Longshot album Love is for Losers

[The Bellie]

@LaughingClock and @pacejunkie punk commenting in your posts:

9 hours ago, LaughingClock said:

CHASING A GHOST

Disclaimer on admitted bias: I have said that I understand Billie's thinking on the abuse and quitting of drugs and the various phrases.  Also as I've said, he was so brutally honest on RevRad with the living as a FORMER addict and this song could be on a sequel to RevRad album where Billie is doing something that pretty much any former addict does even after a successful and happy removal of drugs from one's life.  For Billie, he was also an alcoholic.  [...] although I have some parts as I explained with no regret, it eventually becomes too much and it IS NOT easy to become sober once you are a drug abuser of which I, and Billie was.   

I enjoyed reading this whole post of yours (and am only keeping the quote, here below, on which I want to comment), I love how you opened yourself about your experiences, it makes me want to do the same. And as for the lyrics' interpretation, it's definitely interesting how we can all have our personal take on each (see below...)

I was never a drug addict or alcoholic but had another addiction I got out from, and it was indeed everything but easy. I was a real food junkie in a way you don't want to imagine. i'm very lucky and thankful to be still alive, and after almost half of my life being through this shit, having several aftereffects but rather minor. At least they don't bring me down, I enjoy living a lot and, even though I had started to get out of it before falling on GD in mid-2016, they really brought light to my life. A totally new part of me has emerged. I'm still the same weirdo, borderline, and social freak I've always been, and it often makes me think of going down in my addiction again, it still has a safe and homely feeling even though it was absolutely destructive, but it was the only thing I could call home for quite some time... Now it's different, even though I live alone (which I'm glad about, after leaving my parents' home last year) and that I'm single, loving a man I will never be with but at least I see him almost everyday (he reminds me of Billie in some ways, or Billie reminds me of him, although they are very different at first sight... but knowing people you get to be attentive to those specific things that has a meaning for you) but there is also something else, very strong, very bright in my head. At the end of the day when the two kinds of emotional states have kept flowing each on the other, it can be a bit tough, depressing, and I don't now what to do with myself when I'm bored and no motivation for anything (except the addiction, if I would...). Or except for going out for a walk and listening to Still Breathing non-stop. It's scary how I have been depending on Billie to survive and hold on, the physical pain and disorders form stopping the shit I was doing has sometimes been unbearable... thank God Billie is there. I became a fan at the perfect time, just when RevRad would begin, and it was such a happiness to go to them shows and follow everything from that era.

So this song tells about, in very detailed reality, which is sort of different for him I think, that it's pretty straight forward and it's about dreaming about drugs and having weak moments but ultimately doing the right thing. This song, ironically to some maybe, makes me feel safe that Billie will never relapse which statistically is a very difficult thing.  I agree

I'm looking for a bump
And a wall to call my home

Pretty obvious.  For the uninitiated, a "bump" is slang for a little line of cocaine.  "Hey Steve, do you have any blow? Yeah?  Cool, can I have a bump?". So this is his visual desire to want to do a line of coke and when people do coke they often do it somewhere private for multiple reasons.  To keep people from bothering you and asking you for all your drugs or because you don't want to be seen. Both.  So a "wall to call my own" is saying in the whole phrase "I wish I could just have some blow and be left alone". Thanks, I didn't know for "bump"

Standing in the shadows
Where all the good times gone

Billie [...] has opened himself up on this song more than he ever has because he is sharing with the world his current, after the public success, of STILL thinking about drugs. You mean after the public success of RevRad? Because in RevRad he was also, already (to me at least) showing that he was still thinking about it, showing that he was very vulnerable, just looking at how he performed, say, Still Breathing every night... hanging very hard on the the audience to sing with him. I think this song alone has saved me. Whenever I'm in a CAG mood (still frequently) I listen to SB as to put me back on the tracks. Otherwise I could very quickly go from happy and joyful in one moment to very self-destructive, definitely hiding in the shadows. As a former addict, it goes appreciated because you feel less alone when you hear it from others [...] and then use BJA as your therapy to know you're not alone in your thoughts. Totally, I'm not bashful to say it 

CHORUS
I got the tears, oh baby
Crying in my soul   (It's pretty simple again.  It's speaking to his fear of relapse and the guilt of wanting to do drugs when so much praise has been heaped upon you by your peers, family and friends) so his sorrow is so upset that it's crying. Or also simply the sadness he has to take and which he can't get rid of with addiction like he used to. He also feels today all the sadness (the tears) he didn't feel all the way back then because of what he used to take to erase it.

Chasing a ghost  (Obviously the title is about chasing a thing that is not real and this is dead and in the past, a ghost.  His drug life.) It could also the "ghost", the illusion that he was trying to find in his addiction. I used to have the feeling, before heading into my addiction shots (or whatever name I could give to it), that I will find something very secure and easing. And after I just felt devastated. The ghost could be this sort of illusion that turns out to be that something you think you'll find by taking whatever you're addicted to. 

Everyone is happy
And everyone is gay

I just read "gay" as meaning joyful, and choosing this word because it rhymes with "away"... but it could also refer to the other meaning of "gay" as a way to say people are just letting themselves go and having all the fun there is. 

