Release Date: October 7, 2016
Length: 44:29
Studio: OTIS
Label: Reprise Records
Producers: Green Day
Mixing: Andrew Scheps
Engineer: Chris Dugan
Artwork: Frank Maddocks (creative direction, design, photos), Nick Spanos (cover photo)
Additional Musicians: Ronnie Blake (trumpet)
Singles: Bang Bang, Still Breathing, Revolution Radio
RIAA Certification: None (less than 0.5 million in sales)
Billboard 200 Peak: #1 (1 week) – 16 weeks on the chart
Top Rock Albums Peak: #1 (1 week) – 17 weeks on the chart
Notes: With lessons learned from the failure of the Uno/Dos/Tre trilogy, Green Day went into their new studio OTIS and began work on the follow up in complete secrecy. The entire album was recorded with no outside influence from producers or their record label. The band emerged with Revolution Radio, a mature and confident return to form which would debut at #1 on the Billboard 200.
- Somewhere Now
- Bang Bang
- Revolution Radio
- Say Goodbye
- Outlaws
- Bouncing Off The Wall
- Still Breathing
- Youngblood
- Too Dumb To Die
- Troubled Times
- Forever Now
- Ordinary World
13. Letterbomb (live)
Track Info:
1. Somewhere Now
"It’s just that gloom and trying to rise above it. That’s sort of what the record is about.”
- Billie Joe Armstrong
The album opener alternates between dreamy, almost Guided by Voices-like acoustic interludes and Who-style anthemic bursts – Tre Cool thinks he did his best drumming ever on it. Billie Joe Armstrong calls the first line – “I’m running late to somewhere now that I don’t want to be” – one of his all-time favorites. “It’s my favorite beginning of a record that we’ve ever had,” he says. “I think it’s so relatable, whether it’s going to your job or going to the dentist.” Another lyric, “How did life on the wild side get so dull,” touches on Armstrong’s post-rehab struggles: “How do you deal with dealing with yourself? Before it was, I’ll have a beer. Now, you have to sort of learn how to breathe a little bit more. I have never been good at boredom. I never know what to do when it’s, like, you and you’re alone with yourself.”
- Rolling Stone
The author seems to be worrying about where he is in life (I’m running late to somewhere now that I don’t want to be) as he realizes his goals and needs are becoming drastically different and harder to achieve from what it used to be (future and promises ain’t what it used to be). He never intended to be in the position he is in now where he is forced to sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of achieving the goals he once thought would bring him happiness (I never wanted to compromise or bargain with my soul, how did a life on the wild side ever get so dull?).
The author admits to feeling old and medicated as he pushes himself day by day thinking that he’d get the same happiness he did in the old days but things have changed (high on cellular waves) and he’s learnt to be interested in politics as well (riot in patriot). The author figures out that he should take a step back and just let life roll out instead of trying to get somewhere all the time (I got a seat in the middle of the road, I’m gonna take my time). He begins to see how everything around him isn’t worth worrying about (at the speed of life) and changes himself from being a grumpy old man to accepting technology (I shop online).
He also sees how politics influences everything (I shop online so I can vote) and that even simple acts these days can cause adverse rippling effects (I’m like a drone, there’s a soldier that’s freaking out PS this is war) and how the things that seem magical in the old days are now everyday play things (I’m like a drone way up in the sky, I’m a shooting star). As the author takes a step back, he also sees that everyone else was like him, wanting money and ways to fend for themselves instead of caring about others who need help (a new catastrophe, it’s a small price we pay).
The song ends with the author realizing that all he needed was to find himself (I found myself somewhere now) and not be so obsessed with his goals and the expectations from everyone around him that he would end up blinding himself from the finer things in life that kept him happy in the first place.
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
I'm running late to somewhere now
I don't want to be
Where the future and promises
Ain't what it used to be
I never wanted to compromise
Or bargain with my soul
How did life on the wild side
Ever get so dull
All grown up and medicated
I'm high on cellular waves
I put the "riot" in Patriot
And we all die in threes
I got a seat in the middle of the road
I'm gonna take my time
I shop online so I can vote
At the speed of life
I'm like a drone way up in the sky
I'm a shooting star
There's a soldier that's freaking out
P.S. this is war
All grown up and medicated
I'm high on cellular waves
I put the "riot" in Patriot
And we all die in threes
All we want is money and guns
A new catastrophe
Here goes nothing, there's nothing to lose
It's a small price we pay
When we all die in threes
Somewhere now
Hallelujah! I found my soul
Under the sofa pillows
Congratulations, I found myself
Somewhere now
2. Bang Bang
“(It's about) the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media. There’s this sort of rage happening, but it’s also now being filmed and we all have ourselves under surveillance, to me, that is so twisted. To get into the brain of someone like that was freaky. It freaked me out. After I wrote it, all I wanted to do was get that out of my brain because it just freaked me out.”
