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From album
American Idiot
Green Day · 2004 · Track 3
Details
Duración3:53
ÁlbumAmerican Idiot
Año2004
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The story behind
The song Holiday by Green Day is presented as a cry of protest against the war, emerging as the third track from their seventh album, American Idiot, released in 2004. Although conceived as an introduction to Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Holiday was released as a single independently on March 14, 2005. This track achieved notable global reach, peaking at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and topping the Hot Modern Rock Tracks and Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. Its reception was also significant in the United Kingdom, debuting at number 11, and it broke into the top 20 in countries such as Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, and Norway.
The gestation of Holiday, along with American Idiot, which also became a single, required two months of work for Billie Joe Armstrong. The songwriter felt his lyrics lacked the desired impact, but with the support of Rob Cavallo, he managed to shape the song. The inspiration for Holiday came from the music of Bob Dylan, and Armstrong sought to create something more direct and raw than American Idiot, using strong language to express his ideas. The lyrics directly target American conservatism, criticizing the strategy of Republican politicians to alienate certain groups to gain votes. Armstrong described the song as a direct "fuck you" to then-President George W. Bush. During the creative process, Armstrong first imagined how he would perform his compositions and how the audience would react to phrases like "Can I get another Amen?". The song's bridge was designed to be as "twisted as possible," intended to be "a politician's worst nightmare." The chorus, "This is our lives on holiday," aimed to reflect the apathy of the average American towards the issues of the time. Armstrong clarified that the song was not "anti-American, but anti-war," a message he has reiterated in live performances, including the album Bullet in a Bible.
The music video for Holiday is divided into two parts. The first takes place in a 1968 Mercury Monterey convertible, where Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool are celebrating in Las Vegas. The second half shows them in a bar, where each band member plays several characters: Billie Joe Armstrong takes on the roles of a California representative, two arguing customers, a punk, and a nerd; Tré Cool embodies a drunk priest, an arrested customer, and a prostitute; and Mike Dirnt assumes the roles of a bartender, another punk, and a police officer. The video also includes scenes with tired-looking can-can dancers. At the end, the car stops, smoking, in the same field where the video for Boulevard of Broken Dreams begins. Like the latter, Holiday was directed by Samuel Bayer. The band even arrived at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards in that same car, modified by James Washburn. Holiday has been a recurring feature on Green Day's tours, including full performances of American Idiot. In 2016, during the Revolution Radio Tour, the lyrics were adapted to protest Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Later, it was part of the Hella Mega Tour setlist in 2021, alongside Fall Out Boy and Weezer, and subsequently on the Saviors Tour, where it was performed along with the entire American Idiot repertoire.