Green Day's "Holiday" as an Anti-War Protest Song

For the topic of Protest Music, I thought about a lot of the rock bands who have commented on politics and the world around us in their music. From Muse's Uprising, to the multitude of songs by bands like Rise Against, there was a lot to choose from when looking for a song to share.

The song Holiday by Australian band Green Day illustrates some very clear anti-war ideas as the lyrics twist from the viewpoints of the people, to soldiers, to religious leaders, and to politicians. It speaks to the general outrage towards global conflicts decided upon by leaders who send out soldiers to die for seemingly no cause. It speaks to the unrest felt by citizens who are also fighting amongst themselves about these issues and inevitably making the situation worse while their elected leaders continue making all the decisions while they are distracted with each other.

"Hear the sound of the falling rain,
Coming down like an Armageddon flame, (hey!)
A shame,
The ones who died without a name."

This first verse illustrates the general distaste for warmongering, and alludes that most people won't even know the names of those who died (on either side) fighting for a cause - most likely this song was a commentary on the American war on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Hear the drum pounding out of time,
Another protester has crossed the line, (hey!)
To find, the money's on the other side."

This verse speaks more about the citizens fighting with each other about the issues that face their society, it could mean between political parties, between social and economic classes, and different protest groups against the establishment. In the end they find that the money being funneled into the war effort has more effect on the situation than their voices - even if every voice combined and spoke out against it.

Green Day themselves have been outspokenly anti-war, and have been interviewed several times about the song and the album it's on. In fact, the album in its entirety can be a sequential story about their stance. Holiday  is on the album "American Idiot" and the album begins with that song. It quite literally speaks about those who wish to be informed or rebel from the establishment, or about those who think they are well-informed who are not. Jesus of Suburbia is the second song and talks about a young person who is in a terrible place in life, drugs and alcohol, poverty, and thinking that it's all normal. He eventually figures out for himself that this is not the way life should be, and that there are better things, so he leaves that area. Then, Holiday, would be the continuation of his story, where he is now out in the world and finding that it isn't just his home town that is messed up, it's the whole country, the whole world even. What a shame it all is.

Holiday segues directly into the song Boulevard of Broken Dreams, which is entirely melancholy and dark, the supposed protagonist feeling absolutely alone and hopeless. The album wraps-up with the songs Wake Me Up When September Ends and Homecoming, which also mention the characters of the Jesus of Suburbia and St. Jimmy who was the titular character of another of the album's songs.

Overall the song and the album paint a picture of frustration, but it must at least hope to be a reflection of how the majority of society feels. They can take solace in knowing that they are not the only souls to feel such things.