- Billie Joe Armstrong
The fastest, most aggressive song on the album is also the first single, and the first song Armstrong wrote for the project. “It was refreshing that it came so naturally to write a song like ‘Bang Bang,'” he says, “which is one of the best punk songs I’ve ever scribbled. And it just sort of happened. I didn’t think about it too much. I showed it to the guys. I’m like, ‘This feels like Green Day.’ I showed it to Mike and Tre and they were floored.” On the track, Armstrong sings from the perspective of a psychotic mass shooter (“I am a semiautomatic lonely boy/You’re dead/I’m well fed”). “The scary thing was when I went into the character’s head,” says Armstrong. “I started getting dizzy.”
- Rolling Stone
The song starts off with a radio broadcast about executions by terrorists.
In the first verse, the author is seen as an unstable, violent individual. He seems to be preparing for something and is clearly nervous and excited about it (I'm sweating bullets like a modern Romeo). The chorus shows that the author is willing to kill people for fame (bang, bang, give me fame) or die trying (shoot me up for entertainment). He shows his viewpoint by saying how the victims on screen dead while the shooters remain well-fed. The line I am a semi-automatic lonely boy may imply that the author is someone who has been ignored and shunned and now he wants to get back at everyone.
The next verse shows how the author sees these killings again and again (I testify like a lullaby of memories) and how the same group and people are mentioned again for their actions (broadcasting live and it's on my radio). The author may be using the word photobomb as to mean how these actions are disrupting the daily news and Vietnam may imply how he saw the Vietnam war in the past via media. He also makes a reference to the extremist terrorists saying how everyone knows the truth but refuses to accept it to continue their 'fame' across the world. (I love a lie just like anybody else).
The next chorus shows the author’s intentions to start out as a celebrity martyr, someone who dies as a result of an extremist terrorist attack or fighting them. He wants to be the leading man of his own private drama and hero of the hour, being the one to orchestrate the whole fiasco. The author expresses his interest in terrorists (It’s my private move (Holy War)) and how he believes by being like them he would get on the screen for his moment of fame. World War Zero may imply how his actions are not widespread enough to affect everyone, but its enough to stir up trouble within his area or country.
The song could possibly be about a deranged, lonely school shooter with influences from the media using excuses such as propaganda from the Vietnam war or ISIS as a easy way to point the blame for his actions. With a clear view that nothing will change from the actions of the big
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
I get my kicks and I wanna start a rager
I wanna dance like I'm on the video
I got a fever for the violent behavior
I'm sweatin' bullets like a modern Romeo
Bang, bang - give me fame
Shoot me up to entertain
I am a semi-automatic lonely boy
You're dead, I'm well fed
Give me death or give me head
Daddy's little psycho and mommy's little soldier
I testify like a lullaby of memories
Broadcasting live and it's on my radio
I got my photobomb, I got my Vietnam
I love a lie just like anybody else
Bang, bang - give me fame
Shoot me up to entertain
I am a semi-automatic lonely boy
You're dead, I'm well fed
Give me death or give me head
Broadcasting from my room and playin' with my toys
I wanna be a celebrity martyr
The leading man in my own private drama
Hoorah, bang, bang, hoorah, bang, bang, the hero of the hour
Daddy's little psycho and mommy's little soldier
I wanna be like the soldiers on the screen
It's my private movie (Holy War)
Oh baby, baby, this is Viva Vendetta
Oh this is love or it's World War Zero
I wanna be a celebrity martyr
The leading man in my own private drama
Hoorah, bang, bang, hoorah, bang, bang, the hero of the hour
Daddy's little psycho and mommy's little soldier
3. Revolution Radio
“I was in a car coming back from Brooklyn into Manhattan and there were all the protesters from Ferguson that were holding up traffic, all the way back across the bridge…and I wrote about it…I sort of walked out and marched with people for a little bit, but I was mostly observing and seeing what was happening. It’s a trip to watch people just completely rebel against the old order or whatever you want to call it. Trying to get to something that’s pure and honest…and I don’t know, I was just watching, and it was this controlled chaos-and it was happening all over the country. People don’t want to feel obsolete about the things they care about.”
