Album: American Idiot (2004)

Charted: 17

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• I'm the son of rage and love
  The Jesus of Suburbia
  The bible of none of the above
  On a steady diet of
  Soda Pop and Ritalin
  No one ever died for my
  Sins in hell
  As far as I can tell
  At least the ones that I got away with
  
  And there's nothing wrong with me
  This is how I'm supposed to be
  In a land of make believe
  That don't believe in me
  
  Get my television fix
  Sitting on my crucifix
  The living room in my private womb
  While the Moms and Brads are away
  To fall in love and fall in debt
  To alcohol and cigarettes
  And Mary Jane
  To keep me insane
  Doing someone else's cocaine
  
  And there's nothing wrong with me
  This is how I'm supposed to be
  In a land of make believe
  That don't believe in me
  
  At the center of the earth
  In the parking lot
  Of the 7-11 where I was taught
  The motto was just a lie
  
  It says home is where your heart is
  But what a shame
  Cause everyone's heart
  Doesn't beat the same
  It's beating out of time
  
  City of the dead
  At the end of another lost highway
  Signs misleading to nowhere
  City of the damned
  Lost children with dirty faces today
  No one really seems to care
  
  I read the graffiti
  In the bathroom stall
  Like the holy scriptures of a shopping mall
  And so it seemed to confess
  
  It didn't say much
  But it only confirmed that
  The center of the earth
  Is the end of the world
  And I could really care less
  
  City of the dead
  At the end of another lost highway
  Signs misleading to nowhere
  City of the damned
  Lost children with dirty faces today
  No one really seems to care
  
  I don't care if you don't
  I don't care if you don't
  I don't care if you don't care
  
  I don't care
  
  Everyone's so full of shit
  Born and raised by hypocrites
  Hearts recycled but never saved
  From the cradle to the grave
  We are the kids of war and peace
  From Anaheim to the Middle East
  We are the stories and disciples of
  The Jesus of suburbia
  
  Land of make believe
  And it don't believe in me
  Land of make believe
  And I don't believe
  And I don't care!
  
  Dearly beloved are you listening?
  I can't remember a word that you were saying
  Are we demented or am I disturbed?
  The space that's in between insane and insecure
  
  Oh therapy, can you please fill the void?
  Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed
  Nobody's perfect and I stand accused
  For lack of a better word, and that's my best excuse
  
  To live, and not to breathe
  Is to die, in tragedy
  To run, to run away
  To find, what you believe
  
  And I leave behind
  This hurricane of fucking lies
  I lost my faith to this
  This town that don't exist
  So I run, I run away
  To the lights of masochists
  
  And I, leave behind
  This hurricane of fucking lies
  And I, walked this line
  A million and one fucking times
  But not this time
  
  I don't feel any shame
  I wont apologize
  When there ain't nowhere you can go
  Running away from pain
  When you've been victimized
  Tales from another broken home
  
  Oh you're leaving
  You're leaving
  You're leaving
  Are you leaving home? Writer/s: BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, FRANK E., III WRIGHT, MICHAEL PRITCHARD
  Publisher: Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 59