Feeling the spirits
And twisting the night away

As I am going down, maybe this is the beginning of the party where he is starting to have fun. To me he's talking about what he sees of others, "everyone is happy". he's chasing a ghost, while they're feeling the spirits, so he may be feeling like the one loser 

But when the thrill is gone
And I'm staring at my phone

Thanks for the company
But I'm still standing alone

I think this is talking to whomever it is that are his drug friends and anyone who does a lot of drugs knows what I mean.  You have your friends, and then you have your "drug friends" but really they are not you friends because nobody is who they really are on drugs hence I appreciate the company, but I'm still alone. 

He could also be talking about the company he finds on his phone literally. The people (it could be friendly people) who comment on his social media, the friends who are texting him. So when the thrill is gone, he looks at his phone to make boredom go away, but despite the friends who are writing to him etc. he feels he's standing alone just the same.

 

8 hours ago, pacejunkie punk said:

I’m not the same I hear "it ain't the same"

ain’t it a shame

here’s to the painkillers oh yeah

on Saturday night

So the line is “I’m not the same”. He’s changed and in a way it sucks because he still has the same problems that caused him to want to drink before so he makes an imaginary toast (When you say “Here’s to the....” you’re raising a glass and making a toast. I so love the use of drinking terminology in this song, like the wordplay with feeling the spirits, ie alcohol) to painkillers. Not necessarily literal painkillers like opioids, but any substance of choice that numbs the pain of social anxiety would in the past have been a painkiller for him. He’s not the same, so here’s a toast to the painkillers that his past self would have taken on a Saturday night. It’s like a toast to absent friends. Or the "here's to the painkillers" could just be referring to the "shame" in the previous line, an ironical way to raise a glass to those painkillers who are a shame. That's what I hear. And "It ain't the same" could be a way of saying that his feelings about them aren't the same as before, he misses what he used to feel when having them but knows he won't ever feel that again, because yes he has changed, doesn't need them anymore, knows it's not what he's looking for, and only thinks of it as a shame now, knowing what they caused to him - even though they have been useful to him in a certain way in the past, but not anymore.

He makes the right choice in the end and leaves, but I still find this song heartbreaking because he still feels alone and isolated in the end and there’s no real solution for that.

Yeah but it's great that he is be able to just have this feeling and take it without doing anything in order to delete it. I wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for Billie managing to.

 

9 hours ago, LaughingClock said:

So if you see him
Tell him that I said hello

I believe this is Billie talking to the world that if you see St. Jimmy, tell him that I said "hello" and now we are getting near the conclusion of the song where he admits that although he has these thoughts, they are just that and St. Jimmy still lives, but he is not with Billie.  He doesn't even say he's inside him, he's gone.   If you see him tell him I said hello.

I agree (and like how you spelled that )

She was my last hoorah
And always got me stoned

Well on this one we will just say that we are talking about the people and influences that lead him to his final hoorah (which for my non-english friends, hoorah is a term that pretty much means party, or last thing before you quit something is the best way I can describe it) I think that makes much sense in the context of the song, more than hurrah as a cheer or a cry of joy but its was the last one and the run that started with the partying in NY lead directly into the iHeart show which was his last hoorah (that time between him going out of his mind and then doing it on stage).  It was a necessary thing because it saved his life.  The dirty little secret is that iHeart is the best thing that ever happened to Green Day.  He was on a path to nowhere good and he did what a good man does, the right thing.  and a brave man 

 

 

[Thatsername]

I can relate to the song Happiness so much right now. The line "How unhappy is your happiness?" is 100% my life. For me (and I'm sure there are 100 different interpretations) it means something like, you're really happy with your life, you have friends, family, a great job, you're healthy and priviledged, but even in your happiest moments there's always that little shadow of (self-)doubt. It's like a small drop of sadness over the paths and chances not taken, the decisions not made, and all the other could-have-beens and would-have-beens in your life. It's realizing that some decisions we make are irreversible, and that choosing a path always means that you're leaving a different path behind, probably forever. It's realizing that your options aren't unlimited, which is one of the hardest things for me to accept about growing older, or being pressured to grow up even if you're not ready to. I always envy people who can be genuinely happy without that shadow, without any doubt; I've never been able to feel that way and probably never will be because there's that one, small side of me that's just not meant to be happy, and maybe even doesn't want to be happy. I sometimes think that Billie kind of feels the same way, and that's why his music resonates so much with me.

[jengd]

13 hours ago, Too Dumb to Die(s) said:

 

What songs does he mention Green Day?   I am checking them out now! 

I guess it’s really jus a reference among many but I like it lol!  

[LaughingClock]

On my analysis of CAG. I had a preamble that if it wasn’t already obvious to everyone, I thought you guys would be totally interested in the observation. Maybe it was a case of TLDR (or maybe you’re not interested and I’m going to bad again or possibly it’s so obvious and I’m an idiot for not realizing until listening the other day) but did anyone notice in CAG this? I’ll just copy and paste it. It’s obvious but I never noticed it but maybe everyone else did. I’m not a thread reader. Sorry this place takes up too much time already. I want to, just can’t but on CAG (have you guys noticed this?:

it is DEFINITELY purposeful and it is quite interesting considering the content of the two songs, but at the intro riff of CAG and the chorus riff from "Kill Your Friends" is EXACTLY the same.  Listen to the intro and sing along KYF chorus "Kill Yourrrrr frienndsss".  It's doesn't just sound like it. It's the exact same riff with the same guitar and same distortion petal.  