- Billie Joe Armstong
“Give me cherry bombs and gasoline!” Armstrong sings on the title track. The idea came to him in New York two years ago when he ran into a Black Lives Matter protest; before he knew it, Armstrong had gotten out of his car and was walking up Eighth Avenue with the throng. “I was screaming, ‘Hands up, don’t shoot,’ ” he says. “I felt like I was on the right side of history. … It’s like something is breaking in the world. A lot of the old people are dying off and the values of the Fifties generation are starting to break and what happened in the Sixties and is starting to manifest more now than it ever has before.”
- Rolling Stone
The song as stated by Billie is about matters such as the ‘Black Lives Matter‘ movement. The song begins with the author expressing his views to the people in a similar situation to him, telling them to stand up for what they believe and not stay quiet and suffer (stay with your hands up in the sky, like you want to testify, for the life that's been deleted, sing like a rebel's lullaby) for they aren’t standing up for only themselves and the present, but also the people in the past who have suffered (for the lost souls that were cheated). The author also acknowledges the fact that they have been ignored (we have been seen but not been heard) but tells his supporters to stay strong and carry on.
The name of the movement is mentioned (revolution radio), with shows of how they aren’t tied down by the lies of the media (operation no control) and are willing to fight for what’s right (in the headline, my love’s bulletproof). The rebels also point to the people indoctrinated by the media saying how the sheeple are fighting violently (give me cherry bombs and gasoline, debutantes in surgery) against the peaceful protests for the lies said in the media (in the headline legalize the truth).
Clearly, things aren’t going the movement’s way as the situation escalates (tear gas in the crowd) and people begin to see the truth (do you want em allowed/dawn of the new airwaves for the anti-social media) as more and more violent methods are dispatched on the peaceful rebels. There is mention again on how the truth is seen but not be heard and how the rebels are choirs singing songs of the destroyed, singing the truth that the media refuses to shed light on.
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
Scream, with your hands up in the sky
Like you want to testify
For the life that's been deleted
Sing, like a rebel's lullaby
Under the stars and stripes
For the lost souls that were cheated
We will be seen but not be heard
We are Revolution Radio
Operation 'No Control'
And the headline "My love's bulletproof"
Give me cherry bombs and gasoline
Debutantes in surgery
And the headline "Legalize the truth"
Give me rage, like there’s tear gas in the crowd
Do you wanna live out loud?
But the air is barely breathing
Rise of the slums to the obsolete
The dawn of the new airwaves for the anti-social media
We are Revolution Radio
Operation 'No Control'
And the headline "My love's bulletproof"
Give me cherry bombs and gasoline
Debutantes in surgery
And the headline "Legalize the truth"
We will be seen but not be heard
We are the songs of the disturbed
We are Revolution Radio
Operation 'No Control'
And the headline "My love's bulletproof"
Give me cherry bombs and gasoline
Debutantes in surgery
And the headline "Legalize the truth"
4. Say Goodbye
When he wrote this loping track, Armstrong was reacting to images of armored military-style vehicles in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. “I was like, ‘What country do I live in? How is this different from the Arab Spring?'” One line, “Teach your children well from the bottom of the well,” is a direct reference to other current events: “It’s thinking of Flint, Michigan, and trying to educate your kids while they’re drinking toxic waste,” Armstrong says. “You can’t educate people if they’re that desperate.
The song mostly touches on the violence and wars that are widespread throughout the world. It starts off with the people that are dying as a result of these events (say goodbye to the ones that we love) and how they can do nothing but pray and watch (Oh Lord have mercy on my soul, kindred spirits sing for the sick and suffering). It seems as though some of the people have already gotten used to it and expect it to happen just like any other day (city of damage control, this is how we roll).
There is a contrast to cops in the next verse as they are shown to be the ones in control. Despite the police supposedly having a duty to protect civilians, it seems that they are under rule and are ordered to kill anyone who disobeys them. Within these locations, people hope that they can raise their children well from their current situation despite the circumstances being very harsh (bottom of the well).
The song ends with how despite all the prayers being sent, people will have to say goodbye to the ones they love as simply praying won’t be enough to save them.
