American Idiot (song)

"American Idiot"
Song
B-side	"Too Much Too Soon", "Shoplifter", "Governator"

"American Idiot" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day, and is the first single from their seventh album, American Idiot.

Released in 2004, the single peaked at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Green Day's first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry (excluding singles that charted on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart), helping revive the band's career. However, the appearance of "American Idiot" on the US singles charts occurred just prior to Billboard Magazine's inclusion of internet download purchases into their Billboard Hot 100 chart data, which would have made a significant difference in the song's peak had it benefited from the new chart tabulation system. This most recent form of sales assessment has resulted in the far greater successes of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Holiday" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

"American Idiot" became Green Day's first Top 5 single in the United Kingdom, reaching #3, and peaked at #7 in Australia. It debuted at #1 in Canada, holding onto the zenith position for five weeks.

In Australia, the song was ranked #22 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.

Green Day performed this song at the 2005 Grammy Awards. The album won for Best Rock Album.

The song was featured in the trailer for the 2005 film Wedding Crashers. An edited version of the song is featured on the soundtrack of the American football video game Madden NFL 2005. It was featured as the closing theme song for the first season of The Andy Milonakis Show. "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song on his album Straight Outta Lynwood as "Canadian Idiot" - a satirical commentary on American nationalism and the stereotypical American view of Canadians. In The Simpsons Movie, the song was played by an organist at the band's funeral. Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine covered this song into a lounge style on their 2005 album Aperitif for Destruction, and Avril Lavigne did as well in 2006. The guitar riffs of the song were sampled for the theme for Johnny Test and multiple episodes of the show.

It was ranked the #13 Single of the Decade by Rolling Stone magazine in 2009.

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	61
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	5
Australia Top 50 Singles	7
Austria Top 75 Singles	18
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart	1
Germany Top 100 Singles	28
Ireland Top 50 Singles	12
New Zealand RIANZ Top 40 Singles	7
Sweden Top 40 Singles	18
UK Singles Chart	3

Interpretation

Since American Idiot is a concept album, all songs are part of the story and American Idiot is not an exception. The song is basically a summary or a little preview of the story in the album which is the story of Jesus of Suburbia, a young man who, tired of his life in his hometown, decides to escape and head for the city. It talks about the "vegetable-like" state of mind of many Americans and it criticizes the politics of the US Government, the Iraq War, the struggle for the rights of the homosexuals, the propaganda on TV and the lack of individuality in Americans as well, along with many other political and social subjects, all from the point of view of the main character of the story.

Track list

Promo:

1. "American Idiot" (Radio edit) - 2:54

CD 1:

1. "American Idiot" - 2:54
2. "Too Much Too Soon" - 3:30

CD 2:

1. "American Idiot" - 2:54
2. "Shoplifter" - 1:51
3. "Governator" - 2:31

7" Picture Disc:

1. "American Idiot" - 2:54
2. "Too Much Too Soon" - 3:30

Vinyl Box Set

1. "American Idiot"
2. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
3. "She's A Rebel"
4. "Shoplifter"

Bullet in a Bible Single

1. "American Idiot" (live) - 4:32
2. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (live) - 4:45
3. "King For A Day/Shout" (live) - 8:47