I believe it was meant to be that way and in the chorus of CAG, you'll hear after "Chasing a Ghost" the same intro riff and the KYF riff.  Sing along with the chorus of "Chasing a Ghost" and as soon as he’s singing "Chasing a Ghost" sing along the riff to KYF so "Chasing a Ghost..(beat beat beat), Killl your friendssss...".  

When I realized it, it was sort of amazing that I hadn't on the first listen.  But sometimes it takes getting to know the album before you recognize shit like that.  At least for me. Perhaps someone or everyone has already recognized that.  Check it.  It's pretty fucking cool if ya ask me.

______________

On another note, I just listened to Devil’s Kind and really listened to it. Didn’t even realize he uses the same line with “piss stains and cigarettes” to describe “the party”. Does anyone know any significance to “piss stains and cigarettes” beyond the obvious like the imagery and also the other lyrics phrases Billie has coupled with cigarettes.

[Beerjeezus]

1 hour ago, LaughingClock said:

On another note, I just listened to Devil’s Kind and really listened to it. Didn’t even realize he uses the same line with “piss stains and cigarettes” to describe “the party”. Does anyone know any significance to “piss stains and cigarettes” beyond the obvious like the imagery and also the other lyrics phrases Billie has coupled with cigarettes.

Billie seems to be somewhat obsessed with piss. He mentions it quite often and it's not in a metaphorical way

[Vintage Disciple]

23 hours ago, LaughingClock said:

 

I guess I did say that but okay you know what I would respond to your last sentence in this so I won't.  I will however start the breakdown of one of my favorites on this album. Chasing A Ghost.

 

CHASING A GHOST

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This is probably going to be pretty long because I have plenty to say and don't have a lot of time today but I've been wanting to write this one for a while.

First off, a little pre-amble. Billie uses several methods (cadences and structure) when he writes.  One of his favorite styles is an A/B lyrical structure.  Example: A) Something and B) then that.  Sort of a back and forth A/B lyrical structure which I love when he writes that way. Will be clearer what I mean.

Also, as a side note, not sure if anyone has picked up on this, but it is DEFINITELY purposeful and it is quite interesting considering the content of the two songs, but at the intro riff of CAG and the chorus, the riff from "Kill Your Friends" is EXACTLY the same.  Listen to the intro and sing along KYF chorus "Kill Yourrrrr frienndsss".  It's doesn't just sound like it. It's the exact same riff with the same guitar and same distortion.   I believe it was meant to be that way and in the chorus of CAG, you'll hear after "Chasing a Ghost" the same into riff and the KYF riff.  Sing along with the chorus of "Chasing a Ghost" and as soon as he says "Chasing a Ghost" sing along the riff to KYF so "Chasing a Ghost, Killl your friendssss...".  When I realized it, it was sort of amazing that I hadn't on the first listen.  But sometimes it takes getting to know the album before you recognize shit like that.  At least for me. Perhaps someone or everyone has already recognized that.  Check it.  It's pretty fucking cool if ya ask me.

Disclaimer on admitted bias: I have said that I understand Billie's thinking on the abuse and quitting of drugs and the various phrases.  Also as I've said, he was so brutally honest on RevRad with the living as a FORMER addict and this song could be on a sequel to RevRad album where Billie is doing something that pretty much any former addict does even after a successful and happy removal of drugs from one's life.  For Billie, he was also an alcoholic.  I was never that so I still drink but barely. Not a big drinker.  I don't do any drugs but still smoke Mary Jane and will never stop I don't think at this point.   But I still do and often remember fondly on some drugs and horribly on others.  For example, I do not at all regret my life or anything I've done. LSD, shrooms and hallucinogens have lead me to appreciate nature, think deeper, and I once stared at a tree for hours and hours on acid when I was like 19 and I never have looked at trees the same.  X, Molly, MDMA or whatever people are calling it now, in the 90s it was better.  It was cleaner and pure MDMA which was developed by psychiatrists to have introverted people open up. I was never an introvert but I, without knowing it, was emotionally a little withdrawn from showing emotion.  MDMA changed that.  I learned how to tell a woman I love her.  I told my then girlfriend, now wife, "I love you and I am going to marry you" while sitting outside of a club and rolling my balls off so I have no regret for all the times I've had on MDMA/X/etc.  KEEP IN MIND KIDDOS that I do not condone doing any of that shit because it also lead to other drugs that not only effected my life poorly but probably almost killed me and although I have some parts as I explained with no regret, it eventually becomes too much and it IS NOT easy to become sober once you are a drug abuser of which I, and Billie was.   

I have major regrets for ever doing blow and speed of any sort which ironically, next to Molly was my favorite drug of choice and I HATE cocaine although that has brought me many wild and adventurous sexcapades and all kinds of fun things but too many regrets than fun.  

