American Idiot: A Protest Song Analysis

In this paper I will be discussing “American Idiot” by Green Day as a protest song. A protest song, “is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs or songs connected to current events” (Google, 2015). People who feel strongly towards a certain political view within society create protest songs, and this is the only way they know how to express their opinions. Protest songs can come in many different musical genres such as folk and rock music. I decided to write my paper on American Idiot because I was able to live through it and fully get a grasp on what was happening within society to make people feel the way they did during this time. The song American Idiot is in the

“He insists that he began writing the album not as Bush-bashing or with the intent to preach. He wrote the songs as both a "purging" and as a way to understand what was happening as events spiralled out of control” (Colapinto, 2005). One day he was driving to his studio and a song came on about loving to be a red neck. When he heard this he realized that he was angry about those lyrics because it was everything that he was against. He already knew that the music industry was very politically correct but he just needed to come out of the box he was out into so he could express himself the way he wanted. That day Billie went to the studio and started writing the song American Idiot, and soon after the band started to turn it into a song that blew up all over the world. The main social movement that is behind the song would be the Iraq war that Bush declared. For Billie it was not so much that there was a war but more so the fact that the war was broadcasted all over new stations all day everyday. The news was broad casting it like they thought it was so form of entertainment for people to watch. This is what ultimately disturbed him. Green Day is not the only artist with a protest song behind them; many other artists have some as well such as Neil young’s song called “Living With War.” These songs open the eyes of society and allow them to understand and discuss their points