"Good Riddance " is a song by the American punk rock bandGreen Day, released in October 1997 as the second single and from their fifth studio albumNimrod, and also serves as the seventeenth and second to last track on the album. Although it was not issued as a single at the time of its release in the United States, "Good Riddance " has sold over 2.6 million copies as a digital download in the country, as of November 2014. The song was certified Platinum in the United Kingdom for sales of 600,000. Although different from the band's usual sound, it is one of the band's most popular songs. It has also become a staple of the band's concerts and is usually played as the final song in their live shows.
Background and composition
wrote "Good Riddance " in 1993 about his girlfriend named Amanda who moved to Ecuador, with him naming the song "Good Riddance" to show his anger towards her. He did not show the song to his bandmates until the Dookierecording sessions later the same year. During the sessions, however, 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. An early version of the song simply titled "Good Riddance" appeared as a B-side to the European single for "Brain Stew/Jaded" in 1996. When the time came to record Nimrod, Armstrong decided to record the song again, 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 " 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.
Album version
The album version of the song begins with Billie Joe Armstrong messing up the opening chords twice, muttering "fuck" under his voice before starting over and getting it right, thus getting the song underway. This mess up was purposely recorded in order to provide some minor comic relief for an otherwise serious and contemplative song. Radio versions and the music video omitted this.
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, and an injured bike rider being attended by paramedics. When the video came out, the name of the song was inverted, hence the video's title is "Time of Your Life ". 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 " 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". The song was featured in "The Chronicle", the second-last episode of Seinfeld, in a montage of scenes from the series. In 2008, country singer-songwriter 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. On May 28, 2015, Rolling Stone named "Good Riddance " as one of the 20 Best Graduation Songs of the Past 20 Years. 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 to 2015 and became part of the 2014–2015 championship squad. This song has also been used on radio stations as a last song before changing formats. The most recent use of this song as a last song was on WISX in Philadelphia, when it dropped its Hot AC format for Rhythmic AC on June 29, 2017.