• Jeanette from AucklandI love this song. I can listen to it over and over. Went to their concert a few years ago in Auckland and thorough enjoyed it. l love Rock/Metal but enjoy GD too" I am 66 by the way.
• Guy From Holiday from The Hollow LiesThis song is the most confusing I’ve ever heard.
• Jovie from Bostoni'm probably extremely late to this but joe from bellingham , totally unnecessary to insult tre . if the band calls themselves punk then they are . it doesn't matter what YOU think because you're so obviously wrong . also shadow from va , it doesn't matter what you think of "political music" . they're allowed to sing about literally whatever they want because green day's music varies from tons of different topics . if you don't like "political music" then listen to different artists or songs !
• Tl from NyI don't see how you can complain that the song is whiny or depressing. It's capturing a feeling that so many of us have felt; feeling trapped in the town you grew up in, with the pressures of achieving some future prescribed to you by people who don't really care. It's Green Day at their best, and their best is really great.
• Peterwentsurf from Morocco You all complicate things meant to be simple...!
  This song talks about routines, and what we are supposed to believe as normal, and the contrary, to not accept. He tried to save, but it wasn’t worthy because nobody wanted to be saved! No surprises, the key words are “lies” and the one most important they try to hide is “home”, because routines are education, and parenting education is a failure. That’s all.
• Bishop from NepalIt also relate to my childhood and also most of the teens in this generation. Lyrics are ust exactly similar to my days. They say 9min is long song. But I would say it's too short.
• Time Traveler From 2036 from PrivateWhy are people so hostile about people coming to criticize the song. I mean, i’ll agree, its not GD at their worst, but i can see why you would have a negative opinion of the song. The lyrics are hit and miss but they drive a message across, but the music is a bit bipolar for a “punk” band who insists on calling themselves “punk” when they’re more alt than anything.
• ShelbyOkay, listen up. Everyone who doesn't like this song... WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE?!
• Emo QuartetStop hating in the comments for no reason, if you dont like it then go listen to something else, I know that 95% of people here love this band for good reasons and i FOR SURE love this band so go away
• Wank from Ha Noi Nate, so u listen to Sex Pistols, Ramones and The Clash. 3 of the MOST FAMOUS PUNK ROCK BANDS OF ALL TIME, even my little brother knows some of their songs. So it's not that, just bcuz you LISTEN to them doesn't mean you're something of a punk rock expert. Who gave you the right to JUDGE Green Day? Yea, American Idiot is rather punk pop, but idk, maybe Billy Joe wanted his opinion to be heard by EVERYONE, on behalf of the Americans, so he made it a bit more mainstream. It won them two Grammys. I say, that's more practical than typical punk rock bands. And also, Green Day is a PUNK ROCK band, so there should be a lot of POWER CHORDS in their songs.
• Wank from Ha Noi Hey Shadow, just a reminder, Green Day is a PUNK ROCK band, so yea, they were supposed to sing about those kind of s--t, u should know if they're your favorite band. So what, you suppose if someone has a problem with the system, he should just record a SPEECH about it and upload it? Then HOW THE f--k is it gonna be famous then? THE GUY WANTS TO BE HEARD! American Idiot spoke for ALL AMERICANS, war in the middle east, Bush. And also, John Lennon, Bob Dylan. And your whole music is for enjoyment, who said u couldn't ENJOY the album?
• Shadow from Depression, VaThat album sucked. I'm sorry, but it did. POLITICAL MUSIC F***ING SUCKS. I don't care if you feel that way, just TALK about it. Don't put it into music. Music is meant for enjoyment, not arguing about the war. I like Green Day. They're one of my favorite bands. But honestly? This album? Sucks.
• Reya from Reynoldsburg, Oh@Azzie from Canada: The lines are "Jimmy says it's better than HERE." and "Tell me, Jimmy, I won't feel a thing."
• Reya from Reynoldsburg, OhNate, you're so mean. Yes, I know a lot of people hate Green Day, and say that they're not punk, or emo, or gay. They are none of that. They may sound emo at times, but overall, no. And the guys have even reffered to Green Day as punk rock. I say that if the band says that they're still punk, then they're still punk. Whatever a band syays they are, the band is that, and should not be reffered to as anything else.
  
  @Jodi from London, England: The guy in the video is so hot!
  
  Oh, and one more thing: Dearly Beloved is my FAVORITE part! It's the best in the song!
• Nate from New York, NyThis is a very good song, I just hate the band's guts.
• Nate from New York, NyHey- Trenchmouth Taggart, Shoesnow, WV- guess what- guess who's better than Green Day- hahah- U2.
• Trenchmouth Taggart from Shoesnow, WvI'm 15. and i love the sex pistols, AC/DC, U2, Guns 'n'roses, and the clash
  say the words "green day"to someone and they will know a Green Day song AND LIKE IT
  they may not know its Green Day, but that doesn't mean they dont know the song. its called awesomeness. not that you would know- Beth, Auckland, New Zealand
  
  Go throw Lady gaga and Justin Bieber in there while your at it.lol, U2, wtf.
  
