Released October 17, 1997 Recorded June 21, 1996 | Format CD single | |
B-side "Desensitized"
"Rotting" Genre Acoustic rock, soft rock, alternative rock Length 2:34 (album version)
2:28 (music video) | ||
"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day. Although written by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong before the release of the band's third album Dookie (1994), the song was not released until Green Day's fifth album, Nimrod (1997), and was the second single released from that album. An alternative version (in a different key, with a faster tempo and sparer arrangement) appeared as a B-side to the 1995 German import single for "Brain Stew/Jaded".
Contents
Although it was not issued as a single at the time of its release in the United States, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" sold over 2.6 million copies as a digital download in the country. The song was certified Gold in the United Kingdom for sales of 400,000.
Writing and composition
Billie Joe Armstrong wrote "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" in 1990 and did not show the song to his bandmates until the Dookie recording sessions in 1993. During the sessions, the song was determined to be too different from the rest of the songs on Dookie, and producer Rob Cavallo was unsure of how to structure the recording. When the time came to record Nimrod, Armstrong decided to use the song, and Cavallo suggested they add strings to the track. He sent the band to play foosball in another room while he recorded the strings, which took "like fifteen, twenty minutes, maybe a half an hour at the most." Cavallo reflected on his decision to add the strings "I knew we had done the right thing. It was a hit the second I heard it."
In comparison to previous Green Day material, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" features more mellow, contemplative lyrics with acoustic music. Band member Mike Dirnt said that the release of this song was probably the "most punk" thing they could have done. The song is more commonly promoted on the radio as "Time of Your Life", and it became a Billboard Country Rock chart-topper and an international hit, and was the only song from Nimrod that was a crossover success when released in single form.
Music video
The music video was directed by Mark Kohr based on a concept by Billie Joe Armstrong. The video features Armstrong singing and playing an acoustic guitar in a bedroom, intercut with "pull-in" shots of various people involved in mundane activities. All of the subjects are shown seemingly staring into space absent-mindedly. Band members Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool make cameo appearances in the video as a person pumping gas (Dirnt), and an injured bike rider being attended by paramedics (Cool). When the video came out, the name of the song was inverted, hence the video's title is "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)". This title was also used on the single cover.
In 1998 Green Day won their first MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video for "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" and they were also nominated for Viewer's Choice.
The video can be found on their music video compilation DVD, International Supervideos!.
Legacy
To the band's surprise, the song became a hit at prom dances. Because of the song's lyrics, which many graduating seniors interpret as nostalgic and reflective of their time in high school, it has become a staple song at proms. Armstrong remarked that, in retrospect, the lyrics make sense when viewed that way. "The people that you grew up and braved the trials of high school with will always hold a special place. Through all the BS of high school you hope that your friends had the time of their life, and that's what the song is talking about".
In the Seinfeld episode "The Chronicle", a clip show that aired at the end of the show's ninth and final season, the song was played over a series of clips, outtakes and backstage moments.
In "Shades of Gray", the 19th episode of the fourth season of ER, PA Jeanie Boulet, played by actress Gloria Reuben, sang this song as a farewell to a young boy (Scott Anspaugh, son of Dr. Donald Anspaugh) who had died in her care.
In 2008, country legend Glen Campbell recorded the song for his album Meet Glen Campbell. On August 18, 2008, he performed the song as part of his special on AOL Sessions.
Four days prior to Jay Leno's initial departure from The Tonight Show in 2009, Dwight Yoakam ended his performance of "If There Was a Way" with the chorus' final stanza.
On November 26, 2010, The American Idiot musical cast also performed the song on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC.
On October 25, 2013, Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes released a country cover recording of the song on their YouTube channel.
On May 28, 2015, Rolling Stone named "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" as one of the 20 Best Graduation Songs of the Past 20 Years (1995–2015).
On March 25, 2016, the Golden State Warriors used Green Day's song to honor David Lee in a tribute video. Lee played with the Warriors from 2010–2015 and became part of the 2014–2015 championship squad. Lee was traded to the Boston Celtics in the offseason, which is why he was unable to immediately receive his championship ring until later on in the season, when he was already a member of the Dallas Mavericks.