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
Say goodbye to the ones that we love
Say goodbye to the ones we love
Say goodbye to the ones that we love
Goodbye to the ones that we love
Say goodbye to the ones that we love
Say goodbye to the ones we love
Say goodbye to the ones that we love
Say goodbye to the ones that we love
Violence on the rise
Like a bullet in the sky
Oh lord have mercy on my soul
Kindred spirits sing
For the sick and suffering (the suffering)
The city of damage control
This is how we roll
Say hello to the cops on patrol
Say hello to the cops on patrol
Say hello to the cops on patrol
Say hello to the ones in control
Teach your children well
From the bottom of the well
Oh lord have mercy on my soul
Hear the children sing
For the sick and suffering (the suffering)
The city of damage control
This is how we roll
Violence on the rise
Like a bullet in the sky
Oh lord have mercy on my soul
Kindred spirits sing
For the sick and suffering (the suffering)
The city of damage control
This is how we
Say a prayer for the ones that we love
Say a prayer for the ones we love
Say a prayer for the ones that we love
Say goodbye to the ones that we love (this is how we)
5. Outlaws
A swelling, wistful tune that looks back at the trio’s teenage punk days, “when we were outlaws/when we were forever young.” “I was feeling nostalgic,” says Armstrong, “thinking about when me and Mike would break into cars and steal tapes and lighters and shit like that.” The band sees it as a sequel of sorts to their 1992 track “Christie Road,” which mined the same period of their lives.
- Rolling Stone
The song is essentially a throwback to Christie Road with the song starting off looking back at the author’s youth (life after youth faded in twilight).It seems as though the author found love here and also, the group that resided in Christie Road had some arguments/fights (first forgiveness). He admitted despite being rough on the edges, they were delinquents together in his faded memories.
But because of this, he also realized their delinquency would lead to further fallouts between each other. The chorus says how they’re starting to grow out of Christie Road and have become Outlaws to their own home. They’ve destroyed suburbia by deciding to move on with their lives. By moving on, they’ve essentially become Outlaws forever.
The second verse continues to look at the activities the group took part in before the fallout (scars, broken hearts). How they would break into cars and play with bottle rockets without a care of the world. They were simply care-free lost souls with no responsibilities. All that they wanted was to enjoy life while it lasts without worrying about tomorrow. To disregard the trivial things in life, to look beyond the stars. The chorus hits again and this time it seems that the arguments are getting worse as more people leave Christie Road. Everyone is anxious about where they truly fit as their friends are leaving them so easily and quickly.
Despite everything that happened, the author is adamant on staying in Christie Road proclaiming nothing will change his spirit’s place to roam. It seems the interlude might be directed to his found love at that time as they break up and he blames it on how she was too young to understand his viewpoint (I plead my innocence but that’s my best defence).
In the end, everyone has left and the author is alone again like he was at the start of Christie Road. The author takes the train (tracks at Christie Road) with the conviction of never returning to Christie Road. He finds an old knife belonging to one of his friends but realizes he needs to move on and start anew, far away from his old attachments and resentments. He needs to keep roaming and finding his way in this world becoming an Outlaw himself.
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
Life after youth
Faded in twilight
The dawn of a criminal in bloom
First love
First forgiveness
We were delinquents
Freaks of a faded memory
Outlaws, when we were forever young
When we were outlaws
We're outlaws of redemption baby
Hooligans, we destroyed suburbia
When we were outlaws
The outlaws of forever
Scars, broken hearts
Breaking in cars
Running in the light of the moon
Lost souls
Bottle rockets
All that we wanted
Is for a life beyond the stars
Outlaws, when we were forever young
When we were outlaws
We're outlaws of redemption baby
Hooligans, we destroyed suburbia
When we were outlaws
The outlaws of forever
I got no supervision
Nothing will change my spirits
Race around with my innocence
I'll plead my innocence
But that's my best defence
When you are young
Outlaws, when we were forever young
When we were outlaws
We're outlaws of redemption baby
Hooligans, we destroyed suburbia
When we were outlaws
The outlaws of forever
I found a knife by the railroad track
You took a train and you can't go back
Forever now
Forever now, you'll roam
6. Bouncing Off The Wall
Originally titled “Concrete Dream,” and one of the last tracks to be added to the album, this one has a fun, semi-tossed-off feel: “It’s all that I want and I want to be free,” Armstrong sings over ricocheting chords. “Got Satan riding next to me/’Cause we’re all bloody freaks/And we’ll give you the creeps/Chasing fireflies and zeroes.”
- Rolling Stone
The song touches on career paths and general dreams for the future. The song starts off with the author proclaiming how he’s gonna break free from the concrete dream everyone has set for themselves with boring jobs and how he’s gonna make a scene instead of following what he has to be in the eyes of society. He refused to listen to the masses (radio covered in gasoline) and remarks how everyone is full of nervous energy not being able to sleep well as a result of their unhappy 9-5 jobs (sleeping in reverse and everybody’s bouncing off the walls).
The author continues looking at everyone else and sees how everyone keeps doing things in an attempt to make their crappy jobs better such as strikes and complaining to their co-workers (bombs away, it’s just another day). But he knows that all these are but ideal threats that don’t amount to much. He also talks about the secret alphabet, possibly referring to how certain high tier jobs require lots of studying and may be nothing more than gibberish to the normal person (I wouldn’t sweat it). At the end of the day, everyone’s in the same spot, simply having nervous energy and bouncing off the walls.