So this song tells about, in very detailed reality, which is sort of different for him I think, that it's pretty straight forward and it's about dreaming about drugs and having weak moments but ultimately doing the right thing. This song, ironically to some maybe, makes me feel safe that Billie will never relapse which statistically is a very difficult thing.  Ok, now on to the song.  I just pasted the lyrics and separated them into their parts and hopefully it will be obvious after I type all over it but you see what I am talking about the A/B not cadence but structure I guess.  Im looking for a...so.....  Standing in the shadows where.....X  But when the thill is gone...something  Hanging from the chandelier...from a time. Just a small, maybe not very interesting note, but it's just a style he often writes in and I love it.  It's not unique to him or for him but this song doesn't deviate it from it at all which makes the song more literal to me than most songs.

Piss stains and cigarettes
This party's getting dull

I don't really have much on this one yet other than he is describing the idea of feeling bored at a weak moment.  The party is happening, presumably people are having fun but not for Billie, because he wants to do drugs right then and when you have that weakness, well you remember when you were swinging from chandeliers and shit and then you feel that the party is dull. Don't think there is much more to this than that but I do feel like I am missing something here unless "Piss stains and cigarettes" is just supposed to paint a picture of what he is seeing when he is getting bored at the party

I'm looking for a bump
And a wall to call my home

Pretty obvious.  For the uninitiated, a "bump" is slang for a little line of cocaine.  "Hey Steve, do you have any blow? Yeah?  Cool, can I have a bump?". So this is his visual desire to want to do a line of coke and when people do coke they often do it somewhere private for multiple reasons.  To keep people from bothering you and asking you for all your drugs or because you don't want to be seen. Both.  So a "wall to call my own" is saying in the whole phrase "I wish I could just have some blow and be left alone".

I'm feeling like immortal ****esif (it’s not immortal, it’s “moron”), I copy and pasted the lyrics and didn’t realize and was confused not remembering that line 
Bitter and withdrawn

When you are on amphetamines, blow, or any of Billie's drugs of choice, you feel amazing but then you feel like shit. I would understand this lyric a little better if it actually said "I am feeling mortal and withdrawn" so what I take from it is that after a binge you FEEL FUCKING MORTAL and after a drug binge, almost every addict feels they are lucky to have survived it. That's how scary drugs are.  They make you do things that make you feel like you could have died from it and then you do it again another day knowing that.  it's fucked. (***that explains my former confusion. The lyric was transcribed incorrectly)

With that in mind, off drugs, and wanting them, he feels like it will last forever (just sort of realized it has the same sort of thesis of "Forever Now", and actually both of The Nows, and the idea of just a life of boredom and not as extroverted as blow, amphetamines et al will make you feel so he is feeling "bitter and withdrawn" instead of extroverted and the life of the party.  AT THAT moment anyway.  Understand this song is about MOMENTS, not a continuous flow of consciousness I think.  At least for me.  I know I still think about drugs all the time and want to do them all the time but the thought doesn't consume me. It comes and it goes with ZERO chance of relapsing but sometimes knowing you won't ever do something that you once considered vital and fun, gone forever.  When you feel that way, it’s a very pathetic feeling. That’s why support groups matter, there is strength because being a former addict is the most lonely experience ever. While a huge part of the population are, and you  know it, it’s feels as lonely as can be. 

Standing in the shadows
Where all the good times gone

Again, just a straight lyric about feeling alone and in the dark and wondering where all the good times have gone.  To bring it back to RevRad, this phrase is very similar to "How did life on the wild side get so dull" in Somewhere Now.  The good news is that it becomes "how did life on the wild side get so full" so even now you have to remember that we are talking about moments and that Billie is happy and better than ever with his sobriety but he has opened himself up on this song more than he ever has because he is sharing with the world his current, after the public success, of STILL thinking about drugs.  As a former addict, it goes appreciated because you feel less alone when you hear it from others whether you go to 12 step programs or if you're like me and just have a daughter and wanted to be sober for her and then use BJA as your therapy to know you're not alone in your thoughts.

CHORUS
I got the tears, oh baby
Crying in my soul   (It's pretty simple again.  It's speaking to his fear of relapse and the guilt of wanting to do drugs when so much praise has been heaped upon you by your peers, family and friends) so his sorrow is so upset that it's crying.  Also "soul" is a recurring theme in this album and in this case, it doesn't feel good.

Hang from the chandelier
From a long long time ago (I was a little not sure on the exacts of the chandelier until @IcyMoffatt pointed out that he actually, quite stupidly risked his life by hanging swinging from a chandelier.  This actually happened on a episodic show about TV producers called "nobodies" where a guy gets so fucked up that he swings at a party from a long string of lights and nearly dies.  Billie could have killed himself or broke a leg or something dong what he was doing in that video, especially since he probably did completely fucked up.  He usually was.  But it also brings in the vision of "hanging on to the past" and he famously hung upside down from the rafters at the Don Hill Tubbie show and that is what I thought of when I heard this lyrical phrase from the chorus but I think that Icy's GIF changed my mind on that and I think he is specifically speaking of that occasion.  I wouldn't be surprised if he had really hurt himself when he did that.   Look at the people watching it. Look at where he hit the couch.  That was not good and again, I am pretty sure was fueled by drugs or alcohol or both.
Chasing a ghost  (Obviously the title is about chasing a thing that is not real and this is dead and in the past, a ghost.  His drug life.)
Chasing a ghost