  Also, 'Im 15' LOL What, are you fresh off the youtube comment boards or something? You want a medal for being born in a certain year and listening to 'cool' unpopular music? Fair enough you may like older music, so do I. But I don't parade my age around the internet trying to ensure everyone know I wwas born in the with the youth of this generation but don't like popular music.
• Nate from New York, NyOh and Chloe from Ireland- they're not gods. God is represented on Earth through Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.
• Nate from New York, NyGuys, I have to agree with Joe from Bellingham. He's right- This isn't real MUSIC, let alone real PUNK. Listen to the Clash, or the Sex Pistols, or the Ramones like he said. Green Day's not good, they've been faking a British accent since 1991, all of their songs are the same musically with the same chords. I've played guitar for at least 7 years and when I went to look up Green Day chords for one of their songs (what was it- I want to know because it was good. I forget what it was called). I then looked up the chords for this song and found little to no difference. If you listen to Green Day, you really shouldn't listen to punk. Go find another genre. Regular rock is good-Every heard of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, or Queen? This is not a concept album. Look up Quadrophenia, Tommy, or the Wall. Until then, anything you say about how "good" Green Day is is wrong.
• Beth from Auckland, New ZealandJoe from bellingham, i know it may be a bit late, but.............f--k up. and im 15. and i love the sex pistols, AC/DC, U2, Guns 'n'roses, and the clash
  say the words "green day"to someone and they will know a Green Day song AND LIKE IT
  they may not know its Green Day, but that doesn't mean they dont know the song. its called awesomeness. not that you would know
• Chloe from Ennis, IrelandGreenday are ledgends in the making!! Jesus Christ, they are my frikkin Gods!! American is one of their best ablums they have ever made!! This song is amazing, the album American Idiot is anazing. theyre amazing!! Anyone who dissed Greenday should be shot!! All my friends diss them. . .thinking their all hard core and stuff. . . While they listen to 'music'!! IT PISSES MY OFF SO FRIKKIN MUCH!!!!
  
  i
• Brad from Lexington, Kybest green day song of all time. period.
• Jackie from Katy, TxAll i want to say is that on his left wrist its not "EPBM" its "EBPM" for East Bay Punk Mafia..it was bugging me soo i had to share! :D
• Matt from Houston, Txi only hate american idiot from this album. I also feel they lost most of there punk roots, but that's okay I basically think j.o.s would be better if they split up the chapters into thier own songs, especially c.o.t.d and t.f.a.b.h. I would do the same to homecoming except maybe left one or two songs out. but then again that's just me.
• September Heaven from Lawton, MiUm. . .wow, I'm not going to add to this really long argument on what people consider punk rock or anything. .but all I got to say is WOW, and I luv this song and I don't care what people think. People are just people who have their own opinions about everything, no one should let other people influence their own opinions. What I don't understand is the anti-Green Day fans commenting on a Jesus of Suburbia lyric? Does that mean that they're just in denial and they do truly luv this song? Ne way whatever I Love it. - Septemberheaven
• Mike Fuentes from Melvindale, MiI dedicated this to me because 90% of this song is about me. I am the son of rage and love. And im the Jesus OF Suburbia where I live.
• Dustin from New York, NyThis song is about how St. Jimmy (aka jesus of suburbia) feels like he doesnt belong here. he smokes and drinks and he has sex with girls and basically he is a lowlife and no one understands that. and the songs boulevard of broken dreams, St. Jimmy, letterbomb, and whatshername go along with this song. boulevard of broken dreams is telling how the jesus of suburbia feels. he feels like no one cares (but he doesnt either) about him and how he is basically walking alone in this world. St. Jimmy shows the rebal side of the jesus of Suburbia and all the bad things he does and just the rebal side of him. letterbomb is a letter to jimmy from whatshername (jimmy jesus of suburbia, girlfriend doesnt want to go out anymore. So that song is a letter from whatshername to jimmy. and whatshername is about how jimmy missing his girl. and how he wonders where she is. this is my interpretation of this song
• Dan from Baltimore, Mdthe whole album is incredible. not because of its message but the music itself. michael tre( the fat ass drummer according to joe) does stuff i havent that is on a level of bonham and pace. the guitar is almost to a jimmy page level. the beats are fast and catchy and changing. it doesnt matter how rebellious or puk it is. i think its aboot the music wihch rocks.
• Matthew from Milford, MaGood points, Rachel. It was a bit difficult to read, though... perhaps italics, bolding, and line breaks would help? Anyways, although it isn't really on topic, I'm going to provide you a public service and demonstrate how I can modify the text in my comments. When I'm done, you'll be able to make fancy text just like I do! :)
  
