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.

No One Knows
Green Day Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Why should my fun have to end?
For me it's only the beginning
I see my friends begin to age
A short countdown to their end

Call me irresponsible
Call me habitual
But when you think of me

Do you fill your head with schemes
Better think again
Cause no one knows

I don't want to cause no harm
But sometimes my actions hurt
Is there something I should find
To make plans for forever
Does it seem like all your memories fade
You soak up knowledge to fill the space

And still my answer remains...
I don't know.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Green Day's song "No One Knows" describe the feeling of seeking eternal youthfulness and liberation from the pain of having to witness one's friends and loved ones age and perish. The singer of the song questions why their "fun" has to end, expressing that for them, life is just beginning. However, they are also aware of the fleeting nature of life, and they see their friends aging with a sense of foreboding. The line "a short countdown to their end" reflects this feeling of helplessness and anxiety in the face of mortality.

The song's chorus, which goes "Call me irresponsible, call me habitual, but when you think of me, do you fill your head with schemes? Better think again, 'cause no one knows" portrays the singer's sense of isolation and the difficulty of sharing their burden with others. They acknowledge that their actions may be seen as irresponsible or habitual, but they also question whether people really understand the motives behind them. The line "better think again, 'cause no one knows" emphasizes this sense of detachment and uncertainty.

The song also touches on themes of regret and the fleeting nature of memories. The singer wonders if there is something they should do to make plans for forever, but ultimately concludes that they "don't know." The fading of memories and the desire to fill them up with knowledge is another key theme of the song.

Overall, "No One Knows" is a poignant reflection on the human condition and the struggle to make sense of mortality and the passage of time.

Line by Line Meaning

Why should my fun have to end?
I don't want my enjoyment to be over yet.

For me it's only the beginning
I feel like there's still so much ahead of me.

I see my friends begin to age
I notice that the people close to me are getting older.

A short countdown to their end
It seems like they don't have much time left.

Call me irresponsible
I know some people might think of me as careless.

Call me habitual
Others might see me as having a routine or pattern of behavior.

But when you think of me
If you have thoughts or ideas about who I am,

Do you fill your head with schemes
Are your thoughts positive or negative?

Better think again
Before you draw conclusions, reconsider.

Cause no one knows
The truth is, nobody can really know everything about me or anyone else.

I don't want to cause no harm
I don't intend to hurt anyone.

But sometimes my actions hurt
Unfortunately, sometimes things I do can be painful or damaging.

Is there something I should find
Is there some solution or remedy that would help?

To make plans for forever
To come up with a way to ensure that everything works out perfectly and never changes.

Does it seem like all your memories fade
Do you feel like your memories and experiences lose their meaning over time?

You soak up knowledge to fill the space
You try to gain more information or insight to give your life more depth.

And still my answer remains...
Even with all that knowledge, I still don't have an answer.

I don't know.
I'm still unsure or undecided.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KAREN AMANDA REIFER, THOMAS-RAY ARMSTRONG, BARRY PATRICK HILL, EMMA KING, MAKALA KING

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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