Green Day: Holiday Meaning

Song Released: 2005

Holiday Lyrics

Say, hey!
Hear the sound of the falling rain,
Coming down like an Armageddon flame
The shame, the ones who died without a name,
Hear the dogs howling out of key,
To a hymn called faith and misery
And bleed, the company lost the war...

1. anonymous

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   Jan 10th 2009 !⃝

   Wait one... What's dat? UK's there too? But at least Iraq's clean, and were nicer on entry/occupation as the Kuwaiti'll vouch. What now? Oh bugger...
   
   Well, the green tarts ARE cute.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
2. anonymous

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   Jan 10th 2009 !⃝

   Ummm...
   
   Me thinks they be saying it's all the US and that the UK is uninvolved so them blokes be absolved. QED...it's solved!
   
   (Basically, I likes the dancing tarts in the flick).
3. anonymous

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   Apr 1st 2008 !⃝

   This is about our government and how fucked up it is..
4. nibbygrace

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   Feb 4th 2008 !⃝

   This song is about the war and whats going on in it and how the soldiers risk their lives for us.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
5. x_lily_x

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   Nov 21st 2007 !⃝

   It's yet again another story about the government...

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
6. anonymous

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   Aug 14th 2007 !⃝

   Anti-war song, for sure. Explicitly stated. Also follows the J.o.S. Story, wherein this dude becomes a total hippie. Mind you, "holiday" is expressed with a negative connotation. I don't think this guy is having fun at all (like being on holiday), I think he realizes his future is jeopardized and no one's at the wheel, man! You are the driver of your own vehicle and you're on vacations. This song is where the character realizes he needs to take the bull by horns if he wants to go somewhere, dude.
7. anonymous

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   Jun 22nd 2007 !⃝

   I seriously think that Green Day is just a slew of angry Europeans. Clearly the song is bashing the war. I do think that they are anti-war. But I REALLY DO NOT think they are comparing Bush to Hitler. What I think they are saying is this: You can't tell us what to believe. If we choose to agree or dis-agree, that's our choice. And there's nothing you can do about it.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
8. abbas

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   Apr 10th 2007 !⃝

   I think it's about the Vietnamese war as the Armageddon flame could be napalm which was used a lot in the Vietnamese war. Also he says "trial by fire setting fire."

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. anonymous

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   Dec 26th 2006 !⃝

   Most of these are correct (as far as my opinion can judge them, that is), but are in pieces--most lack the entirety of the meaning. Yes, it is a song about anti-war, how f*cked-up the government is, etc. It is ALSO a segment from the whole "Jesus of Suburbia" rock opera storyline. JoS left home, and is now realizing how crappy the goverment is doing with war and all. That about sums it up. (P.S.--The explanation of the title "Holdiay" stating that it refers to all that time Bush spent on Holiday is good.
10. anonymous

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    Jul 28th 2006 !⃝

    The beginning "hear the sound of the falling rain, coming down like an armagedon flame", is the sound of bombs dropping.... It's an anti governemnt song of course, but who really is sure about this war, most of the people who dislike the iraqi war don't know the truth, unless you were in it then you have a pretty good idea of what was going on, sometimes you just have to ignore it, and what? You think your opinion matters to the government? You're wasting your time if you complain about the war, the government won't listen to you so don't go expressing your opinions to people, cause it won't do you any good.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
11. anonymous

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    Jul 14th 2006 !⃝

    I definitely disagree with those who think that Billie Joe is comparing Bush to Hitler...not even he could go that far. The "Zeig Heil to the president gas-man" is an obvious reference to Saddam gassing the Kurds, like misterpants said. If anything, Billie Joe is comparing Saddam to Hitler.
    
    "Pulverize the Eiffel Tower" is probably just the simple fact that American media bashed France for not helping us in Iraq.
    
    I wonder if the line "This is the dawning of the rest of our lives on holiday" is because the war started on St. Patrick's Day. I'm pretty sure Billie Joe is Irish...
    
    One last thing. The opening three lines say "Hear the sound of the falling rain,
    Coming down like an Armageddon flame (hey),
    The shame, the ones who died without a name"
    If you look at the interpretations for "Wake Me Up When September Ends",you will see a comment for the line "here comes the rain again, falling from the stars." It says that it could refer to the rain that fell on New York on September 11 with no clouds because of all the dust released from the collapse. The first line of "Holiday" could be talking about the same rain that fell just hours before the towers. (hey, that rhymed!) I think the Armaggedon flame is the fire, and the ones who died without a name are the victims.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
12. Tsururu

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    May 13th 2006 !⃝

    "Zieg heil to the president gasman
    Bombs away is your punishment"
    
    These lines compare President Bush to Hitler, in that they both wipe out opposition, regardless of whether their opinions are valid or not, but only because it disagrees with them.
    
    "Pulverize the Eiffel towers
    Who criticize your government"
    
    This line refers to France's refusal to endorse the US plan to invade Iraq and how American media attacked France, accusing them of ferocious criticism.
    
    "Bang bang goes the broken glass, man
    Kill all the fags that don't agree"
    
    The broken glass imply that the war is as pointless and indignant as a street fights and barroom brawls where they use any weapons they can get their hands on out of hostility. Using the term 'fags' show the intolerance and ignorance of the narrow-minded government.
    
    "Trials by fire setting fire
    Is not a way that's meant for me"
    
    (Yes the posted lyrics are wrong; I'm getting mine straight from the album booklet.)
    
    In these lines, the singer is saying he doesn't agree with the American government's idea of serving justice, which is exacting revenge by firing back.
13. unlabled_00

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    Apr 8th 2006 !⃝

    This song, as many have stated before me, has double meanings.
    
    1: Its a firey political song about how screwed up the American Gov't is, "Zieg Hail to the President Gasman" and so forth indicate Billy Joe sees the tyranny of the Bush Regime (Zieg Hail gives a comparison to Hitler)
    
    2: Its a continuation of the JoS story, where JoS finally reaches the City and is having a great time, so much so its like he's on "holiday".

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
14. why

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    Feb 15th 2006 !⃝

    Most of the meaning of this song is pretty obvious. There is one part where people think it refers to Sadaam, but I think this is just comparing Bush to Hitler. "Zieg heil to the president gas man," could just be something the "Representative from California" says before the rest of it. "Bang, bang goes the broken glass man / Kill all the fags that (don't a-gree) / Trials by fire, set it fire," could just be referring to the German Kristallnacht, Hitler's killing of homosexuals (and Bush's homophobia), and the concentration camps. Of course, this is just my opinion.
15. Whatshername

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    Jan 30th 2006 !⃝

    Well I was lucky enough to go to a Green Day concert one month ago and I had loved them for ages so when I got to go I was sooo excited.. anyway at the concert as someone says Billie Joe does say this next song is a big f*** you to george bush but then he says when the music starts.. "This song isn't Anti-American, it's anti-waaarrrrrrrrrr!!!" So it's not really just all about the American wars although I do believe some of the references have to do with Bj's dislike of the American president George W Bush.. Anyway one day I would love to talk to Billie Joe, Mike and Tre about what all of their songs mean coz they are such a big part of my life.. You can always have your own interpretations but I would really love to know sometimes what they were thinking when they wrote soem of their masterpieces. Anyway great song, bloody awesome band!!!!!

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