Badfish

On occasion, when playing this song live, lead singer Bradley Nowell would sing: "Lord knows I'm weak, won't somebody get me off of this tweek?" which implies that the song is about trying to kick addiction, with the "Big, blue whale" being the drug, thus: "I swim, but I wish I'd never learned." Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996.

A "Badfish" is a term used to describe a person who exposes someone else to heroin for the first time.

"Badfish" is part of Sublime's debut album, 40 Oz. To Freedom, released in 1992. Unless you were part of the Southern California punk scene, you probably didn't know about the album, but in 1997, songs from Sublime's self-titled third album, released months after Brad Nowell's death, became surprisingly popular. Unfortunately for their new fans, the band dissolved after Nowell died, so there was no new material and no concerts. There was a back catalogue, though, and 40 Oz. To Freedom started selling. It ended up going Double-Platinum years after it was first issued. Bradley Nowell's bandmates in Sublime, Eric Wilson (bass) and Bud Gaugh (drums) started playing their old songs again when they re-formed the band with lead singer Rome Ramirez under the name Sublime With Rome because Nowell's estate wouldn't let them use Sublime. In 2023, Wilson and Gaugh started performing again as Sublime with Nowell's son Jakob on lead vocals.