Top 25 Best Green Day Songs

Boulevard of Broken Dreams is possibly one of Green Day’s most popular songs. It was released on the American Idiot album nearly 16 years ago and it is still widely played on radio stations to this day. The song is about feeling alone after getting your hopes and dreams crus

Wake me Up When September Ends is the kind of song that pulls on your heartstrings no matter what mood you are in. You can hear the pain in Armstrong’s voice as he sings “Like my father’s come to pass seven years has gone so fast, wake me up when September ends,”. The song is about the death of Armstrong’s father and despite him being gone for twenty plus years he still feels the pain.

Give me Novavcaine starts off at a slower tempo but quickly gets into that Green Day rock and roll that everybody loves. The song is featured on the American Idiot album. Give me Novavcaine is about feeling down and wanting drugs to numb the unwanted pain.

King for a Day is a fun upbeat song that is featured some awesome trumpet playing on the Nimrod album. Many fans believe the song is about a young boy that enjoys cross-dressing in his mother’s clothes. However, other fans think it’s more about being comfortable with your sexuality.

Pulling Teeth, featured on the 1994 Dookie album, is rumored to have a few different meanings. The most popular idea is that it Armstrong wrote it based on an inside joke between the band and their bassist Mike Dirnt. The story revolves around a pillow flight between Dirnt and his girlfriend that ends with him going to the emergency room.

The Forgotten is featured on Green Day’s eleventh studio album, ¡Tré!. The song was also apart of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 soundtrack. It was released on November 13, 2012, and was placed under the alternative rock/piano rock genre. Many fans have different interpretations of the song but the most popular is the fear of being forgotten.

Oh Love is one of Green Day’s newer singles. The song is featured on their ninth studio album, ¡Uno! which was released in 2012. Armstrong told Rolling Stone that the album is more like a power-pop to get you in the mood to party.

Similar to that of Jesus of Suburbia, St. Jimmy is another one of Green Day’s characters they created to help tell their story. St. Jimmy is about a guy who is heavily involved in sex, drugs and criminal activity. The song is formed like a diary entry which helped to grasp the heart of fans all over the world.

Green Day’s Last of the American Girls can be found on their 21st Century Breakdown album. The song symbolizes strength and finding beauty in some of the ugliest places.

“It’s sort of like about an empowering, sort of subterranean kind of lifestyle, but at the same time there’s a new era coming in with the way we all need to live—like living in a disposable society or something like that but actually living off garbage and finding beauty in it in some way,” said Armstrong.

We’ve all felt the essence of the Green Day song Waiting. The song is about wanting something for a very long time, then once you finally get you to realize it wasn’t worth the wait. It was released in 2000 on the band’s sixth studio album, Warning.

Another fan-favorite song from the Insomniac album is Stuck with Me. It is the third track and the second single from Green Day’s fourth album. Upon its release fans quickly became attached to the song. Many people said they can relate to it because it is about overcoming society’s class system and people who think they are better than you.

Walking Contradiction was released on the Insomniac album on October 10, 1995. It is the fourteenth track and their fourth and final single for that album. The song is about negative feelings towards people who contradict themselves. A great example is parents who set high standards for their children but can’t follow the rules themselves.

Nice Guys Finish Last is the opening track for Green Day’s fifth album, Nimrod. It was released in 1997 and the song quickly became a fan favorite. Nice Guys Finish Last is an anthem for people who feel like no matter how much they do for their loved ones they always end up finishing last.

The popular Green Day song She is featured on the Dookie album which was released in 1994. The song was inspired by Adrienne Nesser who is the former wife of Armstrong. The couple met at a Green Day concert around 1990 and got married four years later. The song is about a girl who is tired of everyone telling her what to do with her life and just wants to do things her way. Ni

Minority is Green Day’s first single on their Warning album. It was released in 2000 and it quickly became a fan favorite. Minority stayed at #1 in the U.S. Modern Rock Chart for five weeks. The song is about following your own heart and doing what you think is right regardless of the views of others.

21 Guns was released in 2009 on their eighth album called 21st Century Breakdown. The song represents patriotism and the 21-gun salute is normally done for fallen military members. The song also symbolizes accepting the end of something great.

Green Day showed their view in politics with their American Idiot album which was released in 2004. The hit song Holiday has a spoken word section that accuses the president at that time, George W. Bush, of being a fascist. Armstrong insists that the song is not anti-American but more so anti-war. The song quickly became popular and it hit #1 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.

Many people have experienced moments in their life where they thought they were going crazy. Green Day’s Basket Case symbolized Armstrong’s struggle with his anxiety and panic disorders. After the song was released in 1994 it spent five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

“The only way I knew how to deal with it all was to write a song about it,” said Armstrong.

Jesus of Suburbia was released on the American Idiot album on October 25, 2005. The nine-minute song had to be cut down to six and a half minutes in order to be played on the radio. The song was immediately loved by fans and it quickly became the American Idiot anthem.

Some of the best things in life are simplistic. Brain Stew was released on the Insomniac album in 1996. The song is mostly made up of only five power chords and bass notes. Brain Stew has become known as one of the biggest nineties rock hits. It can still be heard on rock radio stations to this day.

Green Day released their Warning album in 2000. Their song, Macy’s Day Parade, quickly captured fans with its flowy uncomplicated calmness. It symbolizes growing up and the difficulty in making all the right choices.

“It’s sort of about the lies and deceptions that you have growing up and how you have to find your own way around,” says Armstrong

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) is another song that proves that Green Day’s sound can pivot in many different directions. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong originally wrote the piece back in 1994 but waited three years to release it. The mellow song features a section of orchestral strings and an acoustic guitar.

Fans may have been taken back when they heard the first 5 seconds of Hitchin’ a Ride. The few moments of a classical cello being played quickly transitions into a more rockier upbeat tempo. This song proved that Green Day can be more musically varied than many people may have previously thought.

When I Come Around is another hit song from the Dookie album. It peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay in 1994. Almost 25 years later the song can still be heard on some alternative rock radio stations.

Longview is the band’s lead single for their third album Dookie. It was released on February 1, 1994. Longview was Green Day’s first song to hit #1 on the modern rock charts. The hit song grabbed the attention of teenagers all over the country. It describes intense boredom from sitting in the house all day with no motivation and allusions to masturbation.