All the Small Things

The whole meaning of the song is summed up in the first two lines:

"All the small things True care, truth brings"

The theme of "All the Small Things" addresses the importance of caring about others and showing them how important they are, even in the smallest way, because sometimes the "smallest way" can make all the difference in the world to someone. If we were to look directly at the plot, the song tells the story of a young man (the narrator) who has someone close to him (probably a girlfriend, best friend, or relative) who shows him his importance in his/her life and how much he/she cares about him with his/her small actions, and these actions ultimately make the narrator feel better about himself because he learns that his true value as a person is priceless. The two verses includes three examples:

1. "I'll take one lift Your ride--best trip"

Here, the person offers the narrator a simple car ride somewhere -- perhaps somewhere as common as the grocery store -- and he feels so grateful that the car ride seems like the best thing in the world.

2. "Always, I know You'll be at my show Watching, waiting, Commiserating"

This quote obviously references the boys' feelings about being on tour and away from their homes all the time. As far as the song goes, the person shows his/her loyalty to the narrator by going to one of his concerts and watching him perform and supporting him, no matter how the show goes.

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

Here, the narrator tells that he's had a bad day and he's ready for it to end, but when he arrives home he finds a package of roses on his stairs left by his girlfriend (no mysteries as to the identity of the person in this verse), and suddenly the whole day seems worth while.

Now for the chorus:

"Say it ain't so; I will not go Turn the lights off; carry me home"

Whether it be to the store, the rock show (ha-ha!), or work, the narrator does NOT want to go anywhere but home. The idea of "home" is often associated with being around people who care about you, therefore, he wants to be with people who care about him. Furthermore, he implies that he is exhausted (possibly from being around uncaring people all day) and when it comes time to leave wherever he is (thus "turn the lights off"), he cannot be forced to "go" anywhere else -- he must be "carried" home by someone who cares about him.

Finally, the end:

"Keep your head still I'll be your thrill The night will go on My little windmill"

Adding to the second verse, this part of the song implies the person to be the narrator's girlfriend (though the caring person could actually be a mixture of girlfriends, friends, and relatives of blink-182). Taking this to be the case, he tells her to relax a bit ("keep your head still") while he returns the care that she's shown him all day ("I'll be your thrill"). The narrator then says that after the long, hard day is finished (brought back from "turn the lights off" in the chorus), they still have the long, easy night ("The night will go on"). To round the whole song off, he addresses her as his "little windmill," implying that she provides him with the power and energy to continue his life, much like a windmill provides power and energy for towns and farms.

Overall, "All the Small Things" stands as a rare catchy-but-meaningful radio tune. Who cares if it's punk, pop, neither, or both? It has HEART, and that's what matters.