics Meaning – Unpacking the Anthem of Authenticity in Music
Lyrics
You got to
You got to come original, you got to come original
All entertainers come original
You got to come original, you got to come original
All entertainers
Hear why
To come original it ain’t nothin’ strange
You got to represent you got come full range
Full range of emotion full range of styles
When you come to town you’ll have them comin’ for miles
and come original, you got to come original
All entertainers come original
You got to come original, you got to come original
All entertainers
Hear why
Black Eyed Peas, they comin’ full range and
NOFX, they comin’ full range and
Roni Size, he’s comin’ full range
The one Mr. Vegas, you know it ain’t easy, hah
A warning to the crews out there who think they’re hot
If you’re not original rockers you will get shot
Down by the kids neglectin’ your art, the stuff you did
Eventually it get so bad puts you to bed
‘Cause when lightning flashes sweet electricity
All the world then stands revealed with the clarity
Of raw voltage, briefly we see and the hope is
You’ll be able to tell just what dope is
come original, you got to come original
All entertainers come original
You got to come original, you got to come original
All entertainers
Hear why
Funk slap bass mixed with the dancehall and
Hip-hop beats and punk guitar and
Deadly on the mic is the one SA
The name is 311 and you know it ain’t easy, hah
This is not a test, there’s no time to mope
How you gonna cope with radioactive isotope
And Boss DJ, illness upon you quickly
Infecting you fast upon the airwaves
This message brought to you by the so large system
Activate and attune yourself with meditation
And green plants they’ve got mad life they’re sentient
They’re beautiful as you and they like to dance
Everything we do we gotta come original
Put your hands up in the air and prepare for battle
Sit upon the rhythm like a tire upon a rim
We do it non-stop and then we do it again
Some a them whine and some a them bitch
They can not do it never switch
Comin’ up from the heart and delivered with a wild pitch
Sit up on top the rhythm like a wild stallion
This is the ruling system
Come original, you got to come original
All entertainers come original
You got to come original, you got to come original
All entertainers come original
You got to come original, you got to come original
All entertainers come original
You got to come original, you got to come original
All entertainers
Come original
Amidst a landscape of recycled riffs and formulaic hooks, ‘Come Original’ by 311 stands as a defiant call to arms. This track isn’t just another tune; it’s a philosophy, a mandate for those who dare to craft melodies and rhymes – a decree for genuineness in a sea of mimicry.
Peeling back the layers of this genre-blending protest song reveals not just a rejection of the status quo, but an elucidation on the nature of creativity itself. 311 isn’t just serenading their audience; they’re inspiring a movement every time the speakers blare this anthem.
A Sonic Molotov: The Revolution against Musical Cloning
To understand the zeal of ‘Come Original,’ one must first appreciate the context in which it emerged. The late ’90s saw a congested music industry where derivation was often the blueprint for success. 311 burst forth with ‘Come Original,’ a title that doubles as a command, exhorting artists to forsake the allure of easy imitation for the toiling path of innovation.
The song itself is a bricolage of styles—funk slap bass, dancehall rhythm, hip-hop beats, and punk aggression—symbolizing the essence of their message: diversity in creation. This eclectic sonic mix not only reinforces their point but also exemplifies how disparate elements can coalesce into a resonating whole when orchestrated with originality.
In the Realm of Pretenders: A Warning to Imitators
‘A warning to the crews out there who think they’re hot / If you’re not original rockers you will get shot / Down by the kids neglectin’ your art, the stuff you did’—the lyrics strike like a gavel, delivering a verdict on the fate of those who plagiarize passion. 311 speaks for a disenchanted audience, weary of being spoon-fed the banal. Their words are less lyrics and more so a battle cry against the assembly line of sound-alikes.
The group’s message is clear: the consequence of artistic insincerity is obscurity. It’s a bleak prophecy—’puts you to bed’—but one delivered with the good intent of shifting the pendulum back toward earnest, passionate artistry.
Encoded Within the Beats: The Hidden Wisdom of ‘Come Original’
There’s a subtler dimension to 311’s anthem, and it lies within the lines, ‘This message brought to you by the so large system / Activate and attune yourself with meditation.’ Herein is the band’s secret sauce: consciousness. To be original is not just a surface-level pursuit of different sounds, it’s the deep internal process of becoming attuned with one’s unique creative voice.
Meditation symbolizes the introspective journey artists must embark upon to uncover what’s truly theirs. The emphasis on ‘green plants’ with ‘mad life’ may seem ancillary, but it’s emblematic of organic growth—the kind of authenticity 311 sees as indispensable to the craft of music-making.
Embracing the Full Spectrum: The Call to Diverse Expression
‘Full range of emotion, full range of styles,’ the spectrum of human expression is vast, and 311 champions the exploration of its entirety. Limitation is the enemy of originality, and the band’s reference to other artists such as Black Eyed Peas, NOFX, and Roni Size is an acknowledgment of the various musical territories that are ripe for authentic endeavors.
Asserting one’s individuality does not mean reinventing the wheel, but rather savoring the whole gamut of influences and reinjecting it into the world, transformed through personal flair. It’s a call to live and produce art multifariously, curating an array of influences to forge into something meaningful and new.
The Inimitable 311: The Epitome of ‘Come Original’
In ‘Come Original,’ 311 doesn’t just preach, they practice. The song itself is a testament to their entire catalog—a storied journey that resists categorization. Nick Hexum, P-Nut, SA Martinez, Tim Mahoney, and Chad Sexton, the architects of this timeless track, exemplify the ethos woven into its lyrics.
From their seamless genre fusion to their lyrical dexterity, 311’s embodiment of the song’s core tenet—authentic creative expression—is the quintessence of what it means to ‘Come Original.’ They stand as pioneers, a beacon for aspiring artists, underscoring the belief that authenticity will always resonate more profoundly than the echo of another’s art.
