Favourite Green Day Lyrics Period

[JeanJeanie]

If I was looking at it from a technical point of view I'd definately say 21st Century Breakdown. Every song is clever and well thought out -- I mean you've you got the fried gold nuggets of "The scars on my hands and a means to an end is all that I have to show," and "All I wanna do is breathe, batteries not included," on that record. Personally I know I look like a moron as I zip around in my shitty car, yelling the songs at the top of my lungs and pumping my outraged fist in the air -- but God, he really gets your blood boiling.

Now, speaking completely personally I have to say I adore Kerplunk's lyrics simply because they're the story of my life right now. Its a record about having a shitty car and a terrifying, yet wonderful new life and being bored out of your mind and wondering what the fuck your friends are doing and what the fuck you're doing and falling in love and just being a kid, but not really anymore. Here lately when I'm feeling really down (or really high) I'll flip on this record, stretch out on my couch and be reminded that everything I'm going through (good or bad) has been gone through before by people a thousand times cooler than me. That's comforting.

[saraHsunshine]

All of their albums have great, creative lyrics. The best? Warning. Hands down

[green day is]

I say that "Warning" is definitely the best. Lyrically and musically. Although, I may also say "American Idiot" or "21st Century Breakdown"....

One of those three.

[Hermione]

I'm in love with all of their lyrics, for so many different reasons! It's so wonderful to see how Billie's lyrical style has grown over the years.

I just think the difference between the songs on say Nimrod and 2st century is quite staggering.

Don't think Billie will ever write another "Grouch" or "Haushinka" again.

I always love that kind of frankness in songwriting. Like, it seems more like they're sharing personal feelings/beliefs. Saying "This is EXACTLY how i feel about this, maybe you do too" rather than something ambiguous that is open to other peoples interpretations.

Having said that, these days he's not writing about how shitty his life is or how cut up he is over a relationship gone wrong, cos his life's (probably for the most part) amazing and he's got a succesful marriage.

The change in style is probably a product of him looking outside his own life more for inspiration than writing about his own troubles and whatnot....

The whole thing really interests me.

I agree. I enjoy both the more inward looking earlier lyrics and the more outward looking lyrics he's writing now. Even though I absolutely love the more direct, beautifully simple earlier style, I'm glad it's evolved and changed. Taking a more outward looking view of life is part of growing older and I think the way their lyrical style has changed is a testament to how honest and real Green Day are. They way Billie pushes himself to grow and improve as a lyricist, and the way his lyrics absolutely reflect whatever his current view of the world happens to be really shows how true to himself he is with his music. That ambition and honesty is what makes him such an amazing songwriter

I wouldn't say his lyrics are better now though, just different. He's always been honest and ambitious and there's as much beauty in simplicity as there is in complexity. My overall favourite album lyrically is Dookie, there's so many killer lines in there and it's just the whole feeling of the album, I can't explain it . Those lyrics blow me away.

[theeulogy]

Billie's always good in songwriting.Just a lil bit different in every next album.And I like it

[petros]

Can't really choose one but American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown I think are the best...The best lyrics are in JOS and 21stCB..

[jm_xd]

american idiot for sure. all of them are so awesome!

[Johannamunter]

American idiot, for sure

[RobyRoom]

I'm stucked between Nimrod and American Idiot

[HaushinkaholicBMC]

I'm in love with all of their lyrics, for so many different reasons! It's so wonderful to see how Billie's lyrical style has grown over the years.

I agree. I enjoy both the more inward looking earlier lyrics and the more outward looking lyrics he's writing now. Even though I absolutely love the more direct, beautifully simple earlier style, I'm glad it's evolved and changed. Taking a more outward looking view of life is part of growing older and I think the way their lyrical style has changed is a testament to how honest and real Green Day are. They way Billie pushes himself to grow and improve as a lyricist, and the way his lyrics absolutely reflect whatever his current view of the world happens to be really shows how true to himself he is with his music. That ambition and honesty is what makes him such an amazing songwriter

I wouldn't say his lyrics are better now though, just different. He's always been honest and ambitious and there's as much beauty in simplicity as there is in complexity. My overall favourite album lyrically is Dookie, there's so many killer lines in there and it's just the whole feeling of the album, I can't explain it . Those lyrics blow me away.

I'd say your philosophy echoes mine almost exactly

[Bubbles.]

For me, American Idiot and Dookie.

[Armstump]

Hhhmmm.

That's a good question.

I can't choice between 21CB, Kerplunk and AI..

[AnnA™]

I'm in love with all of their lyrics, for so many different reasons! It's so wonderful to see how Billie's lyrical style has grown over the years.

I agree. I enjoy both the more inward looking earlier lyrics and the more outward looking lyrics he's writing now. Even though I absolutely love the more direct, beautifully simple earlier style, I'm glad it's evolved and changed. Taking a more outward looking view of life is part of growing older and I think the way their lyrical style has changed is a testament to how honest and real Green Day are. They way Billie pushes himself to grow and improve as a lyricist, and the way his lyrics absolutely reflect whatever his current view of the world happens to be really shows how true to himself he is with his music. That ambition and honesty is what makes him such an amazing songwriter

I wouldn't say his lyrics are better now though, just different. He's always been honest and ambitious and there's as much beauty in simplicity as there is in complexity. My overall favourite album lyrically is Dookie, there's so many killer lines in there and it's just the whole feeling of the album, I can't explain it . Those lyrics blow me away.

