On December 31, Green Day ruffled a few feathers during their Rockin’ Eve performance when the band changed the lyrics to “American Idiot.” However, that isn’t the only musical jab the band has crafted toward Donald Trump and his political base.
Their forthcoming album, Saviors, features another record (“The American Dream Is Killing Me”) inspired by the former president. But, according to bassist Mike Dirnt, their Trump diss track sat on the shelf for years until they finally decided to share it with fans. During Dirnt’s January 12 sit down with Rolling Stone, he discussed the song and more.
“[The song] was written by Billie [Joe Armstrong] almost four years ago,” he said. “But we all knew it was just low-hanging fruit. We’re not a parody of who we are, and songs like that need time to be fleshed out. If that means just sitting back and letting life happen, so be it. And it was one of the last things we recorded.”
Dirnt added that the song’s meaning stretches far beyond their critics of Trump. “I think it’s a wider statement than Trump. It’s more important than him,” he said. “It speaks to the fact that Billie’s dad was a Teamster truck driver, and his mom was a waitress, and somehow they could afford to raise five kids and buy a home, and that just doesn’t work for everybody anymore. We are back-asswards right now.”
Elon Musk doesn’t like the band’s stance, but many Americans echo Green Day’s sentiments.
Green Day’s Saviors is out 1/19/2024 via Reprise Records. Find more information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.