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.

Desensitized
Green Day Lyrics

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Clenching my teeth tight
My head is like a sponge
Give it to me free
I wanna get ripped off
And drown in the airwaves
Another fatal wreck
On the information highway
So go ahead and kill yourselves

It all amuses me
For I'll be damned to spend my life in hell
Another wise ingrate

Bring me blood and pain
Of a stranger's fate
Give it all away
Give it to me now
I'm desensitized
I wanna watch a bomb
Blow the masses high

I wanna get ripped off
And drown in the airwaves
Another fatal wreck
On the information highway
So go ahead and kill yourselves
It all amuses me
For I'll be damned to spend my life in hell
Another wise ingrate

Bring me blood and pain
Of a stranger's fate
Give it all away

I wanna get ripped off
And drown in the airwaves
Another fatal wreck
On the information highway
So go ahead and kill yourselves
It all amuses me

For I'll be damned to spend my life in hell
Another wise ingrate

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Green Day's song "Desensitized" convey a sense of hopelessness and disillusionment towards the world around us. The singer appears to be someone who has lost faith in humanity, and who finds solace in the never-ending cycle of violence and destruction. The first verse talks about the singer's overwhelming sense of anxiety, and how they are constantly bombarded by information without being able to process it. They want to set themselves free from this burden, and they are willing to pay any price for it. The second verse talks about the singer's fascination with death and destruction. They seem to be obsessed with violence, and they find satisfaction in the suffering of others. They want to witness the world burn, and they are indifferent to the consequences of their actions.

The chorus of the song contains a repetition of the phrase "I want to get ripped off and drown in the airwaves", which seems to suggest that the singer wants to lose themselves in the mindless chatter of the media, in order to escape from the harsh realities of life. They are desensitized to the pain and suffering of others, and they have lost touch with their own humanity.

In the final verse, the singer expresses their contempt for those who refuse to see the world as they do. They see anyone who disagrees with them as an "ingrate", and they believe that the only way to find meaning in life is through blood and pain. They end the song with the same repetition of the chorus, suggesting that they are trapped in a never-ending cycle of self-destructive behavior.

Line by Line Meaning

Clenching my teeth tight
I am angry and frustrated.

My head is like a sponge
I am absorbing all the negative and overwhelming content in the media.

Give it to me free
I am addicted to consuming more and more shocking content.

I want to get ripped off
I want to be deceived and misled.

And drown in the airwaves
I am overwhelmed by the constant stream of media content.

Another fatal wreck
Another catastrophic event is happening and I am watching it unfold on the news.

On the information highway
This refers to the internet, where news and information is constantly flowing.

So go ahead and kill yourselves
I feel disconnected and indifferent to the suffering of others.

It all amuses me
I find entertainment in watching the pain and suffering of others.

For I'll be damned to spend my life in hell
I am resigned to the fact that I am addicted to this harmful behavior and it will lead me to a dark place.

Another wise ingrate
Another person who thinks they know everything and is foolishly blind to their own faults.

Bring me blood and pain
I want to be entertained and excited by violent and gruesome content.

Of a stranger's fate
I am fascinated by the misfortunes of others, even if I don't know them personally.

Give it all away
I am willing to sacrifice my own wellbeing for the sake of satisfying my addiction to media content.

I'm desensitized
I have become numb to the pain and suffering of others due to my excessive consumption of media content.

I want to watch the bomb
I am drawn to the excitement and drama of violent events.

Blow the masses high
I am entertained by the thought of mass destruction and chaos.

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billie Joe Armstrong, Frank Edwin Wright III, Michael Pritchard

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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