When It’s Time
-
When It's Time (single) [2010] -
Nimrod XXV [2023] -
Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool
Unknown
Rob Cavallo, Green Day
21
1992-11-18
2010-09-02
Staple (80-100%)
Regular (50-79%)
Sporadic (20-49%)
Rare (1-19%)
Inactive (0%)
Performance Probability
0%
Odds of being played at the next showDoubtful
(Calculated from the last 100 shows)
!
For songs debuted recently, the percentage is calculated against total shows performed since the song's debut date rather than the full 100-show window.
Song Notes
First debuting at a 924 Gilman Street concert in 1992, 'When It's Time' certainly took its time to reach the public. Aside from that early live performance, the song was recorded by Billie Joe as a 4-track demo around the same time, but it wouldn't surface again until the 2009 documentary Heart Like a Hand Grenade, which featured a scene of Billie playing the track for American Idiot producer Rob Cavallo.
The following year, the song was finally given a proper studio recording for the American Idiot: Original Broadway Cast Recording. Most recently, the 2023 release of the Nimrod 25th Anniversary box set revealed that the song had also been demoed in 1997 during the Nimrod sessions. Finally, the song's long, sordid trail circled back to the beginning with the Dookie 30th Anniversary box set, where yet another early demo of the song performed on piano was officially released.
The following year, the song was finally given a proper studio recording for the American Idiot: Original Broadway Cast Recording. Most recently, the 2023 release of the Nimrod 25th Anniversary box set revealed that the song had also been demoed in 1997 during the Nimrod sessions. Finally, the song's long, sordid trail circled back to the beginning with the Dookie 30th Anniversary box set, where yet another early demo of the song performed on piano was officially released.
Lyrics
Words get trapped in my mind
Sorry I don't take the time to feel the way I do
'Cause the first day you came into my life
My time ticks around you
But then I need your voice
As the key to unlock
All the love that's trapped in me
So tell me when it's time
To say I love you
All I want is you to understand
That when I take your hand
It's 'cause I want to
We are all born in a world of doubt
But there's no doubt
I figured out
I love you
All I want is you to understand
That when I take your hand
It's 'cause I want to
We are all born in a world of doubt
But there's no doubt
I figured out
I love you
And I feel lonely for
All the losers that will never take the time to say
What was really on their mind instead
They just hide away
Yet they'll never have
Someone like you to guard them and help along the way
Or tell them when it's time
To say I love you
So tell me when it's time
To say I love you
Music Video
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Spotify Streams
22,488,302
10M Club
Rank: #63 among Green Day songs
Next Milestone
25M Club
As of May 4, 2026 · Updated Daily
Fan Rating
When It’s Time
Tracklist
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