American Idiot
Holiday
Song Meaning
Billie Joe (Guitar Legends, 2005): “[The Holiday bridge] is kind of politicians saying what they really want to say, using all this language that gets people up in arms. Like ‘kill the fags.’”
Billie Joe (GREEN DAY - Anatomy Of A Punk Opera): "There's one line that sort of messes with liberals a little too, where it says, 'Hear the drum pounding out of time/ Another protester has crossed the line / To find the money's on the other side.' [Holiday] is about this mishmash of people with all these strong opinions who really can't agree, and leaving [decisions] to the person who's sort of standing in the middle confused and overwhelmed."
Billie Joe (MTV Special 2009): “In doing the breakdown section of Holiday, I pounded myself in the chest with this big microphone and I ended up bruising my ribs for like a month and a half.”
Billie Joe Armstrong (Kerrang, 2005): “Holiday was kind of the next step after the song 'American Idiot' and it was trying to say more about politics using really harsh language to illustrate the point. It’s about unmasking what a lot of politicians might say in Congress, particularly conservatives. I was just thinking about the conservative side of American politics and how strategic they are when it comes to buying votes or getting votes from people. At some point someone had to say, for instance, that you have to alienate gay people if you want to get the religious vote. It gets covered up but that’s how they think – in terms of would it be worth the net gains of alienating one group of people in order to win the votes of the next?”
Billie Joe (GREEN DAY - Anatomy Of A Punk Opera): "Politicians are so concerned with what they're saying, and this was just a 'What if a politician actually said this?'"
Billie Joe (GREEN DAY - Anatomy Of A Punk Opera): "There's one line that sort of messes with liberals a little too, where it says, 'Hear the drum pounding out of time/ Another protester has crossed the line / To find the money's on the other side.' [Holiday] is about this mishmash of people with all these strong opinions who really can't agree, and leaving [decisions] to the person who's sort of standing in the middle confused and overwhelmed."
Billie Joe (MTV Special 2009): “In doing the breakdown section of Holiday, I pounded myself in the chest with this big microphone and I ended up bruising my ribs for like a month and a half.”
Billie Joe Armstrong (Kerrang, 2005): “Holiday was kind of the next step after the song 'American Idiot' and it was trying to say more about politics using really harsh language to illustrate the point. It’s about unmasking what a lot of politicians might say in Congress, particularly conservatives. I was just thinking about the conservative side of American politics and how strategic they are when it comes to buying votes or getting votes from people. At some point someone had to say, for instance, that you have to alienate gay people if you want to get the religious vote. It gets covered up but that’s how they think – in terms of would it be worth the net gains of alienating one group of people in order to win the votes of the next?”
Billie Joe (GREEN DAY - Anatomy Of A Punk Opera): "Politicians are so concerned with what they're saying, and this was just a 'What if a politician actually said this?'"
Have your own interpretation of "Holiday"? Leave a comment below.
Lyrics
Hear the sound of the falling rain,
Coming down like and 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 today
I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On Holiday
Hear the drum pounding out of time,
Another protester has crossed the line,
To find the money's on the other side,
Can I get another Amen?
There's a flag wrapped around the score of men,
A gag,
A plastic bag on a monument
The representative from California has the floor
Zieg Heil to the president gas man,
Bombs away is your punishment,
Pulverize the Eiffel towers,
Who criticize your government,
Bang, Bang goes the broken glass,
Kill all the fags that don't agree,
Trials by fire setting fire,
Is not a way that's meant for me,
Just cause,
Just cause because we're outlaws, yeah!
I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives,
I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
This is our lives on holiday
Coming down like and 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 today
I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On Holiday
Hear the drum pounding out of time,
Another protester has crossed the line,
To find the money's on the other side,
Can I get another Amen?
There's a flag wrapped around the score of men,
A gag,
A plastic bag on a monument
The representative from California has the floor
Zieg Heil to the president gas man,
Bombs away is your punishment,
Pulverize the Eiffel towers,
Who criticize your government,
Bang, Bang goes the broken glass,
Kill all the fags that don't agree,
Trials by fire setting fire,
Is not a way that's meant for me,
Just cause,
Just cause because we're outlaws, yeah!
I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives,
I beg to dream and differ,
From the hollow lies,
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
This is our lives on holiday
5 videos
Videos
Green Day - Holiday (Live at Irving Plaza, New York, NY, 9/21/04) [Official Audio]
Green Day - Holiday (Live at KROQ)
Green Day - Holiday [Live]
Green Day - Holiday [Live]
Live History
Live History
- Total Plays
- 677 times / #13 most played
- Most Recent
- February 8, 2026 Santa Clara, CA
- Earliest Known
- January 1, 2004 London, Canada
13 tracks
Comments
Song Comments