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Top 5 Happy/Positive VS Top 5 Sad/Angry Green Day Songs


Justin1

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Green Day is known for writing many different types of songs to reflect every human emotion. I thought it would be fun to select a top 5 personal favourite happy/positive songs and a top 5 Angry/Sad songs to see where they resonate with most people. 

Happy/Love Songs:

1. Good Riddance (Enjoy every moment of life)

2. Church On Sunday (Compromise and sacrifice in a relationship)

3. X-Kid (Let go of your past and be a responsibile adult)

4. Last Night On Earth (Undying love)

5. Stay The Night (Intense, non-committed sexuality)

3 Honourable mentions - Carpe Diem, Hold  On, Waiting 

Sad/Angry:

1. Armatash Shanks (Intense personal anguish)

2. FOD (Pure hatred)

3. Having a Blast (Planning mass murder)

4. WMUWSE (Death of a loved one)

5. Restless Heart Syndrome (Desperation and drug addiction)

3 honourable mentions - Platypus, BOBD and Bang Bang 

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I like this idea. But just as a note can people who want to post please include something about why you've chosen the songs (as OP has done) rather than just writing a list of them, to promote discussion and avoid a "list thread" :thumbsup:

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I would argue that Good Riddance and X-kid are not happy/positive songs but are more sad and bitter than sweet.  One is about the loss of love and the other is the tragic death of a friend. 

But if we are going with the ones that resonate most for you personally in either a happy or sad way, then I suppose it’s about whatever meaning you bring to it and could vary.

So the songs that make me happiest would be the ones that feel like pure love songs:

1. Last Night On Earth

2. When it’s Time

3. Last of the American Girls

4. 80

5. Sweet Sixteen

God I’m such a hopeless romantic!

And the songs that make me saddest:

1. Rotting

2. Restless Heart Syndrome

3. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

4. Suffocate

5. Wake Me Up When September Ends

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Yeah I def wouldn't call X-Kid a happy song. Also Having A Blast, despite it's lyrical content sounds cheery as fuck like the rest of Dookie :lol:

I think most of their happy sounding songs would come from Dookie and Warning and most of their sad or angry songs would come from Insomniac or Nimrod

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28 minutes ago, Christian's Inferno! said:

Yeah I def wouldn't call X-Kid a happy song. Also Having A Blast, despite it's lyrical content sounds cheery as fuck like the rest of Dookie :lol:

I think most of their happy sounding songs would come from Dookie and Warning and most of their sad or angry songs would come from Insomniac or Nimrod

I actually meant to touch on that in the post. I meant the list to be solely about the lyrics. There are a lot of Green Day songs that have a poppy, upbeat sound.. but are negative as f*** lol.

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Well, the first angry/sad song I think of is definitely '86'.

These are not ranked, just ordered by how I thought of them.

Happy/Love:

1. Sweet 16 - It's just so sweet (no pun intended) and genuine

2. Last Night On Earth - I've always thought it was beautiful and it's about dedication

3. Poprocks and Coke - I like this song because it's about being there for someone no matter what

4. When It's Time - It's pretty obvious

5. The One That I Want - This song is about longing for someone

Honorable mention: Dominated Love Slave - It's hilarious and fun

 

Sad/Angry:

1. Say Goodbye - It's about the tragedy of losing people too soon because of pointless violence

2. 86 - This feels like one of their angriest songs to me and really captures well what they must have felt at that time

3. Whatsername - Parting ways with someone and never knowing if you'll see them again

4. Wake Me Up When September Ends - How could this not be on the list?

5. The Forgotten - The piano in this one is really beautiful and adds to the sadness of the song

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I am rubbish at this sort of thing, change my mind every five minutes but I have just been listening to Nimrod and really, it sounds so positive, just don't think about the lyrics.  I think BJ is the king of writing something which sounds so great and upbeat but on closer look is so dark and also, some of my favourites are his melancholy songs, e.g. Whatsername etc.  