Everyone is happy
And everyone is gay

Had this discussion with someone in the "misheard" thread and as this album is definitely a continuos thank you and homage to many if not most of his influences. So the idea of "Everyone is happy and everyone is gay" is circular but depending on how you take the word gay. Colloquially, the term "gay" has been given a second definition as an accepted term, not derogatory as "gay" but he wouldn't say "everyone is happy and everyone is 'happy'" so I think while paying homage to an influence to Sam Cooke "Twisting The Night Away" with the line:

"Let me tell you 'bout a place
Somewhere up a New York way
Where the people are so gay
Twistin' the night away"

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Thank you to @Jane Lannister for helping me out with this one in a little convo we had about Cooke.

However, while I like the phrase and think it's clever in it's use of saying something as Billie has once said he thinks everyone is bisexual at a minimum and while I don't really understand that because I've never had a desiree to be with another man, and i think if you think it's a choice then you are gay or lesbian and that's great. At this risk of doing the "I have a gay friend", I have friends that are freaks, gay, transgender, or whatever.  I personally don't give a fuck so it's not a homophobic thing. In fact, truthfully I find gay men to be some of the nicest people in the world. I am not friends with many lesbians other than just girls getting their freak on but I don't count that but I am not really sure how this lyrical phrase fits into the song beyond what I can read into it right now on it's own but it seems like a loner phrase in this song.

Feeling the spirits
And twisting the night away

As I am going down, maybe this is the beginning of the party where he is starting to have fun. So I am only just kind of coming up with that as I write this.  My breakdown of this song has all been listening but sometimes when I write my thoughts down, I see a pattern and with this lyric, I see how with the last one, they sort of bleed into each other of turning the corner from the melancholy part and now he's either still day dreaming about drugs and at the party or he is in reality and having fun but without drugs. Not sure.  Here is where I think  the song structure trips me up a bit.  But that's my take at the moment on these couple parts.

But when the thrill is gone
And I'm staring at my phone

I think this is alluding to a day of doing drugs and what it feels like to be the center of everything and feeling amazing and then suddenly you are alone.  "staring at my phone" conjures images of being alone and not wanting to be.

Thanks for the company
But I'm still standing alone

I think this is talking to whomever it is that are his drug friends and anyone who does a lot of drugs knows what I mean.  You have your friends, and then you have your "drug friends" but really they are not you friends because nobody is who they really are on drugs hence I appreciate the company, but I'm still alone. 

I got the tears, oh baby
Crying in my soul

Hang from the chandelier
From a long long time ago

Chasing a ghost
Chasing a ghost

It ain't the same
Ain't it a shame?

Simple.  Life is not the same on drugs. Drugs were fun. What a shame.  Pretty straight forward.

Here's to the painkillers, oh yeah
On Saturday night

I don't know about this phrase either. It again is just saying in a very literal way about wanting to get some opiates in him (on a saturday night for some reason).  Billie doesn't usually just fill spaces without meaning but that's all I feel about the Saturday night line.  I've got nothing on it but the one dimensional lyric.  I feel like this song is so literal that it really doesn't even need a break down but for some of the proprietary language used and I wanted to break this one down first because it is so different in that it is so simple and literal and I think everything is about something from the past, and his past life with his present life juxtaposed against it.  I don't think there is more to this phrase but I am open to suggestions.

So if you see him
Tell him that I said hello

I believe this is Billie talking to the world that if you see St. Jimmy, tell him that I said "hello" and now we are getting near the conclusion of the song where he admits that although he has these thoughts, they are just that and St. Jimmy still lives, but he is not with Billie.  He doesn't even say he's inside him, he's gone.   If you see him tell him I said hello.

I miss the times we spent
And now I'm gonna go

Again, about St. Jimmy, and not angry at him because as I described in my pre-amble, he is not showing regret here, but rather fondly remembering some of the fun he had on drugs and saying I miss it but I have (had) to go.  This phrase makes the hair on my arms stand up.  I think it's great. So raw, obvious and poetic. I sometimes like very interpretable stuff and thee is no question to me that this is directed at his inner demons, or St. Jimmy.

She was my last hoorah
And always got me stoned

Well on this one we will just say that we are talking about the people and influences that lead him to his final hoorah (which for my non-english friends, hoorah is a term that pretty much means party, or last thing before you quit something is the best way I can describe it) but its was the last one and the run that started with the partying in NY lead directly into the iHeart show which was his last hoorah (that time between him going out of his mind and then doing it on stage).  It was a necessary thing because it saved his life.  The dirty little secret is that iHeart is the best thing that ever happened to Green Day.  He was on a path to nowhere good and he did what a good man does, the right thing.  Now I say the people but he was obviously speaking about someone female.  I am sure some people think that it is the "She" character but that wouldn't make any sense that I can think of in light of the surrounding lyrics.  But I will just leave that as this.

