East Jesus Nowhere

[Hermione]

^It's still saying stand up to the white boys and sit down to the black girls though. I don't think it changes that part of the meaning much. But I think it has a second meaning if you don't listen to the backing vocals - telling everyone to stand together. And yeah saying 'and' makes that meaning clearer.

Eh, if it was switched: had the same backup vocals but said black girls first and white boys second, this conversation wouldn't be happening and no one would be screaming, "RASCIST!" IMO.

If it was said the other way around it wouldn't make sense though. He's not literally saying white boys are better, he's pointing out the fact that that's the group of people who've held the power in society throughout history.

Switching it around wouldn't mean he was saying black girls were better, it'd mean he was saying black girls/women have held the most power in society - and that's just not true!

[Lauren]

They're just giving commands in the back ground!!

Put it this way, they still say Stand Up! and Sit Down! in the second part.

Is he telling "you're the soldiers" to stand up and "of the new world" to sit down?

umm... no.

[Hermione]

They're just giving commands in the back ground!!

Put it this way, they still say Stand Up! and Sit Down! in the second part.

Is he telling "you're the soldiers" to stand up and "of the new world" to sit down?

umm... no.

I know he sings it like that, but I still think the way he chose to write it in the booklet, very clearly attaching stand up to white boys and sit down to black girls, has to mean something.

But I totally agree with your interpretation too, I just think it's a double meaning so both interpretations apply.

[SOMERTEN]

I like that BJ's lyrics can be understood in many ways.

More I'm scared cause EJN's riff is almost straight copy from Marilyn Manson's Disposable Teens :/ I don't care, but GD really don't need another plagiarizing discussion like people had with Wonderwall and BOBD.

We all know that Manson ripped off Depeche Mode (Personal Jesus) and Oasis plays only Beatles rip offs (Wonderwall, original???) so I get pissed of when people compare Green Day to these no-marks. Both of them have made entire careers from stealing other people's songs and they're not even reworked that well. Manson had to get attention about his last effort by whining that My Chemical Romance stole from him (Aww diddums!).