  
  
  To put words in italics, you type it like this: < i>italics< /i>, just without the spaces. (Replace "italics" with the text that you want to italicize.) The spaces are there so you can actually see the formatting; without them, the text would actually be put in italics, and the characters used in the formatting would not be visible.
  
  
  
  Bolding uses the exact same principle; just replace the "i"'s in between the <> signs with "b"'s. So, it would look like < b>bold< /b>, without the spaces (and "bold" replaced with the text you want in bold print.) The spaces are there for the same reason, so you can see the text necessary for formatting text without it becoming "active" and disappearing.
  
  
  
  To do a line break, you simply type < /br>, again without the space. There is no text in between symbols for this, but make sure you put the "line break" command where you actually want to begin a new line, or it will break up at the wrong spot (and look silly as a result.)
  
  
  
  I'm also pretty sure that you can underline text in the same fashion as bolding and italicizing; just replace the "i" or "b" with a "u".
  
  
  
  I hope this helps. I apologize if it was difficult to understand what I was saying; I'm not that great in explaining things simply. Perhaps you can get help at the message boards? Well, see ya!
• Dylan from Kalispell, Mtthanks rachel from berkley. cleared that up and i agree its just like fight club.
• Rachel from Berkely , Ca American Idiot was written to tell a story (a "punk rock opera"). The title of the album in itself, and it's art, explains of what's to come. There's much confusion to actually what this album and all of its songs mean, and it's questioned to what it could mean. I'm following, basically, with my own outlook, and from information from the band.
  
  DEFINITIONS IN THE STORY:
  
  J./JOS/the Idiot of America: The Jesus of Suburbia
  Tunny: Random person met on the street who Jimmy befriends
  The Underbelly: JOS/Jimmy's group of friends
  Mom and Brad: JOS' parents. The way that JOS refers to his father as Brad, could mean that is father is gone and Brad is a stepfather, which would explain why he's calling him by name.
  
  AMERICAN IDIOT
  The title track of the album. Basically, there's a confused, disoriented, angsty kid wrapped around a world of misconception and he has nowhere to go and feels hopeless and miserable. So this kid, the Jesus of Suburbia, is just crying out an anthem for the world to hear, screaming miserably "Don't wanna be an American Idiot..." He sees that he's stuck in this 'redneck agenda' and there's not a damn thing he can do to change it.
  JESUS OF SUBURBIA (CITY OF THE DAMNED, I DON'T CARE, DEARLY BELOVED, TALES OF ANOTHER BROKEN HOME)
  Everyone on the album has their own track. Jesus of Suburbia basically introduces us to the Jesus of Suburbia, how he was brought up in rage, and love, his atmosphere, friends, and basic general information. Part I, JOS, is just an introduction. "I'm the son of rage and love, the Jesus of Suburbia..."...Part II, City of The Damned, is just a crying out for help, hating his town, his city, and his overall miserable life that he lives. Part III, I Don't Care, is properly named and is about just that. JOS' apathetic screams of pain and how he just doesn't care about anything anymore. Part IV, Dearly Beloved, is JOS asking if what he's feeling is natural, how he can get out, and if anyone can understand...Tales Of Another Broken Home, Part V, is basically the end of the anthem. JOS is fed up, and just decides to quit town and quit the life that he's living. "I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize. When there ain't NOWHERE you can go. RUNNING AWAY from pain, when you feel victimized, tales from another broken home"...and he just leaves.
  HOLIDAY
  So JOS has just left town and he's living his life on the streets (Hear the sound of the falling rain...). He's speaking outloud and acting in vein :P, but it seems like he's talking himself into the fact that running away was the right thing to do. Explaining his reasons of discontent to himself. He still feels alone, and shunned from society, but it seems he feels a little more self-confidence, and happiness out on the road. It is also remotely political with the whole "Zeig heil..." thing, but it's basically just JOS yelling out and expressing his own dead beliefs onto the world. Like screaming into mid air. Also, to go 'on holiday' is said to be like, a vacation. So this is basically like an escape, a runaway. This leads us into Boulevard of Broken Dreams.
  BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS
  JOS is out alone, on the cold streets, nothing to do, nowhere to go. The happiness has worn off and he walks alone. Everyone's asleep, no one can hear him, no one cares, and he just walks...
  ARE WE THE WAITING?
  Still, alone, living it rough. JOS plays tricks in his mind, and you can see his slowly losing his sanity. He even starts to not believe who he is anymore. He's not the king of his local 711 out on the streets, where no one knows who he is...he's not the Jesus of Suburbia anymore. He's just...there.
  
