"Fat Lip" is a song by Canadian

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Sum 41. It is the fourth track on their debut album, ''

All Killer No Filler ''All Killer No Filler'' is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Sum 41, released on May 8, 2001. It was certified platinum in the United States, Canada, and in the UK. Despite mixed reviews, the album was a commercial success, peaking ...

'' (2001), and was released as the lead single in April 2001. It is the band's most successful single to date, topping the '' Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart. It peaked at number 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and at number eight on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Background and composition

"Fat Lip" was written by Sum 41 members

Deryck Whibley Deryck Jason Whibley (born 21 March 1980), nicknamed Bizzy D, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, main songwriter, producer, founder and only ...

Steve Jocz Steve Jocz (born 23 July 1981) is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the former drummer for the Canadian rock band Sum 41. Early life Jocz formed Sum 41 in 1996 alongside Deryck Whibley. Jocz graduated from Exeter High S ...

and Dave Brownsound, and in-house producer

Greig Nori Greig Andrew Nori (born November 21, 1962) is a producer and musician from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and is well known as the frontman, co-lead vocalist and guitarist of the pop punk band Treble Charger. In the late 1990s, he began working as a ...

, with production by

Jerry Finn Jermone Gregory Finn (March 31, 1969 – August 21, 2008), sometimes credited as "Huckle" Jerry Finn, was an American record producer and mix engineer. He worked with numerous punk rock and pop-punk artists such as Blink-182, AFI, Sum 41, ...

. The song gets its title from the

slang term Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

for a swollen lip as a result of being punched in the face. "It was the last song I had written for ''All Killer'' 'No Filler''" Whibley told '' Stereogum'' in 2021. "The whole album was pretty much done. It was never meant to be a single. It wasn't even supposed to be a song. The very, very first thing I wrote was the guitar riff. And I didn't necessarily write it for this idea that I had for this sort of punk rock-rap kind of thing. I knew I had this old school rap idea mixed with punk rock sort of stuff, but I wrote this riff just as a riff. And then I ended up writing a chorus, like, months later. And then I had this verse. And none of them were supposed to be together. They were just separate things that I was writing over time. And then one day it kind of clicked, and I thought, 'Well, these all kind of work. They're all around the same tempo, they're all the same key.' I changed a few things and made it work, now all of a sudden I was like, 'OK, I've got the rap part, I've got a riff, and I've got a chorus.' But I don’t have the rest of the song. And then it took a long time before pieces just kind of came together." The

uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

song has been described as

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

skate punk Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skater subculture and punk rock subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, skate punk evolved into a mo ...

, rap rock, hard rock and

easycore Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

, with Whibley, Brownsound, and Jocz sharing vocal duties. "The verses are really about what we do: growing up in the suburbs, going to parties and hanging out with our friends, and causing trouble. A lot of people say they relate to it," said Whibley. Brian Hiatt of

MTV.com MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

described the song as "pop-punk-meets- hip-hop."

Music video

The song topped MTV's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'' and MuchMusic's '' MuchMusic Countdown'' in the summer of 2001. In the original Canadian version, the music video combines with fellow ''All Killer No Filler'' track "Pain for Pleasure", a very short

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

-esque song which is the final song on the album. The video, filmed in Pomona, California, was ranked at number 75 on " MuchMusic's 100 Best Videos". At the beginning of the music video, the band performs an a cappella of the first half of the first verse of " It's What We're All About"—which would be their future single—for the staff of a

liquor store A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...

(likely the store frequently seen in the background throughout the video). On July 31, 2022, the video was officially remastered in HD.

Live performances

The song was performed on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' on October 6, 2001, hosted by

Seann William Scott Seann William Scott (born October 3, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Steve Stifler in the '' American Pie'' franchise, and also for his role as Doug Glatt in both '' Goon'' and '' Goon: Last of the Enforcers''. He has al ...

Track listings

Canadian and Australian CD single # "Fat Lip" – 3:02 # "Makes No Difference" – 3:10 # "What I Believe" – 2:49 # "Machine Gun" – 2:29 UK CD single # "Fat Lip" (radio/clean edit) – 3:02 # "Crazy Amanda Bunkface" (live) # "Machine Gun" (live) # "Fat Lip" (CD-ROM video) UK cassette single # "Fat Lip" (radio/clean edit) # "Crazy Amanda Bunkface" (live) UK DVD single # "Fat Lip" (video) # "Pain for Pleasure" (audio) # "Meet the Pain" (video) European CD single # "Fat Lip" – 3:02 # "Makes No Difference" – 3:10

Personnel

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

Dave Baksh Dave Baksh (born 26 July 1980) also known by his stage name Dave Brownsound, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter best known as one of the guitarists of rock band Sum 41. Baksh quit Sum 41 in 2006 (not counting a guest appearance on ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

, backing and co-lead vocals *

Jason McCaslin Jason "Cone" McCaslin (born 3 September 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, serving as the bassist and backing vocalist of the band Sum 41. Early life McCaslin began playing bass at the age of 14, as a member ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

– drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, co-lead vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2001 singles 2001 songs Island Records singles Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Rap rock songs Songs written by Dave Baksh Songs written by Deryck Whibley Songs written by Greig Nori Songs written by Steve Jocz Sum 41 songs