Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
Single cover art
Single by Green Day
from the album Nimrod
B-side	"Desensitized" "Rotting"
Released	October 17, 1997
Format	CD single
Recorded	June 1996
Genre	Acoustic rock
Length	2:34 (album version) 2:28 (clean album remix)
Label	Reprise
Writer(s)	Billie Joe Armstrong / Green Day
Producer	Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Green Day singles chronology
"Hitchin' a Ride" (1997) "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" (1997) "Redundant" (1998)

"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is a song by the American rock band Green Day. Although written by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong just after the release of the band's third album Dookie (1994), the song was not released until Green Day's fifth album, Nimrod (1997), and was the second single released from that album. An alternate version (in a different key, with a faster tempo and sparer arrangement) did appear as a b-side to the 1995 German import single for "Brain Stew/Jaded". As of January 2012, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" has sold 2,072,000 copies.

Writing and composition

In comparison to previous Green Day material, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" features more mellow, contemplative lyrics with acoustic music. Band member Mike Dirnt went on to state that the release of this song was probably the "most punk" thing they could have done. The song is more commonly promoted on the radio as "Time of Your Life", and it became a Billboard Rock chart-topper and an international hit, and was the only song from Nimrod that was a crossover success when released in single form.

Music video

The music video was directed by Mark Kohr, and features Billie Joe Armstrong singing and playing an acoustic guitar in a bedroom, intercut with "pull-in" shots of various people involved in mundane activities. All of the subjects are shown seemingly staring into space absent-mindedly. Band members Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool make cameo appearances in the video as a person pumping gas (Dirnt), and an injured bike rider being attended by paramedics (Cool). When the video came out, the name of the song was inverted, hence the video's title is "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)", this name was also used on the single cover.

In 1998 Green Day won their first MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video for "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" and they were also nominated for Viewer's Choice.

The video can be found on their music video compilation DVD, International Supervideos!.

Tracklist

CD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Good Riddance" (Clean Remix)	2:28
2.	"Desensitized" (Non-LP Track)	2:47
3.	"Rotting" (Non-LP Track)	2:50
4.	"Good Riddance"
Total length:		8:40

EU CD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)" (Clean Album Remix)	2:28
2.	"Desensitized" (Non-LP Track)	2:47
3.	"Rotting" (Non-LP Track)	2:50
Total length:		8:05

AUS CD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Redundant"	3:18
2.	"Good Riddance(Time of Your Life)" (Album Version)	2:34
3.	"Redundant" (Video)	3:20
4.	"Good Riddance(Time of Your Life)" (Video)	2:29
Total length:		11:41

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	11
Australia Singles Chart	2
Canadian RPM Singles Chart	5
Canadian RPM Alternative 30	7
New Zealand Singles Chart	40
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks	11
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	13
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	7
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	2

Covers

• Rancid have covered the song in some acoustic performances, Matt Freeman is the lead vocalist in the cover.
• Comedian Tim Hawkins plays a parody of the song entitled "These Are Things You Don't Say to Your Wife"
• In 2004, the Swedish band Raymond och Maria performed the song at the last episode of the talk show Sen kväll med Luuk.
• Colin Murray covered the song during the 2007 Comic Relief does Fame Academy.
• In 2007, the Canadian Idol contestant Jaydee Bixby performed a country version of the song during the fifth series of the show.
• California indie band The Citizen Vein covered this song in 2007 to close their final performance before vocalist Adam Lambert left the band. (This version was lyrically and instrumentally similar to the one found on the Brain Stew single and sung with an almost parodic or joking tone.)
• The song was covered by the American country musician Glen Campbell and can be found on his 2008 release Meet Glen Campbell.
• Dwight Yoakam covered the chorus at the end of his performance of "If There Was a Way" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on the May 26, 2009.
• Jimmy Fallon covered a parody version of the song with lyrics about Lost at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards.
• A cover of this song was done by American Idol season 10 finalist James Durbin which appeared on his highlights EP.