  Now is where the controversy starts. The album picks up into an angry, purely amazing, anthem about the ever-so-lovely St. Jimmy. Now, people have said, and this sounds pretty true, that the JOS is just pushed over the edge, turned into this new punk named St. Jimmy. Basically, pushed off of the deep end into schizophrenia. Green Day, actually has stated, that JOS meets this kid, St. Jimmy, on the street somewhere, but that's questionable. I'll leave the interpretation up to you.
  
  ST. JIMMY
  Fast, upbeat, so effing hardcore. St. Jimmy...the patron saint of the denial. Tough, rough, not afraid to kill. The run of the mill punkkid times 70. The hardest, baddest mother around. He's lived his life on the streets, knows all, sees all. Lies, and pretty cocky to boot. He can actually be seen as a foil to JOS, who's totally innocent and callow going into this thing.
  GIVE ME NOVACAINE
  JOS meets Jimmy and becomes close with him. They do drugs together, hang around together and JOS depends on Jimmy to keep him sane, without knowing anyone else. Give Me Novacaine is basically his experimentation with drugs, and how Jimmy introduces him to drugs to ease the pain of everyday life.
  SHE'S A REBEL
  While on the streets, Jimmy and JOS meet a rebel girl named Whatsername. As described in She's A Rebel, she's holding on JOS' heart like a hand grenade. For JOS, it's love at first sight. It's a basic introduction to the girl, and a new twist in JOS' heart strings. New feelings, new mindset, new atmosphere.
  EXTRAORDINARY GIRL
  Again, about Whatsername. JOS' feelings for her, what he thinks of her, etc...
  LETTERBOMB
  After getting close with Whatsername, there is an eventual breakup. The beginning "Nobody likes you, everyone left you..."...is Whatsername taunting JOS, and writing him a goodbye letter. She explains that JOS doesn't care enough, and that he isn't who he thinks he is. "You're not the Jesus of Suburbia. The St. Jimmy is a figment of, your father's rage and your mother's love, that's made the idiot america"...she's explaining that JOS has turned into what he's always hated and she leaves him. "Well she said I can't take this place, I'm leaving you behind. She said I can't take this town I'm leaving you tonight..."
  WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS
  JOS is alone again. Lost his friends, the only girl he ever loved, he's out of home, out of job, and back where he started, sad and alone on the streets. He describes himself as innocent, or at least he was, and he just didn't last. They broke him down, and he's just dead inside. This is also, on a more personal note, a side song about Billie Joe's late father, who died years ago (September 1982), when Billie Joe was 10. Both explanations apply.
  HOMECOMING (THE DEATH OF ST. JIMMY, EAST 12TH ST., NOBODY LIKES YOU, ROCK 'N' ROLL GIRLFRIEND)
  JOS has nothing left to do. He's been on the streets. He stands alone again. So where else to go? Home. Part I, the Death of St. Jimmy. He's leaving the streets, he's going back, he's leaving Jimmy behind. He realizes that turning away wasn't the answer, and he's gained nothing from it except knowledge that life is no better in a different atmosphere. He hoped for too much, and got nothing in return. St. Jimmy kills himself, in a sense, in JOS' mind he's gone. Still, there's no one who cares, and nobody cares. Part II, East 12th St, tells us that JOS met and accepted conformity, got a job, and is just in his own world as people move around him. He'd rather be out and around with 'the underbelly', his friends. He feels trapped. Alone, and again, must get away. "This lifelike dream ain't for me"...Part III, Nobody Likes You. He's still depressed about losing Whatsername, as he waits for her to return, but no luck. All of his dreams at this point are shot to hell, as her voice still pounds in his head "NOBODY LIKES YOU, EVERYONE LEFT YOU..." Part IV, Rock 'N Roll Girlfriend, in the inlay, is shown as a postcard from "Tunny"...who seems to be another person JOS met while on the streets. Tunny explains that he's living it up where he is, and the rebel life he leads, while JOS is rotting with his dead end job, in his dead end life. Part V, We're Coming Home Again, is JOS accepting things. He's coming to the realization of everything and everyone, and is just accepting it. He comes home. It's left on a confusing note. He's not sure if he's happy or sad, he's just home, living, and he just...is.
  WHATSERNAME
  After being home, and just living in normality, he still regrets losing Whatsername. It's been so long, he can't even remember her name. He wonders what happened to her, and can only remember. All he has is his memories of her. The album ends with him still trying to forget "If my memory serves me right, I'll never turn back time, forgetting you, but not the time."...He doesn't regret living his life on the streets, using it as a learning experience, but still tries to forget Whatsername, and the pain that she put him through, and vice versa.
  
