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SotW: Holiday


HolidayContradiction

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To start the new Song of the Week I wanted to do the song Holiday. It is the third song off of Green Day’s studio album American Idiot and it’s also featured on their live albums, Bullet in a Bible and Awesome as F**k. It is almost eight years since it was released as a single and it is closely connected to the song Boulevard of Broken Dreams both through their music videos and through the lyrics.

It did okay in the charts, with two 1st places, one 5th place and some more in the US, 11th place in the UK, 13th in Ireland and New Zealand, 19th in Norway, 21st in Canada, 24th in Australia and only 50th in Germany. Did the chart results influence your experience of the song in any way?


Green Day has talked a lot about the album in general and the song Holiday, along with the rest of the album, is clearly politically loaded. Billie Joe said in an interview (which can be found at NPR music) that he thinks “Holiday is a series of questions. It's like, you're trying to battle your way out of your own ignorance”. Also before every time they play it live Billie Joe screams “This song is not Anti-American, it’s anti-war!” A lot of people assumes it is against president Bush and the wars he started as a president. What do you think? Is that it, or is there even a deeper meaning behind it?

What does the song mean to me? Holiday is the song that got me into Green Day. I heard it for the first time when a guy tried to play it on guitar at my school and somebody said that it was Green Day. The same day I went home and asked my older brother what song it was the guy kept playing all the time and luckily he did. I must have been 12-13 years old at that time and my understanding of English was far from what it is today. After some translating and looking up the song meanings though, I understood that it wasn’t a song about taking a holiday or just the beginning of the rest of our lives, but that the title was merely a metaphor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFqYQ0OlrsI

“A representative of Deutschland now has the floor!” Here is Green Day performing Holiday live at Rock am Ring in Germany, 2005! After watching half of the live videos out there, my choice were between this HD video, or the live performance for Awesome As F**k, or a video that annoyed me because the camera man only followed Billie Joe through the whole song. I mean, come on. He’s not a solo artist, just the frontman and we want to see the rest of the band too!


Lyric:

Hear the sound of the falling rain,
Coming down like and Armageddon flame,
The shame,
The ones who died without a name,
Hear the dogs howling out of key,
To a hymn called "Faith and Misery",
And bleed the company lost the war today

I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On Holiday

Hear the drum pounding out of time,
Another protester has crossed the line,
To find the money's on the other side,
Can I get another Amen?
There's a flag wrapped around the score of men,
A gag,
A plastic bag on a monument

The representative from California has the floor

Zieg Heil to the president gas man,
Bombs away is your punishment,
Pulverize the Eiffel towers,
Who criticize your government,
Bang, Bang goes the broken glass,
Kill all the fags that don't agree,
Trials by fire setting fire,
Is not a way that's meant for me,
Just cause,
Just cause because we're outlaws, yeah!

I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives,
I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives

This is our lives on holiday

This is my take on the song, but I'm interested in hearing yours. Feel free to give your opinion on it here and also check out the SOTW reboot thread for what songs will be next and when/how you can apply for them, or just to let us know what songs you would like to see there soon.

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Yay SotW!

Holiday was my first favorite song by Green Day, I think. I think I found the screaming part liberating or something.

Anyhow, got me into Green Day together with BOBD.

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This is one of my top 10 Green Day songs. It's probably the fourth one I heard. I think it's a great song and I like the fact that it's in a minor key, which I wish was in more Green Dsy songs (Holiday and Boulevard of Broken Dreams are the only minor key songs on AI). I feel like people's ignorance to what's going on in the world is part of the reason people still vote for the Republican Party. One of their best songs.

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First, Marte, great OP and great way to restart SofW.

Second, Holiday is one mine and hubby's favorite Green Day songs. The video was one of the reasons we got back into liking the band and will always have a special place in our hearts for that alone.

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Favorite song of all time, it's what made me discover Green Day too, so I'm right with ya there OP

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First, Marte, great OP and great way to restart SofW.

Second, Holiday is one mine and hubby's favorite Green Day songs. The video was one of the reasons we got back into liking the band and will always have a special place in our hearts for that alone.

Thanks Mar :)

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Fantastic OP! Kudos :D

I had a different view to it, I intertwined it directly to the story line of AI, making JOS the main character in a journey away from Jingle Town and towards freedom and the inevitable run in with St.Jimmy.

I just thought of the music video as sort of a video journal of Jimmy's, showing how he almost re-lives his old life, with different people, as well as taking an anti-Bush political stand which in the end makes him bitter because of the wars he can't do anything with until WMUWSE happens and my eyes tears up.

EDIT, this deserves the pin of honor, IMO.

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Fantastic OP! Kudos :D

I had a different view to it, I intertwined it directly to the story line of AI, making JOS the main character in a journey away from Jingle Town and towards freedom and the inevitable run in with St.Jimmy.

I just thought of the music video as sort of a video journal of Jimmy's, showing how he almost re-lives his old life, with different people, as well as taking an anti-Bush political stand which in the end makes him bitter because of the wars he can't do anything with until WMUWSE happens and my eyes tears up.

EDIT, this deserves the pin of honor, IMO.

Never really thought of it that way, as connected with the music video to WMUWSE before... Interesting.

And thanks Ola :)

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Around the age of 13, Holiday and American Idiot were the two songs that showed me that political songs are not necessarily boring.
Also, I remember getting a thrill over a bold political statement for the first time ever, when I heard "zieg heil to the president gasman... ect." on Bullet in a Bible.
Even though I can't say American politics, or politics in general, were very relevant to me at age 13, I still somehow felt the song.

I love how the lyrics are very political, but still keeps an artistic or peotic quality, whatever you wish to call it.

It's not just getting a message out, it's also painting it with intriguing metaphors woven in strong language. For example...

"Hear the dogs howling out of key / To a hymn called faith and misery"

I take that line to represent all the "stray dogs" of society. The people politically misrepresentated, who does not want to live under a certain establishment but are too unorganised or "out of key" to really make any difference. I really like dog metaphors actually, either way.

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This was also the song that got me into Green Day. I had heard Good Riddance before, but I had no idea it was GD until years later. I listened to this song religiously during the AI era, as well as The Saints are Coming (U2 is my other favorite band), and that connection to American Idiot is how I came to truly "discover" Green Day when I decided to check out the rest of the album. Unfortunately, that severe overplaying early on has somewhat alienated me to it, and I've moved on to Letterbomb and Homecoming, but Holiday will always hold a special place in my heart as a fan.

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What a great OP Marte !

Yes Holiday is an awesome song. Few of my friends who are not avid Green Day fans but have listened to Holiday and liked it a lot. Imagine a guy who rarely listens to English music and he says he likes Holiday very much ! This song makes me proud. Another thing I like about this song is the bass solo which is epic. It was the first bass solo that I did in my bass so it stands special for me.

The music is catchy and energetic, it creates a jumping atmosphere which is awesome. I hope whenever they tour India, they keep this song in their set-list. Lyrically, I think the song talks about the political situation that was going on when AI was released. Its basically a Fuck You to the Government and depicts the surroundings on a general common man during that situation, how it is uncertain and whatever is happening.

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Holiday is like any other song on American Idiot.But it's really catchy and delivers a very important message.There was not a better choice for Song of The Week.

I feel with East Jesus Nowhere, Green Day tried to remake Holiday in 21st Century Breakdown.

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Oh Holiday! This is one of my favorite GD songs! I love how huge it sounds. Those drums and that bass are just to die for! :wub: And of course the message is superb too.

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I remember my first day at school after discovering GD, I sang "This is our lives on holiday" so much that my friends almost went crazy. :lol: Love the riff of this song!

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It's close, but I have to say this is my favourite Green Day song. In fact it's probably my favourite song ever; I will never grow bored listening to it.

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My favourite Green Day song and also my favourite Green Day video. Great lyrics, a real crowd pleaser live, even friends who are not Green Day fans state they like it. When it is on in the car I have to put the volume up VERY LOUD so passengers cannot hear my awful out of tune singing. One day this song will get me a speeding ticket.

What is there not to like ?

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Holiday is such a great song. It's something that gets you pumped up and I love whenever Billie pulls out the megaphone live! :happy:

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I love how the pyros explode exactly when he sings Bang Bang when they play this song live.

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