Preview

Green Day Song Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
887 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Green Day Song Analysis
Green Day is a California based pop-punk band consisting of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool. At the age of fourteen, Armstrong and Dirnt decided to form a punk rock band, and at first they called themselves Sweet Children. By early 1989, however, they added drummer Al Sobrante to their band and decided to change their band name to Green Day. After independently releasing their first EP, which was well received by the locals, the group signed with the local independent label Lookout. Later that year, they released their first album 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour. Shortly after its release, the band replaced Al Sobrante with Tre Cool as the band 's permanent drummer. They released another album, Kerplunk, which became an instant …show more content…
His dream is to be with someone who will care about him, but this dream of his is "broken" since he has not found that person. In this song he refers to walking on an "empty" street, and just like that street his heart is devoid of any other human love. He is also comparing this street to his life, and likewise his life is also barren of affection. He feels "lonely" because of the fact that he has been searching for that someone but to no avail. So being fed up, sometimes he relinquishes his search and just "wish[es]" (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/greenday/boulevardofbrokendreams.html) that someone will come to him and help his dream come true. Thus, through diction, he portrays his feelings of dismay caused by his futile …show more content…
Throughout the song he repeats that he "walk[s] alone," and by doing so he stresses that he has not found anyone in this world who is compatible with him. His expectation of discovering his significant other has become bleak. He articulates his feelings about being alone long enough and he wishes that "someone out there will find" him. The more he reiterates this, the more it seems like he is in despair. He just wants to give up his aspiration and wait for that person to come to him instead of him running around trying to find her. But he knows that he cannot take this risk. Even with his hard labor, he has been unable to find that someone, and if he gives up now then there is no hope of finding that person. So he still seeks for that someone and "till then [he] walks alone." (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/greenday/boulevardofbrokendreams.html) Therefore by means of iteration, Armstrong exhibits his desolateness.

Many singers use songs to express their emotions. Armstrong does the same thing here in the song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." He conveys his loneliness caused by shattered dreams to the listeners through diction, figurative language, and repetition. By using such literary devices, he captures the attention of the listeners and tells them his story. He wants someone to love him and caress him when he feels lonely. That someone is still not with him and he will keep on looking until

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Goo Goo Dolls music is also relevant to my ever-changing life. The music caused me to do research on the band this lead me to www.robbyslobby.com, which I feel is a poorly designed site. This site is what led me to come back to school to learn website design. I hope that, when I finish my degree, I’ll redesign his website for him. The last way that they have impacted me is that, they can change my mood. Barry Farber in his book Rock ‘n’ Roll Wisdom wrote, “ We…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though there are many differences between the song and the poem, the theme and SOAPSTone elements are similar in a lot of ways. In the song, Tyler is explaining his experience with depression. By him saying “he lost his car radio” , he’s talking about the music that helps him through the rough times. He has lost his outlet and now is left alone with his thoughts. Similarly, the poem is about a lonely guy who is also experiencing depression. He compares it to being “acquainted with the night.” He’s saying that he’s lonely and he’s isolating himself because of the depression. The subject of the song deals with depression mostly because Tyler’s mind is going crazy with bad thoughts. The car radio is stolen and he’s in silence, which silence can bring about sadness and overthinking. In the same way, the poem’s subject is about the same topics, depression, loneliness and isolation. The narrator has never found any comfort in his depression. He is unwilling to express his feelings because he feels as if no one…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    David Green Day Analysis

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the 1950s, David Green, Jewish football star, lives in the economically diminishing town of Scranton, Pennsylvania. For his senior year of high school, David is given a scholarship to St. Matthew’s, an elite Catholic prep school located in Massachusetts. When he arrives, he meets all of his teammates, a few that he forms a bond with, Charlie Dillon, Rip Van Kelt, Jack Connors, and his roommate Chris Reece. David Green then learns about St. Matthews’ cherished honor code system, which stands by; Honor, Respect, and Accountability. It was a living entity, a guideline the school swore by, and those that broke the code met with the headmaster to discuss consequences. Soon learning that his friends are very prejudiced towards Jews, as they…

    • 1273 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When Billy turned 16 he got involved with alcohol and drugs, he did not complete high school and dropped out senior year. Mike Dirnt is the bassist for Green Day and had been friends with Billy since childhood, they used to be called Sweet Children until their drummer quit on them, and that is when they met Tre Cool the current drummer for Green day and changed their name to Green Day. When Billy started Green Day with these guys he strayed to the path of God again. He made very poor choices in his life. Billy is a Christian and has done a few songs about God, one of them being The Saints are Coming performed live with the famous band U2. Billy Joe Armstrong has always believed in God and always…