  
  AMERICAN IDIOT'S B-SIDES:
  
  GOVERNATOR
  Written in relation to Arnold Schwarzenegger. They repeat his famous words from The Terminator, "I'll be back."
  SHOPLIFTER
  Living life on the streets with Jimmy, stealing things to get by.
  FAVORITE SON
  George Bush anthem, not really related to the story.
  TOO MUCH TOO SOON
  All about Whatsername. How she's so needy and JOS is getting fed up.
  
  
  SIDE NOTES:
  
  I personally believe Jimmy and JOS are the same person. Kind of Fight Clubesque, for those who have seen it. I think JOS is just pushed so far, that he turns into this new person, new mindset, etc...This explains the rage and love, the story of his life. Rage, Jimmy, love, JOS. It makes the album a lot more interesting, seeing JOS and Jimmy as the same person, but again, I'll leave the interpretation up to you.
  East 12th St. of Homecoming was written by Billie Joe. East 12th St. was the place in Oakland where he had to fill out all the paperwork after he got his DUI in 2003.
  Rock and Roll Girlfriend of Homecoming was written by Tre and is based on his life.
  The "I" perspective is referring to one of our previous GDA webmasters, Matt, whom wrote up the meanings/story for GDA.
• Brooke from Portland, OrI agree punk isnt dead, ITS JUST HELLA EFFED WITH!
  
  Punk is all about a statement and its Not just music, punk is a type of music and there is so much behind that that people dont see or know
  
  its not about
  what bands you like
  if your wearing converse, wristbands, eyeliner
  acting like you hate the government.
  so many people walk around these days thinking they are punk, but have no clue what its really like and it kind of pisses me off.
• Hippie from Sarajevo, BosniaCan we concentrate on the music? Does is matter if they're punk or not? Does it matter that BJ is an a**hole or not?
  NO!
  I like the song. It's interesting, really long and to me it's just wonderfull
• Devon from Hawthorne, CaThank god, Joe ur finally making a statement. Everyone knows that punk rock is now just a corporate buyout nowadays. And it pisses me that people actually think this is "music". all the band is doing is writing these songs that they know will appeal to the "scene kids" to get their fat ass pockets filled with cash.
• Tara from Somewhere, Flthis song reminds me of me even though i'm not a guy... excpecially the part "City of the Damned" because, well, yeah.
• Sarah from Melbourne, AustraliaPUNKS NOT DEAD
• Sarah from Melbourne, Australia2 joe obviously ur ears dont work yea im young just started highschool and u have no idea! most of these try hards r into techno not bagging techno techno is good but these kids haven't even heard BANDS b4 so before u start critisizing maybe u should get ur ears checked and a brain scan coz u have no idea PS luv the sex pistols
• Joe from Bellingham, WaReal rock is dead. Punk rock is dying. This may not be true to you 8-14 year olds but ask anyone who has heard of The Ramones, The Clash, or the Sex Pistols. Because you little wannabe rebels have no clue what true rock, or a rock oppera is. Saint Jimmy or whatever is not a rock oppera. Oh and Jodi of London, how can you relate, if you have a T.V., Basic Internet, CD, and think the guy is hot?! You are all loser posers who have no idea what a punk or an anarchist is! Billie Joe is not a rebel, nor is that bassist, or the fat ass drummer. they are all money hungry musicians who saw bush was unpopular, and decided to see if they could sell a song about this. They got lucky because of you guys and put yet another nail into the "real punk coffin" continue this and we will have no real music. for shame! GREEN DAY SUCKS!!!
• Paloma from Madrid, Spainbueno sinceramente yo pienso qe esta cancion esta ablando de el mismo billie joe,en un mundo qe el mismo dice qe no creee en el,el representa la furia y el amor al mismo tiempo,en esos dias qe piensas qe todo esta mal y qe lo kieres mandar todo a la mierda,dice: "soy el hijo de la furia y el amor,
  el jesus de los suburbios
  desde la biblia de 'ninguno de los de arriba"
  luego tambien abla de
  
  'consigo mi droga de television"
  en eso esta intentando reflejar como lo obsesos qe pueden llegar a volverse algunas personas x llamar la atencion y comparado con cosas muxo peores qe ay en el mundo por eso dice:
  while moms and brad are away
  
  mientras las mamas y los papas no estan,.
  dice qe ay cosas peores en l mundo como para solamnte preokuparse de la television y pretender ser algo qe no eres x eso dice
  
  in a land of make belive that dont belive in me.
  en una tierra de acer creer qe nop cree en mi.
  
  esta prentendiendo decir al mundo qe apesta,qe la vida es muy mala cpn muxas personas y qe a nadie parece importarle kuando ay personas qe realmnte necesitan atuda
  
  NOONE REALLY SEEMS TO CARE.
  
  al principio d la cancion dice en una estricta dienta de sodapop y ritalain,eso es qe ay personas qe tienen qe tomar drogas xa conseguir lo k kieren.
  dice to fall inlove and fall in debt,eso realmnte no importa.
  en el parking lot del 7 al 11 donde fui educado el lema era solo una mentira.
  dice qe no todos los ninios se crian como para saber qe pueden llegar a ser algo en la vida.para mi,sinceramnte ,en esta cancion billie joe esta diciendo al mundo qe apesta.
  