The next verse continues on with a concrete kiss referencing how people are ass kissing their respective boring jobs and bosses. The author tries to get some of his friends to come on and do the twist along to his music. It can be seen the author is pursuing some music path as he states how his own radio is a little exorcist, which indicates that his own music helps alleviate some stress magically. Soon, his music gets popular and everyone listens to it understanding how bad their jobs are (we’re all getting pissed).
The song ends on the chorus saying how the author just wants to be free like anyone else, even if it means it’s not what everyone else deems to be right (I got satan riding next to me). At the end of the day, everyone’s just freaks and creepslooking to survive with a bare minimum wage. Only having their jobs so they can chase after dreams by increasing their bank account numbers (fireflies and zeros).
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
Concrete dream, I'm gonna make a scene
Radio, covered in gasoline
Sleeping in reverse
And everybody's bouncing off the walls
Bombs away, it's just another day
Of idle threats, the secret alphabet
And I wouldn't sweat it
Everybody's bouncing off the walls
(I'm bouncing off the walls)
Concrete kiss, come on and do the twist
The Radio, my little exorcist
We're all getting pissed
And everybody's bouncing off the walls
'Cause it's all that I want
And I want to be free
I got Satan riding next to me
'Cause we're all bloody freaks
And we'll give you the creeps
Chasing fireflies and zeroes
7. Still Breathing
A junkie on the verge of death, a gambler about to lose everything and a wounded soldier on the front lines are all characters in a slow-building, unsettling track. “That was a very heavy song,” says Armstrong. “Sometimes I run away from being too heavy. But sometimes it just comes out that way.” The chorus, “I’m still breathing on my own” alludes to the fact that “at some point, we’re all going to have to be on life support,” says Armstrong. “As time goes on, your thoughts get darker.”
- Rolling Stone
The song seems to have a very BOBD theme to it (I walk alone) with the lyrics mostly pointing to the author being lost in self-thought alone (I’m still breathing on my own) and how he wonders about the different lives of the people around him while he’s stuck at home doing nothing.
The song starts off with the author thinking about the different scenarios of how being alive and bored (child looking off) is better than most circumstances of being alive like being brought away from a freak accident (ambulance turning on the sirens). He feels optimistic as he feels he would survive his internal struggles as a soldier coming home (I dodge a bullet, I walk across a landmine, I’m still alive).
The author questions the validity of his mental struggles, going as far as to blame the storms for his gloominess. He feels he needs someone to shine a light into him but he feels that everyone is just too far away. The author expresses how he can survive on his own and shows off a bit of his romantic life, showing how he’s barely surviving in his crumbling relationship (my head’s above the rain and roses, making my way to you).
The next verse shows his dying hope, how his last shred of optimism is getting flushed down the gutter as the days go by (loser betting on his last dime). He sees optimism as a drug and how he always says tomorrow will be better (junkie tying off for the last time) but he knows nothing will change. At his current point of life, he feels as though no one was ever really there to help him out or stay (son raised without a father) and how his life is barely kept together.
He wonders if anyone else is scared to death to live like him and remarks how he’s been running all his life from the truth. The truth that in fact no one will really find him or save him. The line, home that’s for the restless, may be referring to him trying to find a place where he can meet people like him who are alone and desperate. But despite all the signs and unfavorable circumstances, he continues to tell himself to make his way through life, hoping someone or something would change for the better.
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
I'm like a child looking off on the horizon
I'm like an ambulance that's turning on the sirens
Oh I'm still alive
I'm like a soldier coming home for the first time
I dodged a bullet and I walked across a landmine
Oh I'm still alive
Am I bleeding
Am I bleeding from the storm
Just shine a light into the wreckage
So far away, away
'Cause I'm still breathing
'Cause I'm still breathing on my own
My head's above the rain and roses
Making my way away
'Cause I'm still breathing
'Cause I'm still breathing on my own
My head's above the rain and roses
Making my way away
My way to you
I'm like a junkie tying off for the last time
I'm like a loser that's betting on his last dime
Oh I'm still alive
I'm like a son that was raised without a father
I'm like a mother barely keeping it together
Oh I'm still alive
Am I bleeding
Am I bleeding from the storm
Just shine a light into the wreckage
So far away, away
'Cause I'm still breathing
'Cause I'm still breathing on my own
My head's above the rain and roses
Making my way away
'Cause I'm still breathing
'Cause I'm still breathing on my own
My head's above the rain and roses
Making my way away, away...
