| Anti-Flag – One Trillion Dollars Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I both agree and disagree with that statement. First off, a pop band has absolutely no idea how to grasp such politcal understanding. There is obvious criticism in this song, but the entire pop-punk aspect is more sarcastic towards the general concept of the War in Iraq being a "fairy tale." Not that it's entirely conveyed through the lyrics of the song, the music video's cartoon, child like drawings and fold out book give the impression that the government tries to make evyone believe that everything is just hunky-dory and that it's no big deal that we're spending billions of dollars in Iraq. Anti-Flag is also pointing out that there are so many other ways that the country can spend the money and yet we're wasting all that money on a pointless war. Try that on for size. |
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| Anti-Flag – One Trillion Dollars Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| I personally love this song, and although it differs from typical Anti-Flag anarchical music it does a great job in proving a point and opening eyes. I’m sick and tired of people saying that bands keep on ‘selling out’ because they perform different styles of music. I am also, however, fed up with people thinking that they love Anti-Flag because of this song because it doesn’t accurately summarize Anti-Flag’s untraditional style. Selling out would be a band protesting against war in all of their albums and then going overseas and performing for the troops to give them a ‘morale boost’ and tell them that what they’re fighting for is right. Experimenting with different styles of music isn’t selling out. Justin Sane does a solo act where, although he has the same message, the music is acoustic and more mellow. Does that mean that he sold out? True A-F fans know that just because they do a few pop-punk songs that they haven't 'sold out'. Rank-n-File, which is considered to be pop-punk, came out in 2003 and The Terror State and For Blood and Empire are still amazing political-punk-rock albums. And if you truly are an Anti-Flag fan, you wouldn't care. You'd know that they do what they can to get their message out, no matter what. They want to see Bush out of office and the corruption in America vanish, and if they change up their musical style for one song, so be it. What matters is that 97% of their songs are hardcore, fuck-the-government music that has a small but extremely loyal following, probably one of the strongest in the music business. The main goal in creating music is not only to please people, but to broadcast a message and to prove your point. If you don’t like expression and intent in your music, stay away from Anti-Flag, because those are those are two of the biggest things that make them such a powerful band. | |
| Green Day – Holiday Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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alright. this song to me is definitely anti-war, and im sure most of the people here feel that way. Holiday comes right after Jesus of Suburbia, and i think that JOS is ready to find himself and differentiate himself from everybody and everything he’s grown up with. I'm probably wrong about this, but it's possible that JOS is in a bar, conversing with soldiers that are on their “Holiday.” They’re talking about how much shit bush has put them through and all the terror they’ve seen. The “falling rain” is bullets that they have to avoid as they’re coming towards them, and the “ones who died without a name” are the soldiers that lost their lives who never got identified. The “drums pounding out of time” is all the gunfire and missiles that are exploding around them. The protesters are obviously protesting the war. They’re having the protests, putting bags over monuments and gags in their mouths to demonstrate their lack of speech in the government. The soldiers are telling JOS about how they just want the war to be over, and how the government does everything possible to win. Idk, this is just my interpretation. Let me know what you think ::super sinte:: |
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| Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| alright. im not trying to bash anybody or their entries, or their opinions, bu if you're just going to say "WOW THIS SONG IS SO FREAKING AWESOME" without backing it up, don't post it. Clearly people are visiting this site, and looking up this particular song, because they like it. So don't post a message if you aren't telling your interpretation of the song. | |
| Green Day – Give Me Novacaine Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| i definately like that theory, so in Give me Novacaine is the person refering to Jimmy Whatsername? because that's what truly confuses me, and if i could know who's talking in Give me Novacaine then I can make a lot more sense of the whole album. | |
| Green Day – Give Me Novacaine Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| yeah, i see where your coming from, but it may be somebody else talking in this song, possibly whatsername | |
| Green Day – Give Me Novacaine Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| i know a lot of people are saying that the JOS is Jimmy, but that doesnt always make that much sense. he says that "jimmy gave him something" im thinking that Jimmys a badboy that jOS met on his way to a better life, it seems to make more sense | |
| Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| no, actually its not. if you havent figured it out already, green day songs go a lot deeper than that. that's part of why they're so successful | |
| Green Day – Give Me Novacaine Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| right now im working on the whole album at once, im going to start a web site to share my theories | |
| Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| Check out my other posts on Are We the Waiting?, Jesus of Suburbia, Extraordinary Girl, and Give me Novacaine | |
| Green Day – Extraordinary Girl Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Extraordinary Girl is the only song on this site that I think collectively has been interpreted right. I’m no expert but I really can’t stand it when some of the main ideas are obvious but are missed completely. This song is about whatsername, supposed to be taking place right after he meets her (as in Give me Novacaine). Jimmy is saying that she’s so special that she’s out of this world, almost an angel. I think that he feels that she’s saving him after a long journey to find a new life and a new person inside of the old. “He lacks the courage in his mind Like a child left behind Like a pet left in the rain” is describing that because he’s so young in his new identity, he doesn’t have the strength to get to know her more and help her with her problems. I like the idea about the “no child left behind act”, I think it really hits the target. “She’s all alone again Wiping tears from her eyes” is what I feel to be her wanting to get to know Jimmy, but because he’s insecure, he won’t make an advance. Or it could mean that she has some problem that she’s upset about, and Jimmy hates himself for not being able to help her. “She sees the mirror of herself An image she wants to sell To anyone willing to buy.” I like hannagin’s theory about whatsername being a prostitute, it really seems fitting. She sees herself and wants to sell herself to anybody who may want her, which may be describing the fact that she’s been verbally abused or not loved as a child. “He steals the image in her kiss From her hearts apocalypse From the one called whatsername” may be saying that he takes away whatsername’s feeling of wanting to sell herself, as to take away the pain from her, if only temporarily. At the end of the song Billy Joe sings “She's all alone again Wiping the tears from her eyes Some days he feels like dying Some days he's not worth trying Now that they're both up on it She gets so sick of crying”, which is describing the fact that when he kisses her, it removes her pain temporarily, but some days its just futile to try and make her feel better. He’ll try again eventually though, because she brightened his life and he’ll always be grateful for that. |
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| Green Day – Give Me Novacaine Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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So there’s some good theories listed about this song. I’m not shooting any of them down or saying that they’re absolutely wrong but I’m going to disagree and build on the theory that it’s the newly transformed Jesus of Suburbia (now Jimmy) talking to/about whatsername. When I read the posts about American Idiot songs, I really notice that people are missing the fact that American Idiot is a Punk Rock Opera, so an idea that may not make sense by itself or may lack evidence of making sense by itself can fit together perfectly with the other songs. I really don’t think that Jimmy’s talking about drugs, mostly based on the fact that he’s talking about a kiss goodnight. He’s talking about a feeling, but I really think he’s talking about love. He’s never felt it before, because as mentioned in “Jesus of Suburbia,” nobody’s ever been there for him, especially his mom and “Brad,” and I really think this refers more to Billy Joe’s dad, who died when BJ was a kid. The sense that his mom was never there could relate to the fact that she was picking up extra shifts at work to make up for lack of a second paycheck coming in. It’s a “Bitter sweet migraine” because the love he’s getting feels so good, but because it’s been introduced so recently it’s overwhelming. It makes him feel special and like he belongs, a feeling that he’s never experienced. Whatsername is giving him so much attention and caring that it’s building up inside of him, and because nobody’s ever been around, he himself can’t describe or release the feeling that are bottling up inside of him. He’s asking for the novacain because he just can’t deal with the pressure building up inside of him. The line “Kiss the demons out of my dreams I get the funny feeling, that’s alright Jimmy says it's better than here” is a bit controversial in my mind, it’s not quite clear to me. I’ve basically established that Jesus of Suburbia transforms into Jimmy, but why does he then talk about Jimmy. The only thing I can come up with is that this is whatsername talking to Jimmy. So depending on where you stand on this issue, you could either see it as Jimmy talking, Whatsername talking, or both of them talking to each other. I really feel strongly about it being Jimmy’s point of view, but it’s only my opinion. |
