Wake Me Up When September Ends
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.
|
| "Wake Me Up When September Ends" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Single by Green Day | ||||
| from the album American Idiot | ||||
| Released | June 13, 2005 | |||
| Format | Digital Download, CD single, 7" vinyl | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 4:45 (album version) 4:15 (edit) |
|||
| Writer(s) | Billie Joe Armstrong / Green Day | |||
| Producer | Rob Cavallo and Green Day | |||
| Certification | Platinum (RIAA) | |||
| Green Day singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" is the fourth single from Green Day's seventh studio album, American Idiot. Released on June 13, 2005, the single peaked at number six in the United States, becoming Green Day's second Top 10 single. It also peaked at number eight in Canada and the UK, while making number thirteen in Australia. The song is well known for its music video, which paints an intimate portrait of a wartime situation.
Contents |
[edit] Meaning
There once was much debate about what the song was about, one of the most common initial beliefs being that it is about the events of 9/11. In the liner notes, the song is dated September 10, and it is track 11 on the album. However, Billie Joe Armstrong has confirmed to the public that the song was written as a memorial anthem about his father, a jazz musician and minor league baseball catcher, who died of esophageal cancer when Armstrong was only ten years old (1982).[citation needed]
In this ballad, Armstrong revisits his painful childhood and thinks about the day he lost his innocence when his father died. Like many faced with such a traumatic event, he never truly recovered, and he cannot believe that twenty years have passed since that September day, thus the lyrics Like my father's come to pass, twenty years has gone so fast. Armstrong associates September with pain; he would rather not deal with anything related to the month, prompting him to sing, As my memory rests / But never forgets what I lost / Wake me up when September ends
[edit] Music video
Like the rest 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.
The video focuses on a very loving teenage couple (played by Jamie Bell and Evan Rachel Wood) as the boyfriend promises never to leave his girlfriend. Later, they 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 of him being killed in war. 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. occupation of Iraq. The song eventually became a tribute song to the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and sound bytes 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 since Hurricane Katrina.
[edit] Track Listing
AU Single
- "Wake Me Up When September Ends "
- "Give Me Novacaine (Live Version from Storytellers) "
- "Homecoming (Live Version from Storytellers) "
UK CD 1
- "Wake Me Up When September Ends "
- "Give Me Novacaine (Live from VH1 Storytellers) "
UK CD 2
- "Wake Me Up When September Ends "
- "Homecoming (Live from VH1 Storytellers) "
- "Hitchin' a Ride "
Wake Me Up When September Ends (Live) - Single (iTunes digital download only)
- Wake Me Up When September Ends (Live At Foxboro, MA 9/3/05)
7" Picture Disc:
- Side A.
- Wake Me Up When September Ends
- Side B.
- Give Me Novacaine (Live from Storytellers)
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Singles Chart[1] | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart | 8 |
| World Chart Show | 2 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 13 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Chinese Singles Chart | 7 |
| Netherlands Singles Chart | 21 |
| Ireland Singles Chart | 13 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 33 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 10 |
| Russian Airplay Chart | 26 |
| German Single Charts | 22 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[2] | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 13 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Ringtones | 14 |
[edit] References
- ^ "Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends". SwedishCharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Green+Day&titel=Wake+Me+Up+When+September+Ends&cat=s. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
- ^ "Green Day—Artist Chart History". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=54578&model.vnuAlbumId=1251135. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
