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SOTW "Rusty James"


Mr Panda

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This time the Song of The Week is Rusty James.
It is from the 1st installment of Green Day's Trilogy, iUno! which was released on 25th September 2012 and the song features 2nd last in the album.
The song has got somewhat a catchy tone to it(and many people claims it to be Vol 2.0 of the track Scattered from Nimrod).

Songfacts.com quotes Rusty James as "the song which finds Bille Joe Armstrong singing about Green Day's place in music after so many years, as he celebrates the punk-rock bromance of "the last gang in town.""

from the mouth of Billie Joe Armstrong: "The song title is from the name of a character in the book Rumble Fish .
The song itself is about my old punk-rock scene and the survivors of initial starters of that scene and how some of them didn't really live up to their promises and just became finger pointers a little bit.
And then they disappeared. And just the feeling that Green Day, we're still here. Where are you? What happened to all the values that you were bringing to the table? Now you're gone.
All the things you were telling people to fight for, you're not fighting for them anymore. So that's probably one of the more bitter songs I've written." --As given in GDA

The above lines are in reference to the SE Hinton book and 1983 Francis ford Coppola movie, Rumble Fish starring Matt Dillon, Mickey rourke, and Diane Lane.
The name Rusty James is the main Character of the story, played by matt Dillon. This song somewhat really runs parallel with that story.

Lyics:
Intro


guitar notes from ultimateguitar.com(don't blame me if it's wrong :P )

Intro:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------10101010-9-9--------------------------------------------------|
|-----9-9-9-9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9------------------------------------------|
|-----9-9-9-9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9------------------------------------------| x4
|-----7-7-7-7--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------10101010-9-9--------------------------------------------------|
|-----9-9-9-9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9------------------------------------------|
|-----9-9-9-9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9------------------------------------------| x2
|-----7-7-7-7--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|




Verse 1:



Verse 1 (x2) (Play the first note open and then palm mute the rest):

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----9-99999999-----9-99999999---------------------------------------------|
|-----9-99999999-----9-99999999-----7-77777777-----7-77777777---------------|
|-----7-77777777-----6-66666666-----7-77777777-----7-77777777---------------|
|-----------------------------------5-55555555-----5-55555555---------------|

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----9-99999999------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----9-99999999-----6-66666666-----7-77777777-----9-99999999---------------|
|-----7-77777777-----6-66666666-----7-77777777-----9-99999999---------------|
|--------------------4-44444444-----5-55555555-----7-77777777---------------|


This whiskey sour, amateur hour
Raise your glass and toast your friends
Some day we will fight again, well
Your enemies, your tragedies
Pocket knifes and rusty chains
Where in the hell is the old gang, yeah?

Pre-Chorus:



|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------8888-------8888-------------------------------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----999999-------------------------------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----999999-------------------------------|
|-----222222-----444444-----555555-----777777-------------------------------|

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------------------8888----------88888888------------------------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----9999999999999------------------------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----9999999999999------------------------|
|-----222222-----444444-----555555-----7777777777777------------------------|



And all the losers
Can't even win for losing
And the beginners
Don't even know what song they're singing
(In these lines,they may be talking about about all the so called Pop-Punk bands nowadays. About how they dont even know the meaning of their existance).

Chorus:



|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----999999----------------999999------------------------------------------|
|-----999999-----999999-----999999-----999999-------------------------------|
|-----777777-----999999-----777777-----999999-------------------------------|
|----------------777777----------------777777-------------------------------|

(End Of Chorus)
|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------|
|-----666666--------------------------------------|-------------------------|
|-----666666-----666666-----777777-----999999-----|-----9999999999----------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----999999-----|-----9999999999----------|
|----------------444444-----555555-----777777-----|-----7777777777----------|



Well theres no-one left around
And youre the last gang in town
(In reference to the classic song by The Clash "Last Gang In Town")
And your heart can't even break
When it doesn't even pound
(Billie Joe Armstrong on heartbreak: "how can you let your heart shine when you cant even make it through the day?")