  si alguien kiere qe me agrege a PALOMITARALPH@HOTMAIL.COM
• Jt from Tullahoma, TnThe later chords of this song at about two minutes in sounds llike he took it from "The Best days of my life" By that dude. They song looks like it ripped it off
• Sophie from Hfdhfd, Ks"American idiot" is actually a story...And yes St.Jimmy and JoS IS the same person..St.Jimmy is JoS's alter ego...I would really like to write down my opinion about the whole "story" but i don't really have time now..so i'll probably do it one day just to share it with you...
• Mike from Boston, MaI think this is a great song. It really describes what happens to alot of people in this world and how cruel and cold it is. Basically this song is telling how people are supposed to be following the bible but instead turn the other cheek. "Jesus of Suburbia" is someone who is influenced by people who show no care and no love. This song is about the Jesus who is opposite. It tells a story of a town where there are nothing but fake people and people with cruel intentions. There are alot of these people in the world. ALSO TO THE COMMENT BELOW IT IS TELLING OF WHAT THIS WORLD IS AND HOW EVIL THE HUMAN RACE CAN BE...YEAH ITS DEPRESSING BUT IT SPEAKS THE TRUTH.
• Angie from The Sky, United Statesi think this song is actually terrible. its so depressing and pointless. who wants to hear a song thats just constant complaining about everything in our world? the world is beautiful and people to appreciate it
• Jodi from London, EnglandOMG!! i am toatally obsessed with this song and video. i can kind of relate to it too. it is just brilliant. and how hot is the guy in the video! phwooaar!! yes please!
• Casey from Dalton, GaPunk bands don't do rock operas; that's the final bit of evidence. Green Day isn't punk, it's above punk; they perfected punk and they're still making better music than the other fecal matter bands out there. This is one of my favorite songs they've ever done, amazing.
• Joe from Chicago, Ara great song but to damn long i like it when punk bands make songs 2-4 minuets but who cares this song is still pretty good
• Nelson from MelbourneTo me, Green Day would have been greatly influenced by Meatloaf on this track. Not just the structure, how it is in its parts, but also there are moments the singing sounds Meatloaf style.
• Ashley from Livermore, CaTales From Another Broken Home is my favorite part of the song, JOS is my fave GD song on AI =]
• Diz from York, PaLove the song! Dearly Beloved is my IM profile.
• Sarah from Midlands, EnglandWord cannot describe how much I love this song. Esp City of the Damned chapter. This rocked MK Bowl when they played there last year
• Sarah from Sandiego, CaThis song is so cool I love it it's like different chapters in a book and your just waiting to read the next chapter. My favorite chapter is dearly beloved.
• Benny from Melbourne, AustraliaThis song is a masterpiece. A rock opera. American Idiot has such deep lyrics and puts Green Day on a level far above today's crap music. I consider most popular music today to be far worse than the quality of music produced back when super-bands such as The Beatles, The ROlling Stones or even Queen roamed the earth. Green Day are one of the greats and will be one of the very very few super bands to come out of the last decade.
• Azzie from Manitoba, CanadaI know. That's why I said I saw it differently. It's just my way of interpreting it. I know it's not "the right way," but whatever.
• Nate from Mesa, AzJOS descibes my life...its a very good song with a great story inside it.
• Kathy from Bonavista, CanadaGreat Song, but the opening sounds a lot like Moonage Daydreamer by David Bowie!
• Jeevan from Brampton, CanadaGreen Day is the best band ever! I also think this song is my favourite. It's quite long, though.
• Tanya from London, United StatesJoS and St Jimmy are the same person. Billie JOe said - "It was written as St Jimmy and Jesus of Suburbia being the same person. It could be interpreted as two different people though. It's like a split personality that I think alot of people have, where they become disconnected from themselves and follow a self destructive path. And St Jimmy symbolises that"
  
• Azzie from Manitoba, CanadaThe 'story' in the album starts here, and I see it a little differently than most people so I'll post it here.
  
  JESUS OF SUBURBIA is the introduction to this character and pretty much his life. At the end of this song he leaves home. In BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS he feels lonely and seperate from the rest of the wrold. During WE ARE WAITING, JoS feels he's waiting for something but doesn't know what. Then in ST. JIMMY he meets up with St. Jimmy, who is this tough guy who JoS comes to trust. I get the idea from the lines "Jimmy says it's better than air" and "Jimmy says I won't feel a thing" in the next song, GIVE ME NOVACAINE. Moving on, in SHE'S A REBEL, JoS meets Whatsername. Quite obviously, JoS falls in love with her. EXTRAORDINARY GIRL is more about Whatsername, I think. I don't really understand what happens in LETTERBOMB. I think there's an argument between JoS and St. Jimmy, something to do with Whatsername, as the last lines state, "she said 'I can't take this town I'm leaving you tonight.'" In THE HOMECOMING St. Jimmy kills himself. JoS is lost without him and wanders around the town, deciding at the end of the song to go back home. Then in WHATSERNAME JoS thinks about Whatsername.
  
  So there's my interpritation. I just thought I'd share it with you. :) Now wasn't that nice of me?
• Tanya from London, EnglandBest song on American Idiot except Wake me up when September Ends. Love it. city of the damned is the best chapter

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