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Desperate
But not hopeless
I feel so useless
In the murder city
Desperate
But not helpless
The clock strikes midnight
In the murder city
I'm wide awake
After the riot
This demonstration
Of our anguish
This empty laughter
Has no reason
Like a bottle
Of your favorite poison
We are the last call
And it's too pathetic
Desperate
But not hopeless
I feel so useless
In the murder city
Desperate
But not helpless
The clock strikes midnight
In the murder city
Christian's crying
In the bathroom
And I just want to
Bum a cigarette
We've come so far,
We've been so wasted
It's written
All over our faces
We are the last call
And it's too pathetic
Desperate
But not hopeless
I feel so useless
In the murder city
Desperate
But not helpless
The clock strikes midnight
In the murder city
Desperate
But not hopeless
I feel so useless
In the murder city
Desperate
But not helpless
The clock strikes midnight
In the.
But not hopeless
I feel so useless
In the murder city
Desperate
But not helpless
The clock strikes midnight
In the murder city
I'm wide awake
After the riot
This demonstration
Of our anguish
This empty laughter
Has no reason
Like a bottle
Of your favorite poison
We are the last call
And it's too pathetic
Desperate
But not hopeless
I feel so useless
In the murder city
Desperate
But not helpless
The clock strikes midnight
In the murder city
Christian's crying
In the bathroom
And I just want to
Bum a cigarette
We've come so far,
We've been so wasted
It's written
All over our faces
We are the last call
And it's too pathetic
Desperate
But not hopeless
I feel so useless
In the murder city
Desperate
But not helpless
The clock strikes midnight
In the murder city
Desperate
But not hopeless
I feel so useless
In the murder city
Desperate
But not helpless
The clock strikes midnight
In the.
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chiristian and gloria are the last call, they are desperate but not hopeless, they're really pathetic because they know they really don't stand a chance against against this american society. gloria is idealistic, while christian is nihilistic, but they are both basically fighting for the same thing.
some people say this is a concept album and others a rock opera, but from what i've heard from green day, 21st century breakdown is a little bit of both. this song is easily one of my favorites in the album, and it's the main fight of the story, approaching the climax. i could be completely wrong, but i've been thinking about this whole album since it came out 2 years ago.
(also, does anyone agree with me about gloria being whatsername grown up?)
(Christian's crying In the bathroom And I just want to Bum a cigarette We've come so far, We've been so wasted It's written all over our faces) means to me that their are people in America that are in very difficult situations, yet all we care about is ourselves and we dont concern ourselves with the less fortunate or those who need help. the second line of that stanze to me means that all the pain and hardships they have endured is clearly visible at fist glance. the reason i am making all these references to america is because simpe green day has a history of writing anti american songs
They wrote the song after the small but well deserving Oakland riots following the murder of a young black man shot by the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) white police officer, who was overreacting to a situation going down on News Years Day around midnight. BART is the underground-aboveground subway system that links Oakland and San Francisco. Oakland is the Murder City not because of this singular tragic event but because we experience approximately 100 murders a year. Oaklanders wear it like a badge of honor but we are also embarrassed by it at the same time. We are a hard city of rebellion and riot and yet we are a very peace loving, beautiful, pot-friendly, diverse city of acceptance. A huge percentage of our murders are gang on gang and civilians are typically left out unless a rare stray bullet finds its way into someone's body.... so its tolerated. We all get stressed and upset when some non-affiliated person gets it in Oakland. One thing to also know is that the Black Panthers originated in Oakland as an anti-establishment pro-black rights militant group that believed in arming themselves as a show of force against a very racict Oakland Police Force in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although the Panthers did a lot of violent and criminal stuff, they also showed that an oppressed people were able to stand up and take on the man with fearless pride. Hell's Angeles also were headquartered and in some respects started in Oakland. I could not think of a better song to describe us Oaklanders. We are desperate but not hopeless. Dont f- with Oakland! We are sensitive, but we'll drop y'all.
The entire album takes place in Detroit, actually. It even says in "Peacemaker" that he is "a killjoy from Detroit."
American Idiot is the album that was talking about Oakland. He says at the end of "Homecoming," "home: that's Jingletown;" Jingletown being a small town in southern Oakland.
This song in particular is the foil to "Last of the American Girls" because Gloria just got done being praised for her good deeds and strong voice, and Christian is being dogged for not voicing his opinion. His friend is standing outside, not feeling sorry for him because it is all Christian's fault for not doing anything. He is "Desperate" for a voice but can't find one. He can take care of himself, but nobody else.