Exactly this.

I could never choose a favourite album lyrically though. That changes all the time for me. I'm just as impressed with the advanced massive songs as I am with the simpler sweet ones. I don't know how to explain it. Billie has a way with words, and I think he's simply brilliant. Can't describe it in a better way.

[darenmay]

for me it is American Idiot. it has many strong lyrics full of emotions, of rage and love.

it tells a story in such a way that it gets really compelling. it's like going through the pages of a book.

next would be Dookie. i love its theme, anyone can relate.

21st Century Breakdown is too much for me.

oh, and Insomia too. how can you hate yourself so much and express it beautifully?

[HaushinkaholicBMC]

oh, and Insomia too. how can you hate yourself so much and express it beautifully?

Insomniac is my second favourite GD album like.... The lyrics are so brutally frank.

[Burnout28]

1039 or nimrod <3

[Ally]

Well theres at least one song that ,eans a lot lyrically to me on each album, Billie just has this way of being able to write what he thinks and getting his point straight over, i think his strangest is probably American Idiot but i also think Nimrod and 1039 are really strong, in my opinion

[Maddy.]

Agreed.

And you mean you don't get what the line means? I think that line means... all the shit Whatsername had to go through because of JOS/St. Jimmy was more than enough to have to deal with. He/they (depending on how you view the St.Jimmy alter-ego scenario) were already a representation of the underbelly, the fucked up people of society, and maybe she thought that the stuff they put her through was stuff she would have expected to deal with from a group of people, not just JOS/St.Jimmy. The stuff they put her through kept stacking up more and more, until she finally had enough and said, "Fuck it, I can't do this anymore."

That explain was kind of shitty. I'm sorry, Maddy.

I think that was quite a good explanation. Thanks,

[Guest]

American Idiot, or Kerplunk

[Ila Reto]

i love the lyrics from 39/smooth and Kerplunk because they are expressive but literal at the same time

Nimrod lyrically is amazing, i love the use of metaphors and inverted sentenses.

American Idiot & 21stCB use large words and concepts to add to the large, almost overwhelming story

Insomniac's heavy lyrics and negative syntax give a very unique touch to the album

and Warning's lyrics are simple to the point where they are poetic.

its pretty much impossible to choose one album over all the others, because they are all special!

[Maddy.]

Am I the only one who is annoyed by the lyrics on 1.039 and Kerplunk?

I can't stand them most of the time and they're so cheesy. D:

It's just the lyrics in combo with his nasal voice that makes it nearly impossible for me to listen to the albums.

[AdelineGrenades]

Personally for me, American Idiot is my favorite lyrically. Songs like JOS and the such perfectly describe me and everything that's going on. It's a hard hitting album, that uses metaphors yet is still down to the core. Anger and everything flows right through every lyric, coming down to a startling finish with Homecoming and Whatsername. The way it ends on a somber but somewhat positive note hits hard, and I think it's fully open to interpretation.

I also love 21st Century Breakdown, where it differs from American Idiot and winds up from this positive lyrics to an angry finish. The metaphors that are laced in the album are hard hitting and get you going with the question everything concept once more.

Warning, Nimrod, and Dookie are all great ones too.

[Bastard of 1967]

Just interested in this, as a songwriter lyrics are always the most important thing to me... I've noticed a definite shift in Billie Joe's lyrical style over the last two albums, with a lot greater use of metaphor, simile,symbolism and imagery which leave a lot of the songs open to peoples personal interpretations. To be honest this shift actually began in Warning, with certain songs (Deadbeat Holiday springs to mind) using greater use of ambiguous language and the other techniques i mentioned.

21CB by a mile. Say whatever you want about the change in Green Day's musical style from past albums. Lyrically, it's a fucking masterpiece, even more so than American Idiot.

[Angela.]

I think that was quite a good explanation. Thanks,

No problem.

5,300 posts!

[Bastard of 1967]

Agreed.

And you mean you don't get what the line means? I think that line means... all the shit Whatsername had to go through because of JOS/St. Jimmy was more than enough to have to deal with. He/they (depending on how you view the St.Jimmy alter-ego scenario) were already a representation of the underbelly, the fucked up people of society, and maybe she thought that the stuff they put her through was stuff she would have expected to deal with from a group of people, not just JOS/St.Jimmy. The stuff they put her through kept stacking up more and more, until she finally had enough and said, "Fuck it, I can't do this anymore."

That explain was kind of shitty. I'm sorry, Maddy.

Don't you dare apologize for that, I think you're onto something here! We've got the concepts of the "lost and found/city bound" already laid out in the album when Letterbomb hits, and "the underbelly" comes up again in the East 12th St. part of Homecoming. If the two concepts are synonymous (even just loosely), and both of them are metaphors for, well, basically, bullshit, you're dead spot on with your interpretation. It may not -- and probably isn't -- the only way to look at that lyric, but I do think it's a well-supported view. Nice shootin', Tex! Now go repost that in the SOTW thread.