As I walked out on the ledge
Are you scared to death to live
I've been running all my life
Just to find a home that's for the restless
And the truth that's in the message
Making my way away, away
'Cause I'm still breathing
'Cause I'm still breathing on my own
My head's above the rain and roses
Making my way away
My way to you
8. Youngblood
This power-pop nugget is dedicated to Armstrong’s wife of 22 years, Adrienne. “I want to hold you like a gun,” he sings. “We’ll shoot the moon into the sun.” “She’s easy to write about because she’s so awesome,” says Armstrong. “She’s the cedar in the trees in Minnesota.” The song comes complete with a punchline: “Are you broken/Like I’m broken/Are you restless?/She said, “Fuck you, I’m from Oakland!”
- Rolling Stone
Youngblood
She's my little Youngblood
Youngblood
Punchdrunk and Youngblood
She's a loner, not a stoner
Bleeding heart and the soul of Ms. Teresa
Supernova, Cherry Cola
She's the cedar in the trees of Minnesota
I'm a rough boy, around the edges
Gettin' drunk and falling into hedges
She's my weakness, fuckin' genius
Swear to god and I'm not even superstitious
Youngblood
She's my little Youngblood
Youngblood
Punchdrunk and Youngblood
I wanna hold you like a gun
We'll shoot the moon into the sun
Alright, alright
Are you stranded, like I'm stranded
Do you wanna watch the world fall to pieces
Are you broken, like I'm broken
Are you restless
She said: "Fuck you, I'm from Oakland!"
Youngblood
She's my little Youngblood
Youngblood
Punchdrunk and Youngblood
9. Too Dumb To Die
After a low-fi intro, the song breaks into a melody and chord progression that could’ve fit in on Dookie, married to lyrics that dip into straight autobiography: “I was a high school atom bomb,” Armstrong sings, “going off on the weekends/ Smoking dope and mowing lawns/And I hated all the new trends … I’m hanging on a dream that’s too dumb to die.”
- Rolling Stone
"That one is more personal. It's about growing up totally working class and not knowing what the future was going to be, and being sort of a dope-smoking kid. And then it's also a reference to my father, who was in the Teamsters and watching him go out to work in the picket line. I remember my father being on strike a lot. The song is kind of like feeling like, 'Is anything really changing?'"
- Billie Joe Armstrong
The introduction to the song can be seen as either a break from Youngblood or how the author is recalling his old days and dreams (sentimental illness) in his current boring life.
The author recalls his times in high school with his friends and how they were acting like misfits just because (high school atom bomb, I hated all the new trends). He states his political thought and how being in the middle of the road was way better than here (referring to the second verse on how his father was an avid striker).
He tries his best to find the reasoning behind all the hard work and school in general (looking for a cause) but all he can find are convoluted ideals and unrealistic dreams (all I got was Santa Claus, I'm hanging on a dream that’s too dumb to die). He feels irrelevant in his current position (like a cello lost somewhere over the rainbow) and whatever he does, he just doesn’t feel like he’s achieving or changing much to his frustration (way up high, too scared to dream but too dumb to die).
The next verse looks into his family and how his father seems to be stuck as well; how he was always on strike with the Teamsters in an attempt to get something. Try as he might, it’s clear that it isn’t doing much as he’s constantly doing something to achieve nothing. Despite his father’s optimism (everything will be alright), the author knows deep down that both of them know they won’t be getting anywhere soon (not every Sunday can be Easter).
A comparison is made between scabs and martyrs in which scabs are but the people refusing to go and strike and continue to work whilst martyrs are people killed for their beliefs. In this case, by refusing to follow their fellow workers, the people around are seen as people with simple free beliefs who can’t seem to see the ‘bigger picture’ on how they are not being paid enough or treated properly. How they refuse to fight to the death along with their comrades for what is right.
The song ends with a change in the chorus with how after all that happens, the author now realizes that he should stop fighting for any impossible dreams. He instead looks for camouflage in an attempt to blend in with everyone else. Instead of dreaming and rebelling, he has instead learnt to fit in with the rest despite wanting to achieve bigger things.
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
Oh, oh I love you
Oh, oh I do
I got a sentimental illness for you
Please don't go away, oh yeah
I was a high school atom bomb
Going off on the weekends
Smoking dope and mowing lawns
And I hated all the new trends
Me and my friends sang:
"Woah! Here's to the middle of the road
At least it's better than here"
Looking for a cause
But all I got was Santa Claus
I'm hanging on a dream that's too dumb to die
I feel like a cello
Lost somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high, too scared to dream
But too dumb to die
My daddy always was on strike
Going off with the Teamsters
He said that "Everything will be alright...