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| Green Day – Are We the Waiting? Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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Ok. So we have some brave attempts to solve the mystery of this song. I think a lot of people are trying to figure out songs off of American Idiot but are really missing the fact that GD produced this CD to be a big saga, something to be listened to at once, one track after another. So. Please take that into account as you read this, because I may (or may not) refer to other songs. So don’t yell at me if you aren’t familiar with the rest of American Idiot. And once again I'll reiterate my theory, which is that Billy Joe is writing about himself and Green Day as the Jesus of Suburbia. The Jesus of Suburbia (from now on referred to as the JOS) has left his ghostown. He hates it there, he’s an outcast, and he’s better off as far away from there as possible. He’s the “American Idiot” and nobody can change him, partially because that’s the way the government’s brought him up. So in the song “Jesus of Suburbia” the JOS contemplates leaving, reviews what his life has been like, and leaves. I haven’t really gotten around to getting in depth with “Holiday” but it’s a bit of an angry song, he’s talking about everything wrong in the world, people who tried to make a difference but just fucked stuff up even more. “Blvd. of Broken Dreams” is the JOS all by himself, lonely, but happy that there aren’t any psychotic “normal” people around to point out how different he is. So finally. “Are We the Waiting?” is when the JOS is still waiting to get away from the norm, and dreams about the perfect civilization in his head. He talks about the city, skyscrapers and city lights, and also the burning of his old “dirty town.” He’s first “lost” in his old home, but now is “found” while he’s dreaming about a better life. He’s asking himself if he’s “the waiting” because he’s been hoping so long to get out of the hellhole that was his life, until he decides to leave it all in hopes of finding something better. I see the line “Forget me nots and second thoughts Live in isolation,” as him traveling, the forget-me-nots being flowers he sees on his way to the city, and the isolation being the aloneness he feels in Blvd. of Broken Dreams. At this point in American Idiot the JOS is becoming a bit removed from who he used to be. He’s been gone so long from the “rage and love, the story of my life” that he’s starting to forget who he is. He says that the “Jesus of Suburbia” is a lie because now that he’s found out who he truly is, he realizes that he’s the JOS and people have been following him because he’s different, and people look up to him as a God because of it. It’s right here that the Jesus of Suburbia transforms into St. Jimmy and really leads the quest to find himself and a new life. He asks “are we the waiting” because he has so patiently waited to break out of his old self and become somebody entirely different, which signals the pickup to the rest of the CD and an increase in tempo, revolving around the story line in the songs. this is just my opinion, check out my other interpretations for Jesus of Suburbia and Blvd. of Broken Dreams |
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| Green Day – Boulevard of Broken Dreams Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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So I started reading all the posts that are here, and I got about 50 down and I realized that none of them reflect about what the songs actually about (except for the one by Underbelly). I would like to point out one thing to all of you people that claim that this song really sucks and brings the rest of the album down. By itself, on the radio and whatnot, it’s ok, it’s not any of Green Day’s finest. But when its played in sequence with the rest of the album it fits in perfectly. The idea of the American Idiot album is that it’s telling a story, a story I strongly believe to be about Billy Joe and Green Day themselves. After deciding to leave in “Jesus of Suburbia,” the JOS (who I theorize is Billy Joe writing about himself) is trying to find a new home. He’s just left everything he has hoping to find a better life. “I walk a lonely road The only one that I have ever known Don't know where it goes but it's home to me and I walk alone” is describing the fact that his hometown was where he’s been his whole entire life, and its everything he hates. He’s walking alone because he’s the “American Idiot” and he’s realized that he’s different than everybody else, and because he’s separated, he walks alone. “What's fucked up and everything’s all right Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive” is saying that he’s been by himself for so long, not only walking alone but in his hometown, that he has to make sure he’s still breathing, because the people trying to control him have killed his spirit. That may also be a part of why the song’s so dark. This song basically only has one meaning because its repetitive. I gave it a shot, let me know what you think. ::super sinte:: |
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| Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia Lyrics | 19 years ago |