Interesting to read peoples thoughts though.

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1 hour ago, Montclare said:

Surprised no one has said Lazy Bones yet for the depressing songs.

I was going to it came close but for my list at least it was songs that made me feel the most sad and that song felt more sad for him than for me as a listener, if that makes sense. It was up there though. 

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4 hours ago, Montclare said:

Surprised no one has said Lazy Bones yet for the depressing songs.

It'd totally be my no 1. It's SUPER depressing. The combo of a cheerful melody and minor chords would probably make any song depressing enough but the lyrics take it to a whole new level. It does convey what feeling depressed is like imo.

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13 minutes ago, Jane Lannister said:

It'd totally be my no 1. It's SUPER depressing. The combo of a cheerful melody and minor chords would probably make any song depressing enough but the lyrics take it to a whole new level. It does convey what feeling depressed is like imo.

I'd probably have it as my number 3, after Restless Heart Syndrome and WMUWSE.  And the Irving Plaza performance of WMUWSE is easily the all time most depressing (yet my favorite) performance of it.  If you don't feel something when watching that, you have no soul.

Happiest is much harder.  Even love songs like When It's Time and LNOE still have traces of melancholy to them.  You have to look at a love song with, let's say, less substance to it, like Youngblood.

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4 minutes ago, Montclare said:

I'd probably have it as my number 3, after Restless Heart Syndrome and WMUWSE.  And the Irving Plaza performance of WMUWSE is easily the all time most depressing (yet my favorite) performance of it.  If you don't feel something when watching that, you have no soul.

Happiest is much harder.  Even love songs like When It's Time and LNOE still have traces of melancholy to them.  You have to look at a love song with, let's say, less substance to it, like Youngblood.

Yes, those two would be up there for me too. I don't remember that performance really well anymore tbh and I'm not sure if I can make myself watch it - it feels weird to do it just because everyone says it's depressing :P

I agree, it's hard to find a truly happy song...even "Happiness" is about being slightly unhappy. :dry: I'd go with Forever Now. That's the closest to happy I can think of.

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5 hours ago, Montclare said:

Surprised no one has said Lazy Bones yet for the depressing songs.

I remember listening to it when BJ was in rehab thinking "geez it was a really dark time for the guy"☹️

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I don't know... I'll post 5 songs able to make me happy singing it and 5 ''angry'' songs able to make me happy singing it, haha :-)

 

HAPPY 5: ''Scattered'', ''Private Ale'', ''Only of You'', ''Stuart And The Ave.'', ''Jackass''

''SAD'' 5: ''Disappearing Boy'', ''Welcome to Paradise'', ''Stuck With Me'', ''Suffocate'', ''Do Da Da''

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21 hours ago, Green Day In Seattle said:

 

4. Redundant - No words can describe the love he feels

 

I think Redundant is more about a dying relationship, the way I see it, saying "I love you" became so usual that it lost its meaning and doesn't suffice anymore to fix the problems they face. Didn't Billie Joe say he wrote it about his marriage with Adrienne ? I've always found the lyrics really depressing.

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3 minutes ago, mrduckygoosy said:

I think Redundant is more about a dying relationship, the way I see it, saying "I love you" became so usual that it lost its meaning and doesn't suffice anymore to fix the problems they face. Didn't Billie Joe say he wrote it about his marriage with Adrienne ? I've always found the lyrics really depressing.

Yeah it’s about a relationship that’s just going through the motions doing the same things over and over in a dull routine. 

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Happy:

1. Still Breathing 

2. American Idiot

3. Warning 

4. Waiting

5. Whatsername

Honorable mentions: Murder City, Kill the DJ, Revolution Radio

Sad:

1. 21 Guns 

2. Boulevard of Broken Dreams 

3. Misery 

4. Good Riddance

5. Brain Stew

Honorables mentions: Ordinary World, Pulling Teeth, The Forgotten, Walk Away, Redundant 

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Sad/Angry

Whatsername - I love how this one goes through the motions of a break-up. From the pretend apathy, to sad, to angry, to reflective. The perfect album closure.
 

