ART AS A PROTEST

GREEN DAY: HOLIDAY

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HOLIDAY LYRICS


Say, hey!

Hear the sound of the falling rain
Coming down like an Armageddon flame (Hey!)
The shame
The ones who died without a name

Hear the dogs howling out of key
To a hymn called "Faith and Misery" (Hey!)
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 (Hey!)
To find, the money's on the other side

Can I get another Amen? (Amen!)
There's a flag wrapped around a score of men (Hey!)
A gag, a plastic bag on a monument

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

(Hey!)
(Say, hey!)

"The representative from California has the floor"

Zieg Heil to the president Gasman
Bombs away is your punishment
Pulverize the Eiffel towers
Who criticize your government
Bang bang goes the broken glass and
Kill all the fags that don't agree
Trials by fire, setting fire
Is not a way that's meant for me
Just cause (hey, hey, hey), 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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51SmIL1BzLs






HOLIDAY MEANING
Holiday is a song written by Green Day, a Punk rock band, very famous in the 1990's and even till today. Holiday is one of the many songs in the album, American Idiot, which is an album protesting various political and social events occuring around America around 2002 and 2003. Holiday protests the Iraq War, started by former President George W. Bush as part of his plan to fight terrorism. This came about after the events of September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack that saw two planes crash into the World Trade Center. and killing over 3000 people, many of them including children. Sure that would be a reason to react, but President Bush's reaction was rather uncalled for as the effects of the Iraq War lasted for a very long time, as the song obviously suggests.
Instead of me just doing an overlook of the whole song, I will just briefly analyze the meaning of some lyrics in tsome parts of the song:
FIRST STANZA
Hear the sound of the falling rain, coming down like an Armageddon flame:
This basically recalls the moment that President Bush declared a war on terrorism, and later declared the War against Iraq. Many military troops were involved and they attacked almost immediately without withholding any force, hence the " sound of the falling rain coming down like an Armageddon flame."
The shame, The ones who died without a name:
Once the soldiers went out to war, many casualties were suffered on both sides, and many American soldiers lost their lives fighting in the Iraq War. Many of them died "without a name," meaning many died without them being known; they are the ones that made up the Unknown Soldiers.
Hear the dogs howling out of key, To a hymn called faith and misery:
These lyrics, in my opinion, show the effects of the Iraq War hence, " A hymn called faith and misery."
SECOND STANZA
Hear the drum pounding out of time, Anther protestor has crossed the line, To find the money's on the other side:
Of course all of this did not happen when every American was asleep! They saw what was happening, and they did not like it. As the civilized people they were, they held numerous protests against the actions of President Bush and against President Bush himself. This did obviously not go well for the protestors ( Green Day not included ). Many were arrested, and many were beaten up.
There's a flag wrapped around a score of men:
These lyrics emphasize the fact that it is not only soldiers who died but also harmless civilians in the Iraq War. The flag being wrapped around a score of men means that the American flag has been wrapped around many dead people, as it was America, and more specifically Bush who started the whole thing.
THE BRIDGE
THE ENTIRE BRIDGE basically talks about how Bush stopped at nothing to make sure he did what he thought was right, eliminating all terrorists! He did not really care about all the people he killed or all the lives he destroyed as long as guys like Osama were no more. The bridge looks at his selfishness in the whole situation.
THE CHORUS
The whole chorus is basically green day saying no to all that is happening and it is also asking if that life, the life of so much death and destruction was one that was meant for anyone all because of a few people.
AND ONE MIGHT BE WONDERING WHY THIS WHOLE MIDDLE-FINGER TO BUSH SONG WAS CALLED HOLIDAY. THIS IS BECAUSE AS ALL OF THIS WAS HAPPENING, BUSH TOOK A LOT OF HOLIDAYS, NOT REALLY CARING ABOUT THE WAR OR THE PROTESTS. WHAT A GUY IF YOU ASK ME!
Green day came up with many other protest songs after this, but Holiday was one that really hit the point home.

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