Why You Should Stop Telling Green Day to Wake Up When Sept. Ends
At first, it was funny. Now, it's not so funny and a little bit insensitive. Here's why.
When Green Day's song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" first came out it was a hit. Since it was released in 2005, and the music video deals with the military and aftermath of 9/1, many people associated it with 9/11. It's the logical conclusion. It had been 3 years, but we were (and some still are) grieving. So the song spoke to a lot of people.
A few years later, it became a running joke. "It's October 1st! Time to wake up Green Day!" Haha!
I get it. It was funny.
But now, 14 years later, it's getting a little old, and Billie's a little tired of it.
"[I'm gonna write a new song] It's called "Shut the F*** Up When October Comes.""
I think we've all matured enough to realize what the song is actually about and to stop joking about it.
It wasn't written about 9/11. It was written about pain and loss, and that's what a lot of people experienced on that day, and that's how people relate to the song, but 9/11 is the original reason that the song came about and was written.
The song was written about Billie Joe Armstrong's father who died of cancer on Sept. 1st, 1982. Billie was just a kid at the time and dealing with a huge amount of grief, and refused to leave his room. Every time his mother would come to check on him he would tell her to "wake him up when September ended".
So this year, please, don't tell Green Day to "wake up" when September ends.
Just let 'em be.
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
Seven years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
Like we did when spring began
Wake me up when September ends
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
Twenty years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends
Wake me up when September ends
Wake me up when September ends