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Happy positive green day

 

Church on Sunday 

Stay the night

2000 light years away

Youngblood

King for a day (fun/ silly)

 

Sad angry 

 

Good riddance TOYL

September ends

Bang bang

Platypus I hate you

Babs who?

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I guess I never really payed attention to the lyrics very closely in Redundant. I just always thought it was pretty. But now that I consider it, "choreographed and lack of passion" makes the meaning pretty clear. Haha.  

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3 hours ago, Green Day In Seattle said:

I guess I never really payed attention to the lyrics very closely in Redundant. I just always thought it was pretty. But now that I consider it, "choreographed and lack of passion" makes the meaning pretty clear. Haha.  

I think we have all had relationships like this, too. That's something I love about Billie Joe as a songwriter. He makes songs that tell his story and relate to a lot of people and different situations. This song in particular is something you don't hear much on the radio - most radio hits are bad break ups and sex appeal. I really appreciate his connection to himself and others in this. 

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Happy songs:

1. ¡Viva La Gloria! - I'd argue this is their happiest song. It describes someone who's faced hardship, but has overcome that to hold the torch and give hope to others who can't. In a literal sense, Billie described Gloria as his positive side that he aspires to be. It's also 4:11 of Christian praising Gloria, so that's pretty cute, too. She might go downhill later in the album, but at this point, she's inspiring.

2. Still Breathing - a generic choice, but still. I remember when it came out and the GDC thread was full of emotional stories about living through hardship. It brought people together and reminded us to cherish life. A lot of people mentioned it in their fan stories for my book. I do think of Billie's story when I hear it, but I also think of my own and others' experiences. When I forget I'm glad I made it through, it reminds me.

3. She - even though it's about someone who feels "locked up in a world that's been planned out for you," it encourages and believes in her to stand up to that. It's intended to be empowering and it is.

4. Minority - another empowering song about being a misfit. It's fitting that it's used as the "thank you" song at shows, where it feels like a celebration.

5. When It's Time - I've picked this over Last Night on Earth because it's a straight up love song. LNOE is a better song and more romantic for sure, but since it refers to the narrator's self-destructive habits, it's bittersweet.

Honourable mentions: Stop When the Red Lights Flash (reciprocated lust with someone who makes the narrator comfortable); 2000 Light Years Away (positive take on long distance); Wow! That's Loud (straight up praise); She's a Rebel (infatuation) and 99 Revolutions (fighting back).

Sad songs:

1. Uptight - it doesn't just feel like a song about suicide, but about being frighteningly close to it with lines like "paid of all my debts to myself" and "suicide's last call." The latter is especially sad because it's like even death doesn't have time for the narrator.

2. Brutal Love - the ultimate longing song. It personifies how you can be so close to something you want so much, but love isn't enough. Probably the most heartbreaking of the trilogy love songs.

3. Worry Rock - really captures the deterioration of a relationship and the desperate desire to fix it.

4. Lights Out - a lot like Uptight. It captures the feeling of hopeless depression.

5. State of Shock - it's between this and Lazy Bones, but since it hasn't been mentioned yet I'll go with this one. I interpret it as going past feeling suicidal, to a scary state of dissociative apathy where you're not even sure if life or death should concern you.

Honourable mentions: Whatsername (regrets and reflection); X-Kid (suicide); Christian's Inferno (self-destruction); ¿Viva La Gloria? (an inspiring character turned to drugs) and Amy (death from addiction).

Shoutout to the whole Love is for Losers album too. I'd definitely have some of those on the list if they were Green Day songs. Billie is the master of making sad songs sound happy - that's a huge part of Green Day's appeal I think!

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