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.

Outlaws
Green Day Lyrics

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Life after youth
Faded in twilight
The dawn of a criminal in bloom
First love
First forgiveness
We were delinquents
Freaks of a faded memory

Outlaws, when we were forever young
When we were outlaws
We're outlaws of redemption, baby
Hooligans
We destroyed suburbia
When we were outlaws
Outlaws of forever

Scars, broken hearts
Breaking in cars
Running in the light of the moon
Lost souls
Bottle rockets
All that we wanted
It's for our life beyond the stars

Outlaws, when we were forever young
When we were outlaws
We're outlaws of redemption, baby
Hooligans
We destroyed suburbia
When we were outlaws
We're outlaws of forever, baby

I've got no supervision
Nothing will change my spirit
Race around
I'll plead my innocence
I'll plead my innocence
But that's my best defense when you are young

Outlaws, when we were forever young
When we were outlaws
We're outlaws of redemption, baby
Hooligans
We destroyed suburbia
When we were outlaws
We're outlaws of forever

I found a knife by the railroad track

You took a train and you can't go back
Forever now, forever now you'll roam

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Green Day's song "Outlaws" paint a picture of young love, delinquency, and rebellion against conventional society. The first line, "Life after youth, faded in twilight," suggests that the singer is reflecting on a past that has already passed them by, and they are looking back on it with fondness. The next line, "The dawn of a criminal in bloom," implies that the singer and their friends were up to no good, possibly engaged in petty crimes or other actions that would be frowned upon by the authorities.

The chorus, "Outlaws, when we were forever young, when we were outlaws, we're outlaws of redemption, baby, hooligans, we destroyed suburbia, when we were outlaws, outlaws of forever," emphasizes the idea that the singer and their friends were outsiders, misfits who found their identity in being outside of the mainstream. The line "we destroyed suburbia" speaks to the idea that the singer and their friends were rejecting the traditional values and lifestyles of their parents, opting instead for a life of rebellion and nonconformity.

The second verse continues with images of youthful recklessness and emotion, describing "scars, broken hearts, breaking in cars" and "running in the light of the moon." The lines "lost souls, bottle rockets, all that we wanted, it's for our life beyond the stars" suggest a sense of longing for something more than what their current circumstances could offer them.

The final lines, "I found a knife by the railroad track, you took a train and you can't go back, forever now, forever now you'll roam," suggest that the singer and their friends have moved on from their former lives of rebellion, but they can never fully leave it behind. The knife and the train symbolize the recklessness and freedom they once experienced, and the idea of roaming forever suggests that they will always carry these memories with them.

Line by Line Meaning

Life after youth
The time after our youth

Faded in twilight
Fading into obscurity with the passage of time

The dawn of a criminal in bloom
The beginning of a life of crime

First love
The first experience of falling in love

First forgiveness
The first experience of forgiving someone

We were delinquents
We were rebels who broke the law

Freaks of a faded memory
Bizarre remnants of our distant past

Outlaws, when we were forever young
We were lawbreakers when we were young and immortal

We're outlaws of redemption, baby
We're rebels who seek redemption

Hooligans
Hoodlums who caused trouble

We destroyed suburbia
We damaged the suburbs and all it represents

Outlaws of forever
We will forever be rebels

Scars, broken hearts
Injury both emotional and physical

Breaking in cars
Committing car theft and burglary

Running in the light of the moon
Moving speedily while illuminated by the moon

Lost souls
Wandering spirits with no direction

Bottle rockets
Small fireworks that symbolize the joy of youth

All that we wanted
Everything we ever dreamed of having

It's for our life beyond the stars
It's for the life we want to experience beyond our limited existence

I've got no supervision
I have no one to control or monitor me

Nothing will change my spirit
My spirit is unchangeable

Race around
Move expeditiously without direction

I'll plead my innocence
I'll declare my lack of guilt

But that's my best defense when you are young
That's the only defense I have while I'm young

I found a knife by the railroad track
I stumbled upon a weapon by the train tracks

You took a train and you can't go back
You departed and can't return

Forever now, forever now you'll roam
You'll roam forever from this point on

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, MIKE RYAN PRITCHARD, FRANK EDWIN WRIGHT III, JOHN PAUL LAWLER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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