Released: October 4, 1994

Songwriter: Billie Joe Armstrong Mike Dirnt Tré Cool

Producer: Rob Cavallo Billie Joe Armstrong Mike Dirnt Tré Cool

[Verse 1]
Dear mother, can you hear me whining?
It's been three whole weeks since that I have left your home
This sudden fear has left me tremblin'
'Cause now it seems that I am out here on my own
And I'm feeling so alone!

[Chorus]
Pay attention to the cracked streets and the broken homes
Some call it slums, some call it nice
I want to take you through a wasteland I like to call my home
Welcome to paradise

[Verse 2]
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 feeling like my home
And I'm never gonna go!

[Chorus]
Pay attention to the cracked streets and the broken homes
Some call it slums, some call it nice
I want to take you through a wasteland I like to call my home
Welcome to paradise

[Instrumental Bridge]

[Verse 3]
Dear mother, can you hear me laughing?
It's been six whole months since that I have left your home
It makes me wonder why I'm still here
For some strange reason it's now feeling like my home
And I'm never gonna go!

[Chorus]
Pay attention to the cracked streets and the broken homes
Some call it slums, some call it nice
I want to take you through a wasteland I like to call my home
Welcome to paradise

[Outro]
Oh, paradise...

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.