Thanks for the sympathy
And the punch in the nose

Whoever said that the punch in the nose was a wake up call might have been dead on and I wasn't really thinking about it too much but when I heard that, I was digging it.  I believe that is what he was saying which sort of plays in to what I just wrote above on the last phrase.  She (whoever SHE is ) probably apologized if whoever SHE is has a conscious and he is saying "don't worry about it, not your fault and thanks for waking me up" even if it was unintentional, like Trump is a necessary evil to fix our bloated government, Billie needed an over binge to realize he had crossed the line and that's what happened.  I like the idea that he is forgiving and thankful for the result anyway.  I dig that.

Chasing a ghost
Chasing a ghost (woo)
Chasing a ghost (alright)
Chasing a ghost

 

So there ya have it. My take at the moment. I reserve the right to change my mind on parts but from what i feel and know, this is a pretty literal song and is not hard to decrypt but when looked at closely, you get a little more than from a listen but not as much as most of Billie's writing.  This song is just what it is, an admittance of something uber personal and sharing it with us and an acknowledgment that everything is alright.

 

However, while I like the phrase and think it's clever in it's use of saying something as Billie has once said he thinks everyone is bisexual at a minimum and while I don't really understand that because I've never had a desiree to be with another man, and i think if you think it's a choice then you are gay or lesbian and that's great. At this risk of doing the "I have a gay friend", I have friends that are freaks, gay, transgender, or whatever.  I personally don't give a fuck so it's not a homophobic thing. In fact, truthfully I find gay men to be some of the nicest people in the world. I am not friends with many lesbians other than just girls getting their freak on but I don't count that but I am not really sure how this lyrical phrase fits into the song beyond what I can read into it right now on it's own but it seems like a loner phrase in this song.

Feeling the spirits
And twisting the night away

As I am going down, maybe this is the beginning of the party where he is starting to have fun. So I am only just kind of coming up with that as I write this.  My breakdown of this song has all been listening but sometimes when I write my thoughts down, I see a pattern and with this lyric, I see how with the last one, they sort of bleed into each other of turning the corner from the melancholy part and now he's either still day dreaming about drugs and at the party or he is in reality and having fun but without drugs. Not sure.  Here is where I think  the song structure trips me up a bit.  But that's my take at the moment on these couple parts.

But when the thrill is gone
And I'm staring at my phone

I think this is alluding to a day of doing drugs and what it feels like to be the center of everything and feeling amazing and then suddenly you are alone.  "staring at my phone" conjures images of being alone and not wanting to be.

Thanks for the company
But I'm still standing alone

I think this is talking to whomever it is that are his drug friends and anyone who does a lot of drugs knows what I mean.  You have your friends, and then you have your "drug friends" but really they are not you friends because nobody is who they really are on drugs hence I appreciate the company, but I'm still alone. 

I got the tears, oh baby
Crying in my soul

Hang from the chandelier
From a long long time ago

Chasing a ghost
Chasing a ghost

It ain't the same
Ain't it a shame?

Simple.  Life is not the same on drugs. Drugs were fun. What a shame.  Pretty straight forward.

Here's to the painkillers, oh yeah
On Saturday night

I don't know about this phrase either. It again is just saying in a very literal way about wanting to get some opiates in him (on a saturday night for some reason).  Billie doesn't usually just fill spaces without meaning but that's all I feel about the Saturday night line.  I've got nothing on it but the one dimensional lyric.  I feel like this song is so literal that it really doesn't even need a break down but for some of the proprietary language used and I wanted to break this one down first because it is so different in that it is so simple and literal and I think everything is about something from the past, and his past life with his present life juxtaposed against it.  I don't think there is more to this phrase but I am open to suggestions.

So if you see him
Tell him that I said hello

I believe this is Billie talking to the world that if you see St. Jimmy, tell him that I said "hello" and now we are getting near the conclusion of the song where he admits that although he has these thoughts, they are just that and St. Jimmy still lives, but he is not with Billie.  He doesn't even say he's inside him, he's gone.   If you see him tell him I said hello.

I miss the times we spent
And now I'm gonna go

Again, about St. Jimmy, and not angry at him because as I described in my pre-amble, he is not showing regret here, but rather fondly remembering some of the fun he had on drugs and saying I miss it but I have (had) to go.  This phrase makes the hair on my arms stand up.  I think it's great. So raw, obvious and poetic. I sometimes like very interpretable stuff and thee is no question to me that this is directed at his inner demons, or St. Jimmy.

She was my last hoorah
And always got me stoned

Well on this one we will just say that we are talking about the people and influences that lead him to his final hoorah (which for my non-english friends, hoorah is a term that pretty much means party, or last thing before you quit something is the best way I can describe it) but its was the last one and the run that started with the partying in NY lead directly into the iHeart show which was his last hoorah (that time between him going out of his mind and then doing it on stage).  It was a necessary thing because it saved his life.  The dirty little secret is that iHeart is the best thing that ever happened to Green Day.  He was on a path to nowhere good and he did what a good man does, the right thing.  Now I say the people but he was obviously speaking about someone female.  I am sure some people think that it is the "She" character but that wouldn't make any sense that I can think of in light of the surrounding lyrics.  But I will just leave that as this.

