21st Century Breakdown Lyrics

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

The title track of Green Day’s second rock opera, it presents the main theme of the album, namely how there’s been a “breakdown” in the first decade of the century. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong told Q magazine May 2009:

That goes from a song about where I come from to what it’s like to be in this era, financially. It represents an underdog spirit.

Armstrong speaking about it again in The Sun:

It’s about the collateral damage with it but also the hope and optimism a lot of Americans have. It’s a really strange time. Exciting, because there’s the first African-American president, a smart man who wants to do a good job. A man who’s inheriting the biggest pile of s–t this country has ever seen since the Depression. People are losing their jobs yet have a smile on their face, so this record is about that and the start of another era.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Green Day say about "21st Century Breakdown"?
Genius Answer

Billie Joe: “21st Century Breakdown” was written at two different times, in two different parts. Like there was that sort of ‘Irish drinking’ part of the song – that was written before, but it was just a riff that we were throwing around. Then we did a demo on 4-track for “21st Century Breakdown” and I thought it had a kind of British Invasion influence to it. I didn’t know if it was gonna make it or not – it was just kind of one of those songs you hold on to. And then going through like anything from “Peacemaker” to “21 Guns” I was thinking about the song “21st Century Breakdown” and I thought, well, it would be cool to be able to connect it to that sort of Irish drinking part. And then that could kind of introduce the whole record and how like the whole record is sort of about like a “21st Century Breakdown”. It kind of sums up the last 10 years, or something like that. – [x]

Credits
Produced By
Mastering Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Percussion
Bass Guitar
Recorded At
Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, CA); Studio 880 (Oakland, CA); Jel Studios (Newport Beach, CA) & Costa Mesa Studios (Costa Mesa, CA)
Release Date
November 13, 2009
Songs That Interpolate 21st Century Breakdown
Tags
Comments