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21st Century BreakdownGreen Day

Released: November 13, 2009

Songwriter: Tré Cool Mike Dirnt Billie Joe Armstrong

Producer: Green Day Butch Vig

[Part I]

[Verse 1]
(Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh)
Born into Nixon, I was raised in hell
A welfare child where the teamsters dwelled
The last one born, and the first one to run
My town was blind from refinery sun

[Pre-Chorus]
My generation is zero
I never made it as a working class hero

[Chorus]
21st century breakdown
I once was lost, but never was found
I think I'm losing what's left of my mind
To the 20th century deadline

[Verse 2]
(Ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh)
I was made of poison and blood
Condemnation is what I understood
Video games through the tower's fall
Homeland security could kill us all

[Pre-Chorus]
My generation is zero
I never made it as a working class hero

[Chorus]
21st century breakdown
I once was lost, but never was found
I think I'm losing what's left of my mind
To the 20th century deadline

[Part II]

[Intro]
We are the class of, the class of '13
Born in the era of humility
We are the desperate in the decline
Raised by the bastards of 1969

[Verse 3]
My name is no one, the long lost son
Born on the 4th of July
Raised through the era of heroes and cons
That left me for dead or alive
I am a nation, a worker of pride (Hey!)
My debt to the status quo
The scars on my hands and a means to an end
It's all that I have to show

[Chorus]
Hey!
Hey!
Hey!

[Verse 4]
I swallowed my pride and I choked on my faith
I've given my heart and my soul
I've broken my fingers and lied through my teeth
The pillar of damage control
I've been to the edge and I've thrown the bouquet (Hey!)
Of flowers left over the grave
I sat in the waiting room wasting my time
And waiting for judgement day

[Bridge]
I praise liberty
The "freedom to obey"
It's the song that strangles me
Well, don't cross the line...

[Part III]

[Outro]
Oh, dream, America, dream
I can't even sleep from the light's early dawn
Oh, scream, America, scream
Believe what you see from heroes and cons...

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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