Thanks for the sympathy
And the punch in the nose

Whoever said that the punch in the nose was a wake up call might have been dead on and I wasn't really thinking about it too much but when I heard that, I was digging it.  I believe that is what he was saying which sort of plays in to what I just wrote above on the last phrase.  She (whoever SHE is ) probably apologized if whoever SHE is has a conscious and he is saying "don't worry about it, not your fault and thanks for waking me up" even if it was unintentional, like Trump is a necessary evil to fix our bloated government, Billie needed an over binge to realize he had crossed the line and that's what happened.  I like the idea that he is forgiving and thankful for the result anyway.  I dig that.

Chasing a ghost
Chasing a ghost (woo)
Chasing a ghost (alright)
Chasing a ghost

 

So there ya have it. My take at the moment. I reserve the right to change my mind on parts but from what i feel and know, this is a pretty literal song and is not hard to decrypt but when looked at closely, you get a little more than from a listen but not as much as most of Billie's writing.  This song is just what it is, an admittance of something uber personal and sharing it with us and an acknowledgment that everything is alright.

 

***EDIT - This took a while to write and I was blazing typing it so I apologize for the definite typos in it right now and probably some grammatical stuff that makes something just flat out wrong and possibly formatting errors.  I have a ton of shit to do today but when I get a moment, I will clean it up. I hope I didn't offend anyone and that someone enjoys the read.  Love y'all. 

 

 

I am thoroughly enjoying reading every person's interpretation of all of these lyrics, especially your insight, @LaughingClock ...thanks!

Not sure if these references have been mentioned already but when I first listened to the lyrics, "I'm looking for a bump and a wall to call my own" I instantly thought of how he must feel isolated and sad at the party.  Most likely because he is no longer partaking and maybe feels like he's a "bump" on a log or a "wall" flower at these things now (standing in the shadows).   He's not as much fun as he used to be or having as much fun as when he was loaded.  My subsequent listens, conjured the drug references you made here.  Also, "spirits and twisting" sound like it also could mean alcohol and weed. I love how Billie writes with multiple meanings. 

  

[Biddymc]

When Billie sings "On a Saturday Night"  in CAG it sounds like such a 50s/60s power pop chorus, and I immediately just chime in because at first the lyric and the melody conjure up such a good nostalgic feeling of how much I use to anticipate Saturday Night (and everything that went with it) when I was younger, and being a similar age to Billie, I guess there will always be that rush of memories, good and bad, of what Saturday Night use to be.  But the rest of lyric, and the mood that the words conjure up, really also rings true, because it also meant a lot binge drinking, drug usage, bad hookups, and I know in my life, I just don't live that life anymore.  However, it doesn't mean that sometimes you don't get an itch for it, you don't get nostalgic for it, that you don't want to just let yourself slip into that destructive behavior.  And as someone who also suffers from a lot of social awkwardness and anxiety, it was so easy to use the drink and drugs as a way to cope and fit in, and now when I'm out socially, in certain situations, I may look like I'm having a great time, and I can join in and look super relaxed, but in my head, I am rehashing things I've said, who I've talked to, filled with self doubt, and for sure, I may be talking to friends/acquaintances in an engaged way, but it's all a front, and deep inside, I feel totally disconnected and very alone/lonely.  Although I manage a lot better now, there can still be nights where a quiet exit is the best thing for me.  

[Hermione]

1 hour ago, Jane Lannister said:

Billie seems to be somewhat obsessed with piss. He mentions it quite often and it's not in a metaphorical way

Yeah that, and in lyrics I think piss and cigarettes are just examples of some of his favourite go to references, like "walking" and lots of other things.

[pacejunkie punk]

So on a similar note to CAG, I think I’ve finally figured out most of Soul Surrender, because it sounds like it also has the theme of struggling to resist temptation. The title sounds very 12 step like, surrendering yourself to a higher power, and he refers to seeing a ghost again:

Just me and my imagination

I swear I think I saw a ghost

Oh lead my out of my temptation 

I got a case of letting go

 

so he feels like cutting loose and maybe doing something he shouldn’t and prays to a higher power to save him from his temptation. By the way, if writing is how he’s dealing with it I’d say he has to be doing all right.

And then there’s the very straightforward line:

I think I need a long vacation

to keep me clean and blow my nose

 

Addiction is a lonely struggle, you can have support but no one can really go through it with you. The more I hear these songs the more depth of meaning I’m finding in them. I’m really so proud of him knowing how hard this has been and I appreciate the raw honesty.

[LaughingClock]

1 hour ago, Vintage Disciple said:

I am thoroughly enjoying reading every person's interpretation of all of these lyrics, especially your insight, @LaughingClock ...thanks!

Not sure if these references have been mentioned already but when I first listened to the lyrics, "I'm looking for a bump and a wall to call my own" I instantly thought of how he must feel isolated and sad at the party.  Most likely because he is no longer partaking and maybe feels like he's a "bump" on a log or a "wall" flower at these things now (standing in the shadows).   

