When: Feb. 16th, 2024 at 3:55 A.M. EST
Who: Green Day
Album: International Superhits! (and other noted albums)
Released: Nov. 13th, 2001
Song: Numerous (see listing below)
Lyrics: In chronological album release then-track listed order

Burnout (Dookie – #1/NA)

I declare I don’t care no more
I’m burnin’ up and out and {but not} growing bored

Oh, apathy has rained on me
And now I’m feelin’ like a soggy dream
So close to drowning,
but I don’t mind I’ll live inside this mental cave
Throw my emotions in the grave
And hell, who needs ’em anyway?

I’m not growin’ up, I’m just burning out
And I stepped in line to walk amongst the dead

Chump (Dookie – #3/NA)

Strange how you’ve become my biggest enemy
And I’ve never even-seen your face

Well maybe it’s just jealousy mixin’ up with a violent mind
A circumstance that doesn’t make much sense
Or maybe I’m just dumb

You’re the cloud hangin’ out over my head
And hail comes crashin’ down, welting my face
Magic man, egocentric plastic man
Yet you still got one {red-shirt} over on me

Longview (Dookie – #4/#3)

I sit around and watch the tube, but nothing’s on
I change the channels for an hour or two
Twiddle my thumbs just for a bit
I’m sick of all the same old shit
In a house with unlocked doors,
and I’m fuckin’ lazy
{trapped by four damned walls}

Bite my lip and close my eyes
Take me away to paradise
{I’m blacking out left and right, Is it the month of May?}

Peel me off this velcro seat
and get me movin’
I sure as hell can’t do it by myself
Call me pathetic, call me what you will

And loneliness has to suffice
Bite my lip and close my eyes
I’m slippin’ away to paradise
{I’m blacking out left and right, Is it now July?}

Welcome to Paradise (Dookie – #5/#4)

This sudden fear has left me tremblin’
‘Cause now it seems that I am out here on my own
And I’m feelin’ so alone

A gunshot rings out at the station,
Another urchin snaps and left dead on his own
It makes me wonder why I’m still here
For some strange reason, it’s now feelin’ like my home
And I’m never gonna go

It makes me wonder why I’m still here
For some strange reason, it’s now feelin’ like my home
And I’m never gonna go

Basket Case (Dookie)

Basket Case (Dookie – #7/#5)

Do you have the time
To listen to me whine
About nothin’ and everything all at once?

Sometimes I give myself the creeps
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me
It all keeps adding up
I think I’m cracking up

Grasping to control
So I better hold on

When I Come Around (Dookie – #10/#6)

No time to search the world around
‘Cause you know where I’ll be found
When I come around

Oh, I heard it all before
So don’t knock down my door
I’m a loser and a user, so I don’t need no accuser
To try and slag me down because I know you’re right
So go do what you like
Make sure you do it wise
You may find out that your self-doubt means nothing was ever there
You can’t go forcing something if it’s just not right

Brain Stew (Insomniac – #10/#10)

I’m having trouble trying to sleep
I’m counting sheep, but running out
As time ticks by, still I try
No rest for cross-tops {pain that’s} in my {body and my} mind

My eyes feel like they’re gonna bleed
Dried up and bulging out my skull
My mouth is dry, my face is numb
Fucked up and spun out in my room

On my own, here we go

My mind is set on overdrive
The clock is laughing in my face
A crooked spine, my senses dulled
Past the point of delirium

On my own, here we go

Walking Contradiction (Insomniac – #14/#12)

Standards set and broken all the time
Control the chaos behind the gun
Call it as I see it,
even if I was born deaf, blind, and dumb
Losers winning big on the lottery
Rehab rejects still sniffing glue
Constant refutation with myself
A victim of a catch-22

Hitchin’ A Ride (Nimrod – #2/#14)

Hey, mister, where you headed?
Are you in a hurry?
……
Say, “Oh, no”
I need a break as well
The well that inebriates the guilt
One, two, one, two, three, four

There’s a drought at the fountain of youth
And I’m dehydrated
My tongue is swellin’ up,
I say “One, two, one, two, three, four”

Troubled times, you know I cannot lie
I’m off the wagon and I’m hitchin’ a ride

Troubled times, you know I cannot lie
I’m off the wagon and I’m hitchin’ a ride

(Don’t know where to go) Hitchin’ a ride
(Don’t know where to go) Hitchin’ a ride
(Don’t know where to go) Hitchin’ a ride
(Don’t know where to go) Hitchin’ a ride

Good Riddance (Nimrod – #17/#15)

Another turnin’ point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why
It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It’s somethin’ unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life

{Pages} Tattoos of memories, and dead skin {I’m about to be} on trial
For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while

It’s somethin’ unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time {This is not the end} of my life

Warning (Warning – #1/#19)

This is a public service announcement, this is only a test

Emergency evacuation protest
May impair your ability to operate machinery
Can’t quite tell just what it means to me
Keep out of reach of children, don’t you talk to strangers
Get your philosophy from a bumper sticker

Warnin’, live without warnin’
I said, “Warnin’, live without warnin'”
Without, alright

Better homes and safety-sealed communities
Did you remember to pay the utility?
Caution: Police line, you better not cross
Is the cop or am I the one that’s really dangerous?
Sanitation, expiration date, question everything
Or shut up and be a victim of authority
….
Is the cop or am I the one that’s really dangerous?
Sanitation, expiration date, question everything
Or shut up and be a victim of authority
This is a public service announcement, this is only a test

Minority (Warning – #11/#19)

I don’t need your authority
Down with the moral majority
I pledge allegiance to the underworld {Sanjay verse}
One nation under dog {hell}, there of which, I stand {burn} alone
A face in the crowd unsung against the mold
Without a doubt, singled out, the only way I know

One light, one mind, flashin’ in the dark
Blinded by the silence of a thousand broken hearts
“For cryin’ out loud,” she {they all} screamed unto me
A free-for-all, fuck ’em all, you are your own sight

‘Cause I wanna be {am} the minority
I don’t need your authority
Down with the moral majority
‘Cause I wanna be {am a} the minority

Produced by: Rob Cavallo

All images, content, and media ©1994-2001 Green Day, Reprise and Warner Music Group

My Comments:

I couldn’t just listen to a few songs on one album, or single out a song on it’s own. As I listened to song after song, going through each album chronologically, the progression was all too much a reflection.

The entire discography of Green Day’s release from inception until the early 2000s had nearly every song, and every phrase of every lyric being a double meaning, just like the definition of what it was trying to defy. The literal narrative combined with the personal meanings make each piece all the more potent and add power to every song.

-This is a public service announcement, this is only a test

Greenday - Album Covers

4 Photos