Prescription Pills and Green Day Songs

[Boston]

So, I was playing Green Day Rock Band this morning and I noticed that a lot of Green Day songs have references to perscription pills and their destructive effects on characters such as Christian, Jesus of Suburbia, and potentially Billie himself.

I do have to make clear that I am not accusing nor insinuating that Billie, Mike, or Tre have perscription pill addictions. I just found this to be somewhat interesting and wanted to hear the opinions of others on the matter.

Examples:

Send me to the pharmacy

So I can lose my memory

On a steady diet of soda pop and ritalin

Pills and alcohol

Are making me a lost cause

[kristinsinferno]

I think that maybe they are just making a statement. They have marijuana references in later songs, but they aren't on it anymore...

[Trotsky]

I find is as presumptuous to assume Green Day doesn't do drugs as it is to assume they do. No one really knows, either way.

[*withoutadoubt*]

They all may possibly be references to taking the drugs themselves, but I think all those references are making a statement, too. (He loves to do the double meaning thing, so it could even be both.) Maybe he's just trying to bring up issues of how these 'legal' drugs affect lives; how it's become almost normal to take them to make problems go away with a pill rather than deal with them.

[gdpony]

Maybe he's just trying to bring up issues of how these 'legal' drugs affect lives; how it's become almost normal to take them to make problems go away with a pill rather than deal with them.

I also think this!

and of course it may have to do with dealing with pills themselves...

[*withoutadoubt*]

I also think this!

and of course it may have to do with dealing with pills themselves...

Yep, could be either or both. That's what I love so much about Billie's lyrics - so many meaning to one thing.

[Alan86]

I also think the pills references are just a statement on how how society has become very comfortable with the use if prescription medication

[Farah]

^ that could be it I guess ! It's a good answer anyway, imo.

[st.idiot]

personally i don't think they take them unless theyre sick or something like normal people do. i think theyre just trying to use certain imagery to let you know what's going on with the character and what theyre thinking-how they (the characers) think that all their problems will go away. i agree with some of the people before me said-it's like a statement and he's trying to say that you don't need illegal drugs to get yourself high it can be anything.

[Kayfabe]

so give me novocaine...

xanax a beer for thought

[Daughter.of.Rage.and.Love]

They all may possibly be references to taking the drugs themselves, but I think all those references are making a statement, too. (He loves to do the double meaning thing, so it could even be both.) Maybe he's just trying to bring up issues of how these 'legal' drugs affect lives; how it's become almost normal to take them to make problems go away with a pill rather than deal with them.

This is basically what I think.

[Guest]

*Prescription

I think the prevalence of references to prescription drugs reflects their prevalence in an over-medicated society.

[Boston]

I agree with the posts about Green Day "making a statement" about perscription pill addiction. It is increasingly popular amongst youth and although they may seem innocent in nature, they are actually some of the hardest drugs to come off of. Also, Green Day is a band that writes about troubled youth (to a certain degree), so it makes sense that they would talk about a large part of suburban youth culture.

*Prescription

Spelling fail.

I need to download Firefox on my laptop.

[Hermione]

They all may possibly be references to taking the drugs themselves, but I think all those references are making a statement, too. (He loves to do the double meaning thing, so it could even be both.) Maybe he's just trying to bring up issues of how these 'legal' drugs affect lives; how it's become almost normal to take them to make problems go away with a pill rather than deal with them.

I think the prevalence of references to prescription drugs reflects their prevalence in an over-medicated society.

Basically I agree with both of these. Not just in youth culture but throughout society as a whole, people increasingly turn to these drugs as a solution to their problems (or what they hope is a solution). They're even advertised on TV. Definitely an issue in modern society that's worth bringing up.

[TheSaltOfTheEarth]

I think they're just trying to make a statement about society and how prescription drugs are so easily available to everybody, even teens, and how easy it is for people to abuse them.

Restless Heart Syndrome is about prescription drug addiction and its possible repercussions (I think that's what Billie said, anyway.)

[Maddy.]

They use the word "suicide" a lot, too, but I don't presume Billie Joe wants to off himself soon.