X-Kid

"X-Kid"
Song

"X-Kid" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. The song was recorded by the band for their eleventh studio album, ¡Tre!. It was released as a single February 12, 2013.

Background and release

"X-Kid" was released as a single on February 12, 2013. On December 19, 2012, a video was released to Green Day's official YouTube channel showing "X-Kid" playing on a cassette tape.

Theme and composition

According to The A.V. Club, "X-Kid" have "a rousing intro degenerates into a hybrid of two songs from the band’s 1992 album Kerplunk, “Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?” and “One Of My Lies.”"

Song meaning

“X-Kid” from ¡Tré! deals with the suicide of a close friend of the band’s. “I don’t really want to get into it,” Armstrong says. “It’s too heavy.”

This song was written in response to the 2009 suicide of a close friend that Armstrong grew up with in Rodeo, CA. However, the song is as much about the entire "Generation X" (those born from roughly 1960-1980) as it is about this one specific tragedy. Billie Joe has repeatedly identified himself as an "Ex-Kid" in recent interviews. The narrator is able to relate to his late friend, in that they were both "Ex/X-kids." But, he was able to push through the struggles that came with growing older, while his friend was not. His friend, unfortunately, found an escape in suicide, thus the line "Here goes nothing, the shouting's over." The narrator sees facets of himself in his late friend. He feels as if, sadly, there wasn't much that could have been done to help his friend, though he wishes someone could have found a way to help him before it was too late.

Critical reception

Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly named "X-Kid" as the best song on ¡Tre!, above "Brutal Love" and "Missing You".

Chart positions

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Canada: Active Rock (America's Music Chart)	18
US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)	23
US Rock Songs (Billboard)	48
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)	35