Summer has come and passed/
The innocent can never last.
Wake me up when September ends.

Billy Joe Armstrong’s father died when he was young. Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends” tells his father’s story. One interesting aspect of this song is that Billy Joe speaks of his dad specifically from his own perspective. In the first verse it is 7 years after his father’s death, by the last verse it has been 20 years.

September is literally a sad time for the author-it is the month his dad died- and he wants to be woken up when September is over. Here it is 20 years later, and he still gets sad in September: he is still not over the death of his father. Perhaps that pain never completely leaves you. Whether he is describing his feelings now–after 20 years or remembering his feelings as a younger man, the pain is still vivid.

This is a softer song for Green Day, but darker. It touches on a subject that we all have to deal with (loss) and handles it in an interesting way. His vocals are strong and the instrumentation is perfect. In the beginning of the song we have a light acoustic guitar alone. Instruments are added until towards the end of the song we are in the full grunge Green Day sound that is so recognizable. This song offers a little bit of everything for the Green Day fan.

Wake Me Up When September Ends Lyrics

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Like my fathers come to pass
Seven years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Ring out the bells again
Like we did when spring began
Wake me up when September ends

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are

As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends

Like my father’s come to pass
Twenty years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends
Wake me up when September ends
Wake me up when September ends

Songwriters: Michael Pritchard / Frank E. / Iii Wright / Billie Joe Armstrong

I forgive you, mother, I can hear you/
And I long to be near you.

“Death With Dignity” is a delicate song sung by Sufjan Stevans and performed with a ukulele and later a piano. In that, it is an unlikely combination. Combined with his wistful voice it makes for a poignant experience.

The song seems to be about his mother, who has died. Perhaps there were things left unsaid at the time she passed, we don’t know. What we do know is that Stevans thinks of her death in spiritual terms in an effort to comfort himself and understand his mother and the world. He hopes that she’ll be with him now: though perhaps she won’t be the wild mare who did as she pleased—perhaps in spirit.

He hears a bird sing and wonders if the bird sings for the dead just like he does. He seems to see her ghost in the window, but he seems to invite it. He looks forward to the time when he can rejoin her. Overall, the song is one of hope and rejoicing. There is a spiritual world where there will be a re-connection between the two of them but also there seems to be a place that his mom is now where her spirit is living.

Death With Dignity Lyrics

Spirit of my silence I can hear you, but I’m afraid to be near you
And I don’t know where to begin
And I don’t know where to begin

Somewhere in the desert there’s a forest, and an acre before us
But I don’t know where to begin
But I don’t know where to begin
Again I lost my strength completely, oh be near me tired old mare
With the wind in your hair

Amethyst and flowers on the table, is it real or a fable?
Well I suppose a friend is a friend
And we all know how this will end

Chimney swift that finds me be my keeper, silhouette of the cedar
What is that song you sing for the dead
What is that song you sing for the dead
I see the signal searchlight strike me, in the window of my room
Well I got nothing to prove
Well I got nothing to prove

I forgive you mother I can hear you, and I long to be near you
But every road leads to an end
Yes every road leads to an end
Your apparition passes through me, in the willows and five red hens
You’ll never see us again
You’ll never see us again

Songwriters: Sufjan Stevens

Everyone’s got to face down the demons/
Maybe today/
You could put the past away.

The narrator of Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper” sees his friend on a ledge, about to jump and commit suicide. What do you say to someone in this situation? What are the thoughts that run through your head? The narrator tries to empathize with the pain the jumper must be going through:

“We all have demons. If I was a problem, you never have to talk to me again, whatever it is I’d understand. But would you just step away from that ledge?”

He doesn’t.

As his friend is dying, the narrator starts to contemplate life and says the beautiful lyric above. He then tells us to step away from our ledge and put the past away. “Jumper” is a very moving song.

A memorable aspect of the song is the guitar/drum break. It is a classic moment and it is significantly longer than the usual 10 second leads of the 1990s rock songs. This is not Third Eye Blind’s most popular song, but it is their best.

Jumper Lyrics

I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you’ve been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand

The angry boy, a bit too insane
Icing over a secret pain
You know you don’t belong
You’re the first to fight
You’re way too loud
You’re the flash of light on a burial shroud
I know something’s wrong
Well, everyone I know has got a reason
To say, “Put the past away”

I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you’ve been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand

Well, he’s on the table and he’s gone to code
And I do not think anyone knows
What they are doing here
And your friends have left you
You’ve been dismissed
I never thought it would come to this, and I
I want you to know
Everyone’s got to face down the demons
Maybe today you can put the past away

I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies that you’ve been living in
And if you do not want to see me again
I would understand
I would understand
I would understand

Can you put the past away
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
I would understand
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
I would understand
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
And I would understand
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
I would understand
I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
I would understand

Songwriters: Stephan Jenkins