Not every Sunday can be Easter"
The picket line screamed:
"Woah! Don't cross
Don't cross the line because you'll be a scab, not a martyr!"
Looking for a cause
But all I got was camouflage
I'm hanging on a dream that's too dumb to die
I feel like a cello
Lost somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
Too scared to dream
But too dumb to... uhm... yeah...
Hey!
Looking for a cause
But all I got was camouflage
I'm hanging on a dream that's too dumb to die
I feel like a cello
Lost somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high, too scared to dream
But too dumb to die
10. Troubled Times
An ominous rocker that surveys an America on the brink of disaster, full of racial unrest and economic inequality. “I wish saying ‘we live in troubled times’ was a cliché, but it’s not,” says Armstrong. “Trump is preying on people’s fears, anger and desperation. … He’s feeding meat to hungry dogs.”
- Rolling Stone
Being one of the more political tracks, this song touches on the issues of politics and issues to the public. The author addresses how there is no point in having love and peace if it only concerns the rich and powerful (when it’s exclusive). In this, there is also the problem of how the people themselves refuse to see the truth (where’s the truth in the written word) because of their ignorance or inability (if no one reads it) to due to the amount of propaganda and brainwashing they’ve had to go through.
As a result, days go by without anything changing even when it is clear that something is wrong (a new day dawning comes without warning). The author begins to question whether or not anyone actually wants change (what part of history we learn when it’s repeated) since all they do is talk about it but never actually go out to work for this change with their own power (something we’ll never overcome if we don’t seek it). It is evident that without change (the world stops turning), the dream of paradise and equality for everyone is slowly withering away.
The world is stuck to live in troubled times now.
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
What good is love and peace on earth
When it's exclusive
Where is the truth in the written word
If no one reads it
A new day dawning
Comes without warning
So don't think twice
We live in troubled times
What part of history have we learned
When it's repeated
Some things we'll never overcome
If we don't seek it
The world stops turning
Paradise burning
So don't think twice
We live in troubled times
We run for cover
Like a skyscraper falling down
And then I wonder
Like a troubled mind
What good is love and peace on earth
When it's exclusive
Where's the truth in the written word
If no one reads it
A new day dawning
Comes without warning
So don't look twice
We live in troubled times
11. Forever Now
The album’s most ambitious track, clocking in at nearly seven minutes, is a surging mini-rock opera of sorts, melding several songs, including a reprise of opener “Somewhere Now.” “‘Forever Now’ brings it full circle and honestly, it’s so fun to write like that,” says Armstrong. “You can just be that little kid in your room and feeling like a rock god.” It begins with a lyric – “My name is Billie and I’m freaking out” – that Armstrong calls “the most honest line I’ve ever written,” and ends with the refrain “I ain’t gonna stand in line no more”: “It’s like a slogan for a demonstration,” says Armstrong. “Like, I’m not going to accept the status quo or I’m not going to be manipulated. It’s like, ‘What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.'” The song began as three unrelated pieces that Armstrong jammed together: “It was really hard,” he says. “But at the end, when we bring in that big chorus where everything is overlapping with each other and heading back into that riff, it was just fucking beautiful.”
“I saw this song change so many times,” adds Tre Cool. “The cool thing is that Billie didn’t force anything. He just let it happen and he kept trying different shit. And then there was this one aha moment where he was like, ‘I think I got it.’ And it was awesome. There were goosebumps in the room.”
- Rolling Stone
The song starts off with Billie recalling his rehab sessions and how he first introduced himself to his therapist (My name is Billie and I'm freaking out). He admits he thought that everything was fine and that his addiction was under control (I thought I was well) until it got to a point where everyone around him was telling him to get a grip as he started isolating himself (I sit alone with my thoughts and prayers).
He also notices how he has been losing his memories as he has been so inebriated and under drugs all the time like that time at IHeart (Scream out my memories as if I was never there). Everything that happened during that time seems like a blur despite everyone recalling how he behaved differently. He's ashamed of this and wants to change.
He admits that he's come close to death and losing everything (Standing at the edge of the world, It's giving me the chills) and he's freaking out being stuck like this helplessly. He needs help and he's begging for things to get better. It's seen that Billie has spent countless sleepless nights on this as well (burning lights) thinking things through and trying to remember his lost memories from the drug blackouts.
The next verse talks about Billie's work life, how he recalls that he never enjoyed school (409, never learned to read or write) and that all he has ever done is play music because it's what he truly enjoys in life (but I can play the guitar until it hurts like hell). He doesn't want to lose this all to drugs because he's worked so hard all his life for this moment.
