Green Day: American Idiot Meaning

Song Released: 2004

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American Idiot Lyrics

Don't wanna be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media.
Hey can you hear the sounds of hysteria?
The subliminal mind fuck America.

Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't...
↓ See the rest of these lyrics ↓

1. 1TOP RATED

   anonymous

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   Nov 2nd 2005, 17:38 report

   
   

   Yeah, the title pretty much says it all. It's a song of rebellion (or at least critisism) against what's becoming the status quo in the U.S.A.
   I've also heard the line "maybe I'm the Fagg*t America" is a reference to rumors about Billie Joe's sexuality. Don't take this as a fact, I just heard it somewhere.
   It could also just mean that he's not "part of the Redneck Agenda" and part of the segment of the population that does not adhere to the rules of the mainstream, a group of people sometimes accused as being un-American, Communists, or in ruder terms, f*gs.
   
   The line "everybody do the propaganda/ and sing along to the age of paranoia" is about how the mainstream media exploits our fears to sell headlines and how much of what we hear or see is really propaganda aimed at swaying our opinions. It's also sort of implying a band-wagon approach to life, how everyone just does something because everyone else is doing it, which is yet another thing this song criticizes.

   
   
   
   

2. 2TOP RATED

   I_LUV_GD

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   Sep 24th 2005, 09:09 report

   
   

   The title refers to the state of the United States at that point in time. It speaks of a nation controlled by the new, biased media, and how the singer is not part of a "Redneck Agenda" discontent with how things are going. It was released during the 2004 presidential campaign, where George W. Bush was re-elected

   
   
   
   

3. 3TOP RATED

   anonymous

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   Aug 8th 2007, 10:10 report

   
   

   Wow, I am so glad I am not american. I am british, but I fear that soon britain too will be subjected to what I call the 'bush therepy' ie media taking over, compulsary conforming, etc.
   american idiot is a good way of portraying what a lot of young people feel about the current government and society, how they do not want to be 'idiots' and be swept up in the media hysteria rubbish.
   
   down with george bush is what I say (but at least tony blair is gone. gordon brown will probably not be quite so chummy with mr. president).

   
   
   
   

↓ More American Idiot meanings below the jump ↓

4.  

   anonymous

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   Nov 26th 2005, 14:32 report

   
   

   The name of the song relates to Billie Joe not liking that George Bush was re-elected to be president and what Geroge Bush was doing by keeping the soldiers over in Iraq.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
   
   
   
   

5.  

   cherryxbliss

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   Dec 16th 2005, 16:47 report

   
   

   Also, as the opening to the story that American Idiot tells, it's about how there's this society, this culture, that basically sucks, and how the youth of America are growing up with this stuff, and are going to turn out horrible in their adult lives because of it. We meet one kid who wants to rebel in the next song on the record, "Jesus of Suburbia".

   
   
   
   

6.  

   anonymous

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   Mar 7th 2006, 13:27 report

   
   

   fair enough I agree with the top section of this site, in that the album -especially the title track 'american idiot' is taken a left wing approach to american foreign policy and political agenda, however it is also part of the mainstream as it fits into popular culture. In this way greenday are supporting a capitalistic lifestyle, a lifestyle that they themselves fall into. The moment we step outside our doors we take part in this consumerism society. american idiot is simply perpetuating a false consciousness that the media is portraying. It is capitalising on a sensitive social issue that a lot of people feel strongly about. It is no better or worse than that it antagonises. It is simply another cog in this wheel of corruption. and fair enough, after all they have no obligation to change anything.

   
   
   
   

7.  

   Angelmisty

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   Mar 16th 2007, 21:47 report

   
   

   It's about Bush being a asshole bastard

   
   
   
   

8.  

   anonymous

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   Mar 18th 2007, 14:55 report

   
   

   Me thinks this is mostly Billie Joe's way of telling George Bush that he's a dick, and he can fuck off cause he's a shitty presidant.

   
   
   
   

9.  

   anonymous

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   Mar 19th 2007, 21:51 report

   
   

   It is about Billie Joe telling kids to not grow up and be "american idiots" by doing drugs and choosing wrong paths through life. I think it also has to do with George Bush being re-elected.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
   
   
   
   

10.  

    anonymous

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    Apr 27th 2007, 10:43 report

    
    

    Simply I just think Green Day finally decided to say what they thought was going on with the US society. A nation controlled my the media basically means that we suck & don't know how to judge things ourselves & we rely on EVERY FUCKING ONE ELSE!!!! plus George Bush sucks.