Well there's no one left around
And youre the last gang in town
And your heart can't even break
When it doesn't even pound
(He is talking about all the other bands of the second invasion of punk in the US in the 90s.
About how much shit they gave Green Day for becoming big. About how Green Day is still here but they are not.
And he thinks that it sucks that they are not fighting anymore for what they believe in.)

Post-Chorus:



|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------10101010-9-9--------------------------------------------------|
|-----9-9-9-9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9------------------------------------------|
|-----9-9-9-9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9------------------------------------------| x2
|-----7-7-7-7--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|



[Verse 2]
This broken scene
Is turning green
Brass knuckles left in the rain
(They are talking about the punk scene of today.)
Death wish kids among the living
(Probably refered to the Goths)
I wanna ride on the divided
Anything but the mainstream
(probably means: Hipsters want to be anything but mainstream, but being hipster has now become so popular it is in itself mainstream.
The search for individuality has become so common place,people forget about just being themselves.
It can also relate to the shit they got from hipster punk bands in the past (and still today) for their success.)
Where the fuck is your old gang, man?

[Pre-Chorus]
And all the losers
Can't even win for losing
And the beginners
Don't even know what song they're singing

[Chorus]
Well theres no-one left around
And youre the last gang in town
And your heart can't even break
When it doesn't even pound

When there's no one left around
And youre the last gang in town
And your heart can't even break
When it doesn't even pound

Bridge:



Bridge

Bridge:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------1010101099-----------------------------------------|
|----------------------99-9-9-9-9999999-------------------------------------|
|-----7-7777777777-----99-9-9-9-9999999-----7-7777777777-----999999999999---|
|-----7-7777777777-----77-7-7-7-7777777-----7-7777777777-----999999999999---|
|-----5-5555555555--------------------------5-5555555555-----777777777777---|


So long!
You didn't even say goodnight
(probably means..
Most, if not all, of the other punk bands that came up with Green Day are now dissipated.
These bands can aptly be compared to the fictional St. Jimmy from AI because they both stood for something, and yet faded away, without so much as a formal goodnight.)
So long!
There's nowhere to go when you're hiding in plain sight
(In conjunction with the idea that this song is directed at the other bands from punks second invasion, this lyric calls them out on the fact that theyre still alive and out in public.
By giving up on what they used to fight for, theyre cowards and might as well be in hiding.)


followed by the guitar solo.



solo

Guitar 1:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----99999999--------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----99999999-----66666666-----77777777-----99999999-----------------------| x2
|-----77777777-----66666666-----77777777-----99999999-----------------------|
|------------------44444444-----55555555-----77777777-----------------------|

Guitar 2:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------6-9---------6-9b-----9-7-7-6-6-2-2-----9-7-7-6-6-2-2-/-4------------| x2
|---7-7---------6-6---------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Both Guitars:

|-----222222-----444444-----555555-----777777-------------------------------|
|-----222222-----444444-----555555-----777777-------------------------------|
|-----222222-----444444-----556666-----778888-------------------------------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----999999-------------------------------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----999999-------------------------------|
|-----222222-----444444-----555555-----777777-------------------------------|

|-----222222-----444444-----555555-----777777777777-------------------------|
|-----222222-----444444-----555555-----777777777777-------------------------|
|-----222222-----444444-----556666-----777788888888-------------------------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----999999999999-------------------------|
|-----444444-----666666-----777777-----999999999999-------------------------|
|-----222222-----444444-----555555-----777777777777-------------------------|



Well there's no one left around
And you're the last gang in town
And your heart can't even break
When it doesn't even pound

Well there's no one left around
And you're the last gang in town
And your heart can't even break
When it doesn't even pound

Well there's no one left around
And you're the last gang in town
And your heart can't even break
When it doesn't even pound.

Well there's no one left around
And you're the last gang in town
And your heart can't even break
When it doesn't even pooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunddddddddddd.

Outro:



Outro:

Guitar 1:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------10101010-9-9--------------------------------------------------|
|-----9-9-9-9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9------------------------------------------|
|-----9-9-9-9--9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9------------------------------------------| x4
|-----7-7-7-7--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Guitar 2:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----6-7-6-4-----6-7-6-2-------6-7-6-4-----6-7-6-4-------------------------|
|--------------------------2------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Both Guitars:

|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----9---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----9---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----7---------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|



And yeah,got this fan made video from Youtube.I think it's awesomely mixed.