Billie fights hard because he realizes that this life of drugs isn't getting him anywhere good anytime soon. He notes that his life is a mess and then it's not worth living if he's not going to change or be sober enough to enjoy and remember the things he set out to do (If this is what you call the good life, I want a better way to die). After all, what's the point of accomplishing something if you can't even remember it the next day?
Days go by as he is slowly improving. Instead of moaning and groaning about how tomorrow is so far away and that getting better impossible, he realizes that in the long run, he will get better (I don't want to think about tomorrow, it doesn't matter anyway). He soldiers on and even starts writing music again (I want to start a revolution, hear it on my radio).
He wants to make everyone proud and become better for the sake of being a better person for them (silence of a thousand cries).
The song cuts back to Somewhere Now, with Billie looking back at where he started. A song about his life on drugs and thinking that he needed to be drunk and high to enjoy performances again. Instead of being bored of his life, he realizes how his life is actually more exciting and livid than ever (dull to full). He's finally getting somewhere without having to worry about the future and compromising his health for the sake of fake happiness he never needed to pursue.
He refuses to let his life be run over by his self-made lies (I ain't going to stand in line no more) and finally gets better.
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
My name is Billie and I'm freaking out
I thought therefore I was
Well I can't really figure it out
I sit alone with my thoughts and prayers
Scream out my memories as if I was never there
Standing at the edge of the world
Is giving me the chills
Looking down the edge of the world
Lost in a tango it's freaking me out
Burning lights and blackouts
From the edge of the world
From the edge of the world
I'm like a punk rocker on Labor Day
How the hell did I work so hard to be born this way?
I never learned to read or write so well
But I can play the guitar until it hurts like hell
Standing at the edge of the world
Is giving me the chills
Looking down the edge of the world
Lost in a tango it's freaking me out
Burning lights and blackouts
From the edge of the world
From the edge of the world
If this is what you call the good life
I want a better way to die
If this is what you call the good life
I want a better way to die
Oh I don't want to think about tomorrow
Don't want to think about it, Oh
It doesn't matter anyway
Oh I, I wanna start a revolution
I wanna hear it on my radio
I'll put it off another day
I want a new conspiracy
And the silence of a thousand cries
So hurry up
I want a better way to die
I'm running late to somewhere now
That I don't want to be
Where the future and promises
Ain't what it used to be
I never wanted to compromise
Or bargain with my soul
How did a life on the wild side
Ever get so full?
Somewhere now
Oh I
Don't want to think about tomorrow
Don't want to think about it, Oh
It doesn't matter anyway
Oh I
I wanna start a revolution
I wanna hear it on my radio
I'll put it off another day
(I ain't gonna stand in line no more)
12. Ordinary World
Armstrong wrote this ballad for his movie of the same name, where he stars as a failed rocker turned family man, after director Lee Kirk asked him for a poignant song that his character might’ve written. It took him a couple tries, but he ended up with a song so strong that he wanted it on Green Day’s new album, as well. The final line gives the album a happy ending: “Baby, I don’t have much,” Armstrong sings over acoustic strumming and a gently chiming electric guitar, “but what we have is more than enough/Ordinary world.”
- Rolling Stone
The song basically sums up the realization that regardless of what’s happening or what we plan to do, that sometimes living in an ordinary world is all that we need.
The song starts off with the author’s hopes and dreams (where can I find the city of shining light) how he yearns to make it big and find a lavish place to live in. He plans to make an impact or leave a legacy on the world before he dies (how can I leave a buried treasure behind) but over time (days into years roll by) the author realizes no matter how big or small he is, he is going to live and die just like everyone else in this world.
He begins to look at other people, what their desires are (what would you wish) as the author finds himself lost even after spending most of his life searching for a reason to live (walk to the end of the earth and afar). He comes to the conclusion that life isn’t about trying to make it big and die as a superstar but rather; is something to be valued and appreciated for the little things (baby I don’t have much but what we have is more than enough).
- song meaning written by u/potlah on r/GreenDay
Where can I find the city of shining light
In an ordinary world
How can I leave a buried treasure behind
In an ordinary world
The days into years roll by
It's where that I live until I die
Ordinary world
What would you wish if you saw a shooting star
In an ordinary world
I'd walk to the end of the earth and afar
In an ordinary world
Baby, I don't have much
But what we have is more than enough
Ordinary world
Where can I find the city of shining light
In an ordinary world
How can I leave a buried treasure behind
In an ordinary world
Baby, I don't have much
But what we have is more than enough
Ordinary world