  

Standing in the shadows of the past and feeling lonely and wanting a bump, IMO, had one meaning and one meaning only. Unfortunately for me, I understand drug use and the desires. A wall to call my own means he wants a bump and a place to be left the fuck alone and nobody bothering him. He also wants a mirror at that wall. (Some random memes)

 

This is real personal and any former speed or amphetmine user will tell you that there is (contrary to the picture above) a sexual side to speed. For men especially, it makes your libido go insane. Uncontrollable. You want to fuck everything moving and it leads to some what seems like amazing experiences like being on a roof top at the AVN awards watching about 100 pornstars in a pile fucking on the roof of the Hustler Club at an after party. Crazy shit and it’s frankly addicting as the drug itself when it comes to that stuff. Coke is only temporarily physically addicting unlike opiates but the other experiences you’ll have are the part you’ll “miss” and cringe over.

just being honest here.

I like the spirits reference you made to alcohol. Totally think you’re on with that one.

[Billie Joes Eyelids]

@LaughingClock I can’t remove the pics so I’m not quoting your last post, but thanks for the vivid imagery your description provided. 

[IanGrag]

I still listen to this album often. My favorites are Cult Hero and Turn Me Loose. Such a fun record. I can't wait for the next GD album.

[LaughingClock]

16 minutes ago, IanGrag said:

I still listen to this album often. My favorites are Cult Hero and Turn Me Loose. Such a fun record. I can't wait for the next GD album.

I really love TML as well.

[aydge89]

That clip from The Longshot instagram of them playing Stay the Night recently makes me wish GD would bring it back into their setlist.

[Beerjeezus]

coke references all of a sudden?  I'm not sure if I buy it.

11 minutes ago, aydge89 said:

That clip from The Longshot instagram of them playing Stay the Night recently makes me wish GD would bring it back into their setlist.

Agreed! 

[Hermione]

1 hour ago, Jane Lannister said:

coke references all of a sudden?  I'm not sure if I buy it.

 

Yeah I can't see any specific references to a particular drug in the song (apart from maybe "stoned" but even that seems to be meant in a non-specific way). 

Also when it says "here's to the painkillers oh yeah, on a Saturday night" again I think that's a general reference to using booze and/or drugs as "painkillers" to cope with life etc. He doesn't get into describing specific drugs in the song.

I've grown to really love Soul Surrender  

[pacejunkie punk]

So the schedule has a week off between the west and east coast legs of the tour. Other than just getting a break I wonder if they plan to shoot another video for a second single? Which song do you think would make a good second single (from the album, I’m not counting Devil’s Kind)? There are so many I love I can’t decide.

[Hermione]

13 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

So the schedule has a week off between the west and east coast legs of the tour. Other than just getting a break I wonder if they plan to shoot another video for a second single? Which song do you think would make a good second single (from the album, I’m not counting Devil’s Kind)? There are so many I love I can’t decide.

I'd love a video for Taxi Driver just because of the potential for it being amusing . If not The Last Time or Turn Me Loose.

[That Dude]

12 minutes ago, pacejunkie punk said:

So the schedule has a week off between the west and east coast legs of the tour. Other than just getting a break I wonder if they plan to shoot another video for a second single? Which song do you think would make a good second single (from the album, I’m not counting Devil’s Kind)? There are so many I love I can’t decide.

The Last Time!  Judging by the survey, it's the most well recieved.   But really most of these songs are ripe for a single release and could do fine.    The ones that wouldn't work....."Body Bag", "Kill your Friends"  and the "Goodbye to Romance"...... They COULD work, but it would be a Longshot    A very well done music video could help those songs do wonders, but I doubt we're getting any videos good enough to do that.  

The Last Time is fun and catchy and even with a throw-away video would still be a minor success.  

[Billie Joes Eyelids]

8 minutes ago, Hermione said:

I'd love a video for Taxi Driver just because of the potential for it being amusing . If not The Last Time or Turn Me Loose.

I really like that idea. And love that song. Is LIFL getting any traction?

[pacejunkie punk]

1 minute ago, neverdone2000 said:

I really like that idea. And love that song. Is LIFL getting any traction?

420,000 views for the video. Not sure how to check if it’s charting as a song or not. It has 947,797 streams on Spotify alone, way way more than the other tracks.

[Jollyroger118]

I saw them last night and they were incredible. It made me really appreciate the whole album and the project a lot more. I was literally less than 10 feet from Billie and he sounded amazing and he had a ton of fun and the Longshot songs are just different live.. They played Stay the Night and Fell for You which actually made me miss the trilogy. All in all it was just the best show I've ever see so far.

[LaughingClock]

21 hours ago, Jane Lannister said:

Billie seems to be somewhat obsessed with piss. He mentions it quite often and it's not in a metaphorical way

Too true. There are words he just uses quite often like “Valentine” is another. I won’t mention the so many others. You guys start naming some.

[pacejunkie punk]

7 minutes ago, Jollyroger118 said:

I saw them last night and they were incredible. It made me really appreciate the whole album and the project a lot more. I was literally less than 10 feet from Billie and he sounded amazing and he had a ton of fun and the Longshot songs are just different live.. They played Stay the Night and Fell for You which actually made me miss the trilogy. All in all it was just the best show I've ever see so far.

Were you one of the lucky people he landed on? 

 

[LaughingClock]

1 hour ago, pacejunkie punk said:

Were you one of the lucky people he landed on? 

 

This is why I love Billie more than any other reason. If he is performing for 4 or 40k, he wants to rock it exactly the same and the crowd at least wants to try and oblige.