Song Details
Hitchin' a Ride
  • Track #2 from Nimrod
  • Released 1997
    Green Day has played this song live 675 times
  • Idiot Rating
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    Song Meaning
    This song describes, metaphorically of course, the narrator's struggles with alcohol. The use of words like "fermented," "happy hour," "cold turkey," and "inebriated" all point to drinking. Throughout the song, the narrator struggles with both his desire to continue drinking, and the desire to kick his bad habit. He experiences relapses and regrets them, all while trying to find a way to quit.

    Additionally, at the time this song was written, Billie Joe Armstrong was battling somewhat of an alcohol addiction.
    Lyrics
    Hey mister, where you headed?
    Are you in a hurry?
    I need a lift to happy hour
    Say oh no
    Do you brake for distilled spirits?
    I need a break as well
    The well that inebriates the guilt. 1,2. 1,2,3,4.

    Cold turkeys getting stale, tonight I'm eating crow
    Fermented salmonella poison oak no.

    There's a drought at the fountain of youth, and now I'm dehydrating
    My tongue is swelling up, as say 1,2. 1,2,3,4.
    Troubled times, you know I can not lie
    I'm off the wagon and I'm hitchin' a ride

    There's a drought at the fountain of youth, and now I'm dehydrating
    My tongue is swelling up, I say Shit!
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