Green Day: Wake me Up When September Ends Meaning

Song Released: 2005

Wake me Up When September Ends Lyrics

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

Like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends

Here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched...

1. razberiblood

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   Jun 27th 2006 !⃝

   Wake Me Up When September Ends has three meanings.
   
   1) Billie Joe's father died in September and this song is his way of dealing with it 20 years later.
   
   2) This song DOES go along with the American Idiot rock opera about the Jesus of Suburbia. Whatsername broke up with him in the song "Letter Bomb," so this song is about Jesus being alone and depressed again.
   
   3) This song could have reference to 9/11, because the music video is about a young couple being in love, and then the boyfriend goes off to fight in the war in Iraq. The girl feels alone and wants to accept the fact that her boyfriend may never come home. This song probably wasn't originally written about 9/11, but the could have later realized the relation.
2. anonymous

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   Jun 25th 2006 !⃝

   people also interpreted this song for hurricane rita for those who lost everything.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
3. bet430

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   Apr 24th 2006 !⃝

   If you have seen the video, you might think that it is about a young couple that are really close but then he gets drafted into the military. But that is not it. His father died when he was only 10. "as my memory rests, but never forgets what I lost" He is refering to losing his father, that even though he is not thinking about his father he will never forget what could have been. While Green Day was making a video they did not want to show the true meaning of the song they wanted you to think that you knew it while watching the video. In the video the man leaving for war is playing the part of his father, and the woman plays the part of him, "Just remember you will always have somebody here for you, I'll never leave you"
4. anonymous

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   Mar 23rd 2006 !⃝

   Let me make a few things clear.
   
   A good song writer does not write leaving things open-ended for other people to figure out. It isn't some sort of code. Song writers write songs for themselves and about whatever they want. A song writer knows what his or her songs are about.
   
   If Billie said this song was about his dad, guess what? It probably is.
   
   7 years = the timeline between when his dad died and Green Day formed (known as Sweet Children at the time)
   
   20 years = not totally sure about this reference
   
   I wish all you guys would stop being so self-righteous and acting like you know exactly what somebody else was writing about. The video was made about the war probably because nobody would give a crap less if the video had a bunch of black n white photos of Billie's dad in it.
   
   And for those of you who think you're Green Day fans, try learning how to spell Billie's name...
5. Whatshername

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   Jan 30th 2006 !⃝

   This is not really what I think the song is about coz I have lots of different meanings and if I tried to explain it I would go on for ever and ever... but I really think it is a powerful song and everytime BJ sings it he relives what it's about (mostly his father).. When I went to their concert one month ago he started crying like he does in many of the concerts when he sings this song. But one of the most amazing things was that when he was at our concert he sang the line "Here comes the rain again falling from the stars..." and to everyones suprise a miracle happened and it started raining!! At that point I realised how much emotion had gone into the song and that Billie Joe must have had so many things go on in his life to be able to write the songs full of emotion the way he did with every single word!!! I LOVE YOU BILLIE JOE!!!!!
6. vw4lifee

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   Jan 18th 2006 !⃝

   That one guy is right, a good artist leaves the end open. The song is about the military. The part about 20 years has gone and past is about the kid serving 20 years in the military. That is the retirment time. the title is also about how she has to wait until he gets back from iraq in september. I am not saying the other stuff is wrong, but this is just a diffrent look at it.
7. paulette_2002

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   Jan 14th 2006 !⃝

   September is in Fall. The season of Fall represents death and loss. JOS is sick of the season of loss, of lives, girlfriends, a job, etc. He wants to sleep off the season of loss, of lives, girlfriends, a job, etc. He wants to sleep through it and not wake again until things are stagnant(winter)in preparation for a season of new life (spring). This relates both to 9-11 and his fathers death not to mention anything else anyone can ever experience. Any time of grief, loss, and things generally going all to heck.
8. anonymous

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   Jan 14th 2006 !⃝

   I believe personally that this song is NOT about 9/11 (not really, anyway, though it has been applied that way because it fits). It's about Billie Joe's father, as previously mentioned by many people.
   Many people have speculated that Jesus of Suburbia's story is semi-autobiographical, and elements of Billie-Joe's life are in there, along with the fictional story line. Therefore, I think this song fits both Billie-Joe's story and JOS's story, because the two stories are intertwined.
   JOS could have lost HIS father too.
   They are both mourning. This song is also a lament for how fast life passes, and how before you know it JOS (and Billie-Joe) have both grown from boys to men, and their father's have died, maybe before they could come to terms with them over somethings. (After all, JOS ran away from home and obviously his home life and relationship with his dad wasn't real good, maybe he was already gone at that point, but a lot of time has passed since then, JOS is a man now and wishes he could've cleared some things up, or come to terms with his past and his father, or whatever, and he feels truely sad and empty because of his father's passing.) You could also cross-apply other arguements about losing his friends, St. Jimmy (who was like a father-figure, even if he only might be a split personality), etc, as they fit into this as well. But that's just how I feel.
9. anonymous

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   Jan 14th 2006 !⃝

   yes it is about billy joe's father,and you ask why. He did lose his father at a young age but not from cancer, some say that billy Joe was seven and his father went to war
   then,his father was shot and killed,or a nearby bomb exploded and killed his father.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
10. naturepants9

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    Dec 17th 2005 !⃝

    There are many possible interpretations. I can see how it could be about losing a loved one, or about September 11, or personally about Billie Joe's father dying. Personally, here's what I think:
    
    I think it's from the point of view of a person who is SICK of happy people, a depressed person. Nothing annoys a depressed person like happy people. He wants to just sleep through the Spring and Summer, when all the happy people are out and bouncing around, the happy people who can't stand or acknowledge hard times (or the fall and winter). When he wakes up in the winter, all the annoying, happy people will be gone or hibernating.
11. anonymous

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    Dec 5th 2005 !⃝

    It means both Billie Joe's fater died when he was ten, but all the tradgedy that's going on now and all the meaning of god has really put a lot into the song.
12. anonymous

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    Dec 3rd 2005 !⃝

    I at first thought it was about Jonny Cash at first because he says "ring the bells again like at the beginning of spring" because June died at the beginning of the year.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
13. easyrider9

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    Nov 30th 2005 !⃝

    This song is about to young adults in love. The girl makes the boy promise that he will never hurt her by leaving her the girl she is crushed but he stil goes off to war. The boy is actually St. Jimmy and the song "Homecomeing" is the girl waiting for the arrival of her boyfriend (St. Jimmy) who is the young adult in "Wake Me Up When September Ends" who goes off to war.
14. anonymous

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    Nov 29th 2005 !⃝

    This song is about Billie Joe's Father and how he died from cancer when Billie was ten. This song means a lot to Billie because his father was very close to him and still effects him badly because on their latest dvd, Billie starts crying..... Listen to the words carefully and you will understand what the song means. GREEN DAY ROCKS! :)
15. hogfan1205

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    Nov 19th 2005 !⃝

    I agree that this song is ultimately open ended, however, I strongly feel that it is about the death of Billie Joe's father. This song hits so close to me as I lost my brother when I was 12. He was killed in a car accident on September 17, 1982 and I have yet to come to grips with it. He was such a beautiful soul and a dear friend as well as a most wonderful brother. Thanks to Billie Joe, I have this song to help me with those feelings!!

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