    
    
    
    

11.  

    anonymous

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    Jun 13th 2007, 17:56 report

    
    

    I think this shit means that George W. Bush is a mother fucking bitchy ass president. Also the line "One nation controlled by the media" means that every one is being confused,controlled, and fooled by the media which is television and radio ALL AMERICANS ARE IDIOTS BY BELIEVING IN THAT BITCHY PRESIDENT

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
    
    
    
    

12.  

    anonymous

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    Jun 22nd 2007, 07:01 report

    
    

    When Billie Joe says, "Well, maybe I'm the Fag*ot America"
    The word "fag" or in this case "fag*ot" doesn't always mean "GAY". I mean If someone makes me mad I say, "YOU'RE SUCH A FAG!" It means more like... "What's wrong with you?"
    But I think that's what Billie Joe means by that, like maybe He's a Fag*ot because he doesn't agree with America.
    The song is basically a rant.

    
    
    
    

13.  

    x_lily_x

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    Oct 4th 2007, 10:36 report

    
    

    I think it's about them trying to tell the world that, even though they are American, they don't follow the same beliefs as the president, and are uniting against him.

    
    
    
    

14.  

    anonymous

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    Oct 16th 2007, 21:50 report

    
    

    I keep hearing people say it, but I think this song is just about the influence of the media in the beliefs of Americans, not specifically anti-Bush.

    
    
    
    

15.  

    anonymous

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    Oct 29th 2007, 04:05 report

    
    

    I think that this song clearly states about how media controls everybody these days and how they can easily twist someone else's mind by starting up a rumor or gossip and it shows it when the lyrics go, "Don't wanna be an American idiot, one nation controlled by the media. Information age of hysteria
    it's going out to idiot America." This also obviously talks about George Bush's re-election on 2004 when Armstrong says, "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda." It states that they are against whatever Bush is doing since he is making America look stupid by all the decisions he chooses.

    
    
    
    

16.  

    anonymous

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    Mar 3rd 2008, 16:54 report

    
    

    Its JoS rebelling against his country, letting things get out of hand before he runs away

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
    
    
    
    

17.  

    anonymous

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    Apr 4th 2008, 07:26 report

    
    

    The song is criticizing America and how the rest of the world perceives it to be, sticking to the same regime all the time and that sorta stuff

    
    
    
    

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    Gurl_E_Nerdd

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    Apr 19th 2008, 18:59 report

    
    

    This song point out a the conformity in the usa. no one seems to be unique and original anymore.

    
    
    
    

19.  

    Gurl_E_Nerdd

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    Apr 30th 2008, 12:27 report

    
    

    I think that the song is about not wanting to be the average American doing whatever the country tells you to.

    
    
    
    

20.  

    DisposableCartman

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    Aug 21st 2008, 17:17 report

    
    

    I'm not entirely sure that this specific song fits in with the story of the rest of the album. But, yes, this song is definitely about the reign of Bush and the post-9/11 era.

    
    
    
    

21.  

    LOLA09

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    Jan 9th 2009, 14:29 report

    
    

    This song is about americans being idiots because of the way they do not believe in lepercahuns and how green day has a day which they dress in green to celebrate leperchauns.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
    
    
    
    

22.  

    anonymous

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    Mar 17th 2009, 21:28 report

    
    

    hopefully this song can be inpplied to obama on how he got elected. He had the the bias media with him and everybody just jumped on the band wagon and he got elected.

    
    
    
    

23.  

    anonymous

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    Apr 2nd 2009, 21:38 report

    
    

    i think this song is all about how america has become so consumed in propaganda and the media, that we've all become "american idiots" who do wat the news tells us, and believe everything they say, even when its eggsagerated, filered, and dosent tell us anything truthfully any more, exept for maybe the weather (but sometimes i wonder)
    
    hes saying this country is run by stupid rednecks who want money and oil.
    
    this nation basicly is controlled by the media, and i think we all need to wake up, and stop allowing ourselves to be hypnotized by propagana. so put plain and simply...
    
    TURN OFF YOUR TV'S AMERICA!