Henry Rollins on His Retirement From Music: “I Just Have No More Lyrics” 

15 years ago, Black Flag’s frontman Henry Rollins stepped away from making music. In a recent interview, the punk legend discussed how he came to the decision to retire. 

“The smart thing I did as a younger man was one day I woke up in my bed and I went, ‘I’m done with music. I don’t hate it. I just have no more lyrics. There’s no more toothpaste in the tube,’” Rollins said. “Luckily, I had enough movies, voiceover, documentary work, writing, talking, where that just filled in, and now I’m busier than ever. But I walked away before I had to start saying, ‘Hey, kids, remember this one?’ So I didn’t have to put it on and go up there and put on the dog and yelp for my dinner.”

Rollins also went on to explain how he grew to become more and more disillusioned with the music industry, as well as appeasing fans. “If [fans] happen to like what I’m doing, cool,” he said. “If they don’t, they can bite me.” 

While Rollins has bowed out from making music, it doesn’t mean he’s necessarily done with being part of the music world or even performing. Some of his most recent appearances include recently appearing in a Tyler, the Creator-directed Converse ad, as well as Punk the Capital, a documentary about the early years of hardcore in Washington D.C. Next spring, he’ll hit the road in North America for his massive one-man show, the “Good to See You” tour, which has tickets available now. 

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