There's something wrong with mass consumption
Why do we want what we don't need
Alcohol burnit clean asphalt methamphetamine
Will make it seem alright It's gonna make it seem alright
Living in the hunger underground
Some people say I got a problem with authority so
what if I do man it beats relinquished control

Philthy Phil Philanderer
You've taken when you should've give away
Philty Phil you gave to us
We cannot repay

There's something grand about being nothing
There's something lame about being grand
Alcohol squirtin' gun don't want no holidays in these
That's me not being you, just me not being you
Either part of the solution or the problem
Can there not be a middle ground for just the anybody
Replace superman with Joe ordinary

Philthy Phil Philanderer
You've taken when you should 've give away
Philthy Phil you gave to us
We cannot repay


Lyrics submitted by AtomicGarden

Philthy Phil Philanthropist song meanings
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11 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    the xylophone makes me giggle.

    punkbassplayer20on September 29, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i lvoe the xylophone in this song

    ThE GlOWiNg?on July 18, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    My favourite next to Freedom Like a Shopping Cart off Heavy Petting Zoo. This song I feel is pretty self-explanatory. The fundamental idea of the song is actually given to the listen in the first lyric line. I think he's talking the innate greed in America's economic system, and how its power over the public has lulled people to believing they "want what [they] dont need". I think this message is also perfectly exemplified in the chorus when he says "You've taken when you should've give away." Corporations' inherent greed has been instilled within the public conscience and now we too are takers instead of sharing our wealth with others. This notion of course stands in direct contrast of what it means to be a philanthropist, but of course anyone familiar with NOFX knows that this is just their typical humourous irony.

    wrinkledPholeon April 29, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    werd to one of the greatest songs ever.

    Logan55on February 12, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    my fav part of this song is the "blae, blae, blae"-part

    ENion April 13, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is musically great, i like to play the bassline. and wrinkledPhole, i think you're all wrong, to me this song seems to be about drugs, though i don't understand all the puns, it seems to be about how you become and stay psychologically dependent on them, about what they give you and take from you, how you realize you maybe should give them away, but in the end take anyway and feel good about it. BTW there's an error in first chorus there should be philanthropist, not philanderer

    rigon November 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i love this song haha. who plays the xylophone? it kind reminds me of something from crash team racin or something

    BadYearBlimpon August 28, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think that this song is about addiction. "why do we want what we don't need" could have to do with alchohol or drugs. In the line "you've taken when you should've give away" alot of people end up stealing to feed their addiction. The next line saying "philthy phil you gave to us we can not repay" might be about someone that let thir addiction get the best of them any maybe passed away due to it, and to the people that loved that person they gave to them what they can't repay.

    sancho0424on April 13, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    also in the line "you've taken when you should have give away" i think the give away part has to do with giving up whatever it is that has controll over you

    sancho0424on April 13, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Fat Mike and NoFX in general, usually wrote songs about specific people and not usually general topics, specifically..... I can't help but think the second verse is about the Sex Pistols reunion, Heavy Petting Zoo came out right around the time of when Sex Pistols did a LaLapalloza tour reunion , didn't write any new songs, didn't says they were going to, but put out a live album to cash in on all the fame Green Day and Rancid were getting at the time, because they felt it was owed to them.... There is two sex pistols references in that verse, "Holiday in the Sun" was one of their songs and the way Fat Mike says "Problehghm".... just like Johnny Rotten in No Vacancy I do believe.... so those are my two cents.

    CVB45Ton February 09, 2021   Link

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