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The topic of sadness is a broad one: the reasons that bring upon the sadness, how an individual copes with the pain, and how long it lasts. It is an emotion that everyone feels, but experiences differently. The song ‘Human Sadness’ written by Julian Casablancas and Alex Carapetis (of Julian Casablancas & the Voidz) tries to encompass these feelings, mainly with rhetorical strategies and expert writing. The song cryptically brings up Casablancas’ personal reasons for his sadness, for example his parents’ divorce and his struggles with alcoholism as well as just a general feeling of rejection. Through the utilization of metaphors, allusions, aporia, personification and pathos the two lyricists ask the listeners to empathize with them and their experiences with this emotion.…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After I annotated this song and actually looked into what the lyrics were saying I learned that not everyone is who you think they are. For instance, you hide a lot of things from people not because you want to ,but because you don’t know how to tell them or maybe you’re afraid of what they will think of you. In the song ‘Demons’ by Imagine Dragons the singer says,”I wanna hide the truth’(Imagine dragons line 8 box 3) ,but then he says,” don’t want to hide the truth.”( Imagine Dragons line 35 box 8) I think that he is having mixed feelings what he should do. He is afraid that if he tells you that you may leave him or you won’t look at him the same way ever again.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the song “Sad Song” by Scotty Sire it talks about how sad he is and gives us the listeners many examples/reasons to be sad. Some that we can all relate to. In this song it talks a lot how he seems to be the saddest person of all, when really it’s just little things that seem to drive him nuts. In the end he does realize though that it is not the end of the world and that that’s just how life is, and that if he can move on so can you.…

    • 384 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Paris with You Analysis

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The poem starts with a morose tone and imagery suggestive of a break-up. The speaker starts with the negative imperative 'don't talk to me about love' which immediately tells the reader that love is a difficult subject for the speaker. The speaker goes on to explain how they get tearful when they have had a drink, punning the phrase 'walking wounded' which is a military phrase referring to…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The song starts out with a strang questioning of reality: “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality, Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see”. They first two lines are rhetorical questions. They help establish the state of mind needed in order to continue with the song. The third line is a metaphor. It means everything is crashing down on him, and he cannot escape it. It seems to conclude that he is caught between a dream and awakening. The next couple set of lines are being used as transitions into the main part of stanza one, “I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy, Because I’m easy come, easy go, Little high, little low, Any way the wind blows, Doesn’t really matter to me, to me”. In the third and fourth line repetition is used in order to keep the lyrics flowing. The boy thinks his life doesn’t matter to anyone, his life is meaningless and the Earth does not care what happens to him. He does not care what happens next, he just wants it over; “any way the wind blows” him, he will go and it “doesn’t really matter” to him anymore. The next three lines show intent to kill by the boy, “Mama, just killed a man, Put a gun against his head, Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead”. The boy has finally come to terms of what he has…

    • 1458 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poetic tone of the lyrics in “Getting Through” expresses the inescapable crushed and drawn-out feeling of heartbreak, while also hinting at its refusal to become extinct. “So I go on loving you,…” informs the reader that the heartbroken speaker is confronting the source of his or her pain (14). Unlike many narrators addressing the subject, this crushed soul is not begging to be taken back, but instead wants the oblivious cause to be aware of the uncontrollable and persistent love felt toward him and the torturous pain that has resulted. Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever had their heart broken knows, these words are futile as they go “…hurtling past,/ like a train off its track/ toward a boarded-up station,” (18-20). The speaker knows that this admission of love will not change anything, yet she still feels the need to express herself. There are no hints of hope or of a change of heart. In fact, it seems like the heart has been broken for quite a long time since there is a “deepening skin” of dust and the heart of the recipient is compared to “…a boarded-up station,/ closed for years,” (12, 20-21). The refusal, or possibly the inability, to move…

    • 1207 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Song Analysis

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Talking shit about a pretty sunset,” is a song that portrays an overall apathetic outlook on life. The listener can clearly hear the discontent expressed in the words sung and the execution in the music. Thoughts of suicide, phobia of commitment, lack and gain of motivation, fixation and illusions of a better life are all present. Through the complex breaks and climax of the song, tells an emotional story of revelation, realization and self-actualization.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This is a metaphor used in the song to help display the emotions that people feel for a man who they care…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    are not calling to him and he is completely alone. The tone of this poem is very depressing,…

    • 916 Words
    • 1 Page
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Song Analysis

    • 606 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The song that I chose to analyze is “Changes” by Tupac Shakur. The late Tupac Shakur was an African American rapper who was shot dead years ago. His powerful lyrics have impacted the rap industry to this day, because he spoke the truth. His lyrics directly related to his everyday struggles, and how being a successful African American is not an easy task to achieve. Rap usually talks about events of everyday life, and the song “Changes” talks about racial profiling, poverty, and how racism affects the everyday life of African American people. Note that this song came out in about 1996 where things were different, however the lyrics of this song still ring in the ears of people who are affected by the evil of racism.…

    • 606 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The loneliness he feels is caused by himself. The speaker pushes everyone away from him because of these demons and beasts that are inside of him. He keeps on saying that “It's dark inside”(10). This darkness is the loneliness that he is feeling. He has no one to help him through his hardships and as a result he feels dark inside. He repeats this several times and it adds to the sadness of this song. Whenever he looks at the one he loves he comments on the fact that this person has ”eyes, they shine so bright…”(12). These eyes contrast to the darkness that he feels inside of him. The brightness he feels is the friendliness that is being projected towards him. This person that he appreciates is helping the speaker without the speaker even realizing the help that has been given. Just looking at this other person gives the Narrator good vibes but in the end he advises this narrator to stay away from him. He keeps on trying to push away someone who makes him feel good and this fact also gives a very melancholy mood to the…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics