Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in … Read Full Bio ↴Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career they have been a power trio with drummer Tré Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990 before the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk (1991). Before taking its current name in 1989, Green Day was called Blood Rage, then Sweet Children and they were part of the late 1980s/early 1990s Bay Area punk scene that emerged from the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases were with the independent record label Lookout! Records. In 1994, their major-label debut Dookie, released through Reprise Records, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 10 million copies in the U.S. Alongside fellow California punk bands Bad Religion, the Offspring, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise and Social Distortion, Green Day is credited with popularizing mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S.

Though the albums Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997) and Warning (2000) did not match the success of Dookie, they were still successful, with the first two reaching double platinum status, while the last achieved gold. Green Day's seventh album, a rock opera called American Idiot (2004), found popularity with a younger generation, selling six million copies in the U.S. Their next album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009 and achieved the band's best chart performance. It was followed by a trilogy of albums, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, released in September, November, and December 2012, respectively. The trilogy did not perform as well as expected commercially, in comparison to their previous albums, largely due to a lack of promotion and Armstrong entering rehab. Their twelfth studio album, Revolution Radio, was released in October 2016 and became their third to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The band's thirteenth studio album, Father of All Motherfuckers, was released on February 7, 2020, and was their final album released by Reprise. On October 24, 2023, the band announced that their fourteenth studio album, 'Saviors', will come out January 19, 2024.

In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The musical was nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design, winning the latter two. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, their first year of eligibility. Members of the band have collaborated on the side projects Pinhead Gunpowder, The Network, Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Longshot and The Coverups. They have also worked on solo careers.

Green Day has sold roughly 90 million records worldwide, them one of the world's best-selling artists. The group has been nominated for 20 Grammy awards and has won five of them with Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and Best Musical Show Album for American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording.

Blood
Green Day Lyrics

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Waiting in a room
All dressed up and bound and gagged
To a chair
It's so unfair
I won't dare move, for the pain
She puts me through is what I need
So make it bleed

I'm in distress, oh mistress
I confess so do it one more time
These handcuffs are too tight
You know I will obey, so please
Don't make me beg
For blood, sex and booze you give me

Some say I'm disturbed
But it's what I deserve, another lesson
To be learned...from a girl called kill
My head is in the gutter
Thank you sir, strike up another mandolin
Of discipline
Throw me to the dogs
Let them eat my flesh down

To the wood
It feels so good

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Green Day's "Blood" can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one's perspective. At its most basic level, the song is about a willing participant in BDSM, who is tied up and ready for his partner to inflict pain upon him. The lyrics reflect a certain level of ambivalence toward the pain that the singer is experiencing - on one hand, he's willing to suffer it for his lover's pleasure, but on the other hand, it's described as being "so unfair."

The lyrics also speak to a certain level of submission that the singer is willing to engage in - his "handcuffs are too tight" but he "will obey." The idea of submission and control is further underscored by the repeated refrain of "make it bleed," which can be read as either a plea for more pain or as a statement of the power dynamic at play.

Beyond the obvious BDSM elements of the song, the lyrics can also be seen as a commentary on the ways in which we willingly submit to pain and discomfort in our lives. The line "Some say I'm disturbed, but it's what I deserve, another lesson to be learned" speaks to this idea - that sometimes we seek out the things that hurt us, either because we feel we deserve them or because we believe we'll learn something from the experience.

In general, the lyrics to "Blood" are somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. They can be read as a fairly straightforward exploration of BDSM, or as a more metaphorical commentary on the ways in which we interact with the world around us.

Line by Line Meaning

Waiting in a room
I find myself in a room, waiting for someone

All dressed up and bound and gagged
I'm dressed and tied up, unable to move or speak

To a chair
Specifically, I'm tied to a chair

It's so unfair
I feel the situation is unjust, but there's nothing I can do

I won't dare move, for the pain
The pain inflicted on me if I move is too much to bear

She puts me through is what I need
Despite the pain, I believe this is beneficial for me

So make it bleed
I want the pain to be extreme and cause me to bleed

I'm in distress, oh mistress
I'm in a state of physical and emotional suffering, addressing the person causing it

I confess so do it one more time
I admit that I want the pain to be inflicted on me again

These handcuffs are too tight
I'm struggling because the handcuffs are too tight

You know I will obey, so please
I'm willing to do whatever the other person wants, if they'll just agree to it

Don't make me beg
I don't want to have to plead for it to happen again

For blood, sex and booze you give me
I associate the pain with these three things, which I crave

Some say I'm disturbed
Others describe me as mentally ill

But it's what I deserve, another lesson
However, I believe that the pain and suffering are justified as a form of punishment or education

To be learned... from a girl called kill
The person inflicting the pain on me is named Kill, and I believe there's something to be learned from her

My head is in the gutter
I'm not thinking clearly and my thoughts are consumed by sex and violence

Thank you sir, strike up another mandolin
I'm thanking someone for continuing the punishment, which I compare to the sound of a mandolin being played

Of discipline
I view the pain and punishment as a form of discipline

Throw me to the dogs
I'm willing to be harmed or attacked like a helpless animal

Let them eat my flesh down to the wood
I'm willing to be injured so severely that my flesh is stripped away, revealing my bones

It feels so good
Despite the pain, I derive pleasure from the situation

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, FRANK E., III WRIGHT, FRANK EDWIN WRIGHT III, MICHAEL PRITCHARD, MIKE DIRNT, MIKE RYAN PRITCHARD, TRE COOL

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