A few questions about 21st Century Breakdown

[Words-I-Might-Have-Ate]

I don't know if these have been asked before but-

1) Who are the "bastards of 1969" from the title track?

2) How old are Christian and Gloria? And how does "The Class of '13" tie into their story or was that just put in there because of Billie's son?

Thanks!

[.Militza.]

The bastards of 1969 represents the older generation, BJ used this particular year because that's when his wife was born.

And the class of 13 represents the younger generation, which is coming, getting older, and maturing.

He sometimes looks at this class of 13 as a sign of hope, that better days will come when the younger generation gets to hold all the chains.

And about Christian and Gloria, I'm not sure, but I believe they are a bit older than that. I'd say in their early 20.

I'm not curtain, but I get this feeling that they're older, than teenagers. Older that JOS, that's for sure

but that's only my opinion, I'm not sure.

[Marie_GD]

Class of '13 represents the new generation, Billie Joe's eldest son will graduate in 2013, hence the reference.

[dolce]

I agree - 1969 represents Billie's generation (Adrienne's birth year, and probably the year a lot of the parents of Joey and Jakob's friends were born), and The Class of 13 represents the kids/teens that sometimes seem like they're the country's last hope.

[thenextsexpistol_mak]

yeah, 1969 is also supposed to be the year rock music was born...

wasnt adrienne 44, ? i thought she was 7 years older than billie, i read it in a book in fact...

[4whatsername8]

1) The 'bastards of 1969' represent the parents of our generation

2) The 'Class of 13' ... yes, I know he used it partly due to his sons graduation year, but I think it sort of fits in the sense that '13' rhymes with everything! Trust me, this matters lyrically. Overall though, the 'class of 13' is used to represent all the teens / kids of this new millennium.

[dolce]

wasnt adrienne 44, ? i thought she was 7 years older than billie, i read it in a book in fact...

No, I don't think she's that much older than him, is she? She certainly doesn't look it. She was born either '68 or '69, I'm pretty sure.

[Mato]

wasnt adrienne 44, ?

errrr. no

[WorryRock02]

if i'm not wrong adie was born 6th october 1969

[iLozza!]

The bastards of 1969 represents the older generation, BJ used this particular year because that's when his wife was born.

And the class of 13 represents the younger generation, which is coming, getting older, and maturing.

He sometimes looks at this class of 13 as a sign of hope, that better days will come when the younger generation gets to hold all the chains.

And about Christian and Gloria, I'm not sure, but I believe they are a bit older than that. I'd say in their early 20.

I'm not curtain, but I get this feeling that they're older, than teenagers. Older that JOS, that's for sure

but that's only my opinion, I'm not sure.

Yeah, that's what I'm getting from it too

[94th nimrod.]

No, I don't think she's that much older than him, is she? She certainly doesn't look it. She was born either '68 or '69, I'm pretty sure.

At Wikipedia it says that she's born in 1969. If that's true, she's 40 years old this year, three years older than Billie

[Hermione]

I agree on Class of 13 representing the new, current generation, and 1969 representing the older generation.

As for Gloria and Christian's ages, I don't think they're meant to have a specific age. I think the characters are more a way of representing ideas and feelings than proper, actual people you could draw a picture of or know their birthdays.

They're complex and well-rounded characters of course, but it's more about big things like their experiences and ideals, than little facts and details about them. They're just part of the young generation in general.