| thanks man, i try. | |
| Green Day – Jesus of Suburbia Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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I really hope this thing doesn’t have a word limit. But anyways, I'll share my interpretation of this song, despite the fact my points may have been covered by somebody else. For all those that are fans of Fuse (TV station)...you may have seen 100% or AOL Sessions with GD or one of the many other Green Day shows…all of which have a blurb about some of the songs. But to get on with it… my interpretation… [Part I: Jesus of Suburbia]: I think that Billy Joe is describing himself as the JOS. This is basically the introduction to the rest of the CD, American idiot was describing how he was the “American Idiot”, who hates being manipulated by the media and just hates current day America, the “alienation.” In Part one of JOS he’s describing how much he hates himself, but is saying how he’s like every one else in America, so the bad he does doesn’t really matter. “No one ever died for my sins in hell As far as I can tell At least the ones I got away with.” “But there's nothing wrong with me This is how I'm supposed to be” means that that although he doesn’t like who he is, he’s the way he was created by the American government, so he’s the way he’s supposed to be. “The living room of my private womb While the moms and Brads are away” is saying that he’s isolated himself because the people he depends on and looks up to are never there. “To fall in love and fall in debt To alcohol and cigarettes And Mary Jane to keep me insane And doing someone else's cocaine” is the fact that everyone these days is one of the above, and usually hate themselves for being that way. [Part II: City Of The Damned]: This is the part of the song where Billy Joe decides to break away from the life he’s always led. “The motto was just a lie It says "home is were your heart is" But what a shame Cause everyone's heart Doesn't beat the same” is saying that he’s not like everybody else, so a regular home doesn’t suit him. At his regular hangout, the 7-11, he decides to leave everything. “City of the dead At the end of another lost highway Signs misleading to nowhere” is the description of JOS’s hometown, a ghostown, so it’s not worth staying. “But it only confirmed that The center of the earth Is the end of the world And I could really care less” is saying that what he read in the “bathroom stall” was only reassuring him that he should leave. [Part III: I don't care] : He doesn’t care about what other people think. It’s his life and nobody else should give a crap about how he spends it. “Everyone is so full of shit Born and raised by hypocrites” is talking about the government, they raise everybody the same, so there’s no diversity between a land of hypocritical zombies. He refers to non-adults as “disciples of the Jesus of Suburbia” meaning that the smart ones, who have a mind of their own, don’t want to be like everybody else. That line kind of reflects off of some of Green Day’s material, most of which has an underlying theme of being different than everybody else, which also refers to Billie being both the lead of Green Day and the JOS. “We are the kids of war and peace” is saying that no matter where they’re from, teenagers like diversity and don’t like the government. The “land of make believe” refers to America, so the CEOs and officials and whatnot don’t like him, henceforth not believing in him. [Part IV: Dearly beloved]: Dearly beloved is definitely one of my favorite tracks on the CD. I think it’s the JOS looking back on a memory or thought in his life, because it’s much more mellow and is looking for help, not to escape the hell he’s in during American Idiot and the earlier appendices in JOS. It’s the JOS asking if somebody close to him thought he was truly different (“disturbed”) or if all of America was socially screwed up. I’m not quite sure what Billie Joe’s referring to about the “space that’s in between insane and insecure.” My best guess is the gap between America’s youth and the people who control them. The second half of this appendix is looking to therapy to help him with the void in his life, probably due to the fact that the important people in his life have never been there, as said in the first appendix. He’s asking if he’s retarded or overjoyed because of the fact that he’s different and is happy that he is different. “For lack of a better word, and that’s my best excuse” is saying that he’s being persecuted because he’s different. [Part V: Tales of another broken home]: This is when JOS finally runs away after contemplating staying where he is. He decides that anywhere is better than where he is, somewhere where he won’t be persecuted and exactly the opposite of the “town that doesn’t exist”. So he runs away, leaving everything he knows behind, and doesn’t regret his choice one bit. He’s “running away from pain” possibly inflicted by the people that were never there, which can be tied in to the death of his father when he was a child. The whole song is the beginning of the Punk Rock Opera that American Idiot is. Jesus of Suburbia introduces the listener into what the rest of American Idiot is about. |
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