Wake Me Up When September Ends

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"Wake Me Up When September Ends"
Single by Green Day
from the album American Idiot
Released June 13, 2005
Format Digital download, CD single, vinyl
Recorded January 2004
Genre Alternative rock
Length 4:45
Label Reprise
Writer(s) Billie Joe Armstrong / Green Day
Producer Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Certification Platinum (RIAA)
Green Day singles chronology
"Holiday"
(2005)		 "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
(2005)		 "Jesus of Suburbia"
(2005)
Music video
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" on YouTube

"Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a ballad by American rock band Green Day. It was released in June 2005 as the fourth single from their seventh album, American Idiot. The song deals with the death of lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's father, who died when Armstrong was a child. Billie Joe Armstrong was 10 years old when his father died of cancer. At the funeral Billie Joe Armstrong couldn't handle it, so he ran home and locked himself in his room. His mother worried ran after him only to find the door locked, she asked him to come out but he only said: "Wake me up, when September ends."

The single peaked at number six in the United States, becoming Green Day's third Top 10 single. It also peaked at number eight in Canada and the UK, while making number 13 in Australia. "Wake Me Up When September Ends" had sold 1,652,000 copies as of May 2010, and was the second highest selling single in the U.S. from American Idiot, behind only the multi-platinum "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".[1]

Contents

Music video [edit]

Like the majority of the videos from the album American Idiot, Samuel Bayer was the director. The video features Green Day's support guitarist, Jason White. This is the second time Jason White has appeared in a Green Day video, first appearing in "When I Come Around", ten years earlier but not as a band member.

The video focuses on a very loving couple (played by Jamie Bell and Evan Rachel Wood). The boyfriend promises never to leave his girlfriend but they later argue when the boyfriend enlists in the United States Marine Corps. The boyfriend interprets his actions as a way to show her that he loves her so much that he would put his life on the line to keep her safe; the girlfriend, however, is heartbroken, as he broke his vow to never leave her, and terrified at the thought that he might die in battle. The video then shows the boyfriend in battle in Iraq being ambushed by insurgents. This scene is intercut with scenes of the girlfriend tearfully mourning in a quiet field. The video ends on this juxtaposition, emphasizing the pain and heartache of losing loved ones due to the war.

This video adds to the American Idiot anti-war sentiment of the U.S. war in Iraq. The song eventually became a tribute song to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and sound bites were added from various news coverages to the song. A live version of the song, recorded on September 3, 2005, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts was released soon after and dedicated to the hurricane's victims. The song was performed live with U2 guitarist The Edge in the pregame show of the Monday Night Football game between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons; it was the first game played in the Superdome in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Track listing [edit]

CD 1
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Me Up When September Ends"   4:45
2. "Give Me Novacaine" (live at VH1 Storytellers, Culver City, California on February 15, 2005) 3:38
CD 2
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Me Up When September Ends"   4:45
2. "Homecoming" (live at VH1 Storytellers, Culver City, California on February 15, 2005) 9:24
3. "Hitchin' a Ride"   2:52
AUS CD
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Me Up When September Ends"   4:45
2. "Give Me Novacaine" (live at VH1 Storytellers, Culver City, California on February 15, 2005) 3:38
3. "Homecoming" (live at VH1 Storytellers, Culver City, California on February 15, 2005) 9:24
Live (iTunes Exclusive)
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Me Up When September Ends" (live at Foxboro, Massachusetts on September 3, 2005) 5:41

7" picture disc

Side A
No. Title Length
1. "Wake Me Up When September Ends"   4:45
Side B
No. Title Length
1. "Give Me Novacaine" (live at VH1 Storytellers, Culver City, California on February 15, 2005) 3:38

Chart positions [edit]

Chart (2005-2006) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[2] 13
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 15
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[5] 2
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) 1
Czech Republic (IFPI)[6] 15
Germany (Media Control AG)[7] 22
Ireland (IRMA) 13
Italy (FIMI)[8] 33
Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[9] 44
New Zealand (RIANZ)[10] 10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 21
United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company) 8
US Billboard Hot 100 6
US Alternative Songs[12] 2
US Mainstream Rock Tracks 12
US Pop Songs 3
US Adult Pop Songs 2
US Adult Contemporary 13
Chart (2011) Peak
position
UK Rock (The Official Charts Company)[13] 28

References [edit]

  1. ^ [1][dead link]
  2. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
  3. ^ "Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
  4. ^ "Ultratop.be – Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  5. ^ "Ultratop.be – Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends" (in French). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  6. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200601 into search.
  7. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  8. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends". Top Digital Download. Hung Medien.
  9. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  10. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
  11. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Green Day – Wake Me Up When September Ends". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
  12. ^ "Green Day—Artist Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 18, 2009. 
  13. ^ "2011-03-19 Top 40 Rock & Metal Singles Archive". Official Charts. 2011-03-19. Retrieved 2012-01-08. 

External links [edit]

Green Day
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
EPs
Singles
Tours
Associated acts
Related articles
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