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American IdiotGreen Day

Released: August 31, 2004

Songwriter: Billie Joe Armstrong

Producer: Green Day Rob Cavallo

This song was written collaboratively by all the band members for their second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. It was the lead single from the album, peaking at number two on the UK singles chart. It also reached number 17 on Billboard's Modern Rock tracks chart. The song won the award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards. Read more on Last.fm.

Length: 3:48

[Verse 1]
Don't wanna be an American idiot
Don't want a nation under the new media
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind-fuck America

[Chorus]
Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alien nation
Where everything isn't meant to be okay
Television dreams of tomorrow
We're not the ones who're meant to follow
For that's enough to argue

[Verse 2]
Well, maybe I'm the faggot, America
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda
Now everybody do the propaganda
And sing along to the age of paranoia

[Chorus]
Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alien nation
Where everything isn't meant to be okay
Television dreams of tomorrow
We're not the ones who're meant to follow
For that's enough to argue

[Guitar Solo]

[Bridge]
Don't wanna be an American idiot
One nation controlled by the media
Information age of hysteria
It's calling out to idiot America

[Chorus]
Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alien nation
Where everything isn't meant to be okay
Television dreams of tomorrow
We're not the ones who're meant to follow
For that's enough to argue

Green Day

Formed in East Bay, California in 1986 and still going strong today, Green Day is one of the biggest punk rock acts in the world. Along with other punk bands in California such as The Offspring, Sublime, Bad Religion and Rancid, they have been credited with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S. in the 90s.

First starting in 1986 as Sweet Children, longtime friends Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar and lead vocalist) and Mike Dirnt (bass guitar) teamed up with John Kiffmeyer to produce their debut EP 1,000 Hours. They eventually dropped the name Sweet Children and called themselves Green Day due to the band members' fondness for cannabis (it even inspired a song featured on their first album) and for their second studio album Kerplunk they replaced Kiffmeyer with German-born drummer Tré Cool, who had been drumming since the age of 12 in a punk band, The Lookouts.

It was their 1994 record Dookie that sent the band to stardom and gave them mainstream success. Dookie, alongside their following albums Insomniac (1995) and Nimrod (1997) were certified double platinum. Eventually, the band started to fall in popularity with their 2000 record Warning which only reached gold.

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