Enjoy..

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really good OP Abir, some facts i didn't know in it!

plus i had the chance to hear it live this tour and it kicks ass!

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Awesome OP!!! It's not one of my favorites, but i think it's a really good song, btw, i didn't know about the title either,thanks for that! :)

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really good OP Abir, some facts i didn't know in it!

plus i had the chance to hear it live this tour and it kicks ass!

Awesome OP!!! It's not one of my favorites, but i think it's a really good song, btw, i didn't know about the title either,thanks for that! :)

Thank you both :)

And even i had no idea of it before I did a bit research for the sotw.

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This was probably my second favorite song next to Nuclear Family on ¡Uno! when I first heard the album.

I'm proud to say I was able to tab the song out for Ultimate-Guitar within a couple days of it's release. :P

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I always made ties to Gilman Street and generally young bands, especially with the line "And all the losers, can't even win for losing. And the beginners don't even know what song they're singing". The older bands that gets nowhere in life are the losers that clings to their sorry life with screwed up priorities, while the young bands are too young to even know what the roots of punk rock was, the shitty politicians, the conservatism and the xenophobia against the punk community. They only take after the ones they wanted to be like instead of making something new they're copying something they can't realistically relate to.

Your OP is awesome Abir! :)

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I always made ties to Gilman Street and generally young bands, especially with the line "And all the losers, can't even win for losing. And the beginners don't even know what song they're singing". The older bands that gets nowhere in life are the losers that clings to their sorry life with screwed up priorities, while the young bands are too young to even know what the roots of punk rock was, the shitty politicians, the conservatism and the xenophobia against the punk community. They only take after the ones they wanted to be like instead of making something new they're copying something they can't realistically relate to.

Your OP is awesome Abir! :)

true.

and thank you bud. :)

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Amazing OP, man! I never quite understood the meaning of this song and what you wrote was really helpful. You did a great job!

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Amazing OP, man! I never quite understood the meaning of this song and what you wrote was really helpful. You did a great job!

glad it helped you :) and thank you for the praise :)

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Best song off Uno!!!! XD One of the reasons I think Uno is still the best of the trilogy! :)

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Rusty James is my favourite song on UNO

Nice write up :P

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Guest Trotsky

My 3rd favourite song on Uno (Kill the DJ is the 1st and Let Yourself Go the 2nd). Great OP and great song!! :)

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This was probably my second favorite song next to Nuclear Family on ¡Uno! when I first heard the album.

I'm proud to say I was able to tab the song out for Ultimate-Guitar within a couple days of it's release. :P

omg...did you tab it? :o

Rusty James is my favourite song on UNO

Nice write up :P

My 3rd favourite song on Uno (Kill the DJ is the 1st and Let Yourself Go the 2nd). Great OP and great song!! :)

thanku ^_^

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really good OP Abir, some facts i didn't know in it!

plus i had the chance to hear it live this tour and it kicks ass!

What show did they play it?!

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What show did they play it?!

it was in Quebec city on april 12th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRGez38WboI

just listen because we don't see that much

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I was so happy when they played that song at the Québec city show. It's one of my favorite songs of the trilogy. :wub: And they haven't played it since that day.

The OP is really great!

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I was so happy when they played that song at the Québec city show. It's one of my favorite songs of the trilogy. :wub: And they haven't played it since that day.

The OP is really great!

yep i think we're the only venue who got it :D

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Rusty James is my favourite trilogy song :) Maybe because the verses sound so similar to Scattered...

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yep i think we're the only venue who got it :D

Accorded to setlist.fm, we're the only venue who got it during the 99 Revolutions tour, but they played it at the Tiki Bar in 2011 and at the Bowery Electric in 2012. :D

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Nice job, Abir! :D While this isn't one of my favorite songs, it's actually one of their most overrated I think, it's still a good track.

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I LOVE the way BJA sings breeeeeeeak in the chorus. Makes the whole song for me. Anyone else think so?

Also love the last chorus where all the instruments cut out.

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