Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie,” the lead single from the band’s 1999 sophomore album Significant Other, has always been seen as a kind of edge-lord anthem about only using someone for sex. The lyrics certainly paint a compelling picture of Durst doing this because his partner was unfaithful. But it turns out the true meaning behind the song is kind of heartbreaking.
In a recent interview with Dazed, Durst opened up about the tune and explained that it was inspired by a real relationship he had with someone who cheated on him. He explained that the chorus line, “I did it all for the nookie,” is not really about using someone for sex but, rather, it’s about him staying in the relationship even though he knew his girlfriend was sleeping with other people behind his back.
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“The funny thing about that though, nobody listened to the story in ‘Nookie’ they just listened to the catchphrase,” Durst explained. “It’s like when I say Rage Against The Machine they listen to ‘fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me’, they don’t listen to the rest of it.”
Going on to elaborate in the story behind “Nookie,” Durst shared, “The first time I had been intimate with someone it happened later and I was very much head over heels in love because of that and I was just that guy. I was very much a vulnerable person in that world and I couldn’t believe it even happened.”
Durst continued, “So I fell in love. And then this person was sleeping with other people and people would say ‘Fred, you’re so upset, why are you staying?’ and I’d say ‘Because we made love’ and I found a different way to say that: ‘I did it all for the nookie.’ That sounded more fun.”
Finally, he explained, “So what I did it for then was the love. And what I do it for now is for the love. I have a new daughter, she’s eight months old.”
While Durst does not clarify which of his exes he’s talking about, he shares his only daughter — Adriana Durst — with his first wife Rachel Tergesen. The pair married in 1990 while Durst was stationed in Oakland, California during his Naval service. Adriana was born in June of the same year.
In 1993, Durst and Tergesen divorced, following a heated argument that turned into a domestic disturbance. Durst was arrested, charged with disorderly conduct, and received a $5,000 fine. Limp Bizkit released Nookie six years later.
