Billie Joe's Handwritten Trilogy Lyric Sheets (w/ alt. lyrics/titles, a few new songs)

[forcingmetofall]

Wow that's awesome, i'll copy the handwriting of billie

[Strayheart1219]

This is awesome man! I really enjoy this.

[Rae'n'shine]

It never ceases to amaze me just how much Billie writes and writes, and rewrites. The true mark of an amazing writer.

[gerardsangel4977]

It's stuff like this that flaws people's ideas of a concrete story between or theme between the albums, or even that the songs are 100 percent based on something specific. If that were the case how would he be able to switch lyrics between songs like that? I feel like people definitely try to see what isn't there with music sometimes.

I'm not sure how borrowed lyrics destroys the idea of shared themes....A theme is just general subject matter, and can easily be shared by two completely unrelated things. If anything, a line or group of lines reused elsewhere would reinforce the idea of similar themes or motifs, no?

As for the existence or not of a story, concept albums aren't always written in a deliberate, linear fashion, like books. Hell, depending on the individual writer's process, books aren' t always written in a linear fashion either. An author can easily go back and reuse a sentence or paragraph or scene or even an entire character from a previous, scrapped work, if it has a place in something they're working on currently. Doesn't make the end result any less of a story just because part of it was written separately from the rest.

Likewise, to use a recent example, multiple songs from the Black Parade were written independently of that album. In some cases, the originals versions of those songs were created years prior, including "Welcome to the Black Parade", which was initially written for their first album under the name "The Five of Us Are Dying", but ultimately became the cornerstone for their third. And Danger Days used songs and parts of songs that were from the album they scrapped. Even American Idiot and Homecoming were not originally written with a story or concept in mind, but they quickly became a part of one when the band decided to shift gears. And I wouldn't be surprised if bits of songs from Cigarettes and Valentines or even older tracks were used or recycled when making some of the AI songs or 21CB, for that matter. That's just how it goes. But it doesn't make any of those albums any less conceptual than they are.

You are certainly entitled to your own interpretation of things, and if you feel there is nothing more to the trilogy than a bundle of songs, then that is fine. But your reasoning here holds very little water in terms of justifying one interpretation as more "right" than the other.

"Easy cum and go." Oh, Billie.

It's written that way in the actual liner notes too I was all *gasp* when I saw it, lol

[farley drexel hatcher]

I'm not sure how borrowed lyrics destroys the idea of shared themes....A theme is just general subject matter, and can easily be shared by two completely unrelated things. If anything, a line or group of lines reused elsewhere would reinforce the idea of similar themes or motifs, no?

As for the existence or not of a story, concept albums aren't always written in a deliberate, linear fashion, like books. Hell, depending on the individual writer's process, books aren' t always written in a linear fashion either. An author can easily go back and reuse a sentence or paragraph or scene or even an entire character from a previous, scrapped work, if it has a place in something they're working on currently. Doesn't make the end result any less of a story just because part of it was written separately from the rest.

Likewise, to use a recent example, multiple songs from the Black Parade were written independently of that album. In some cases, the originals versions of those songs were created years prior, including "Welcome to the Black Parade", which was initially written for their first album under the name "The Five of Us Are Dying", but ultimately became the cornerstone for their third. And Danger Days used songs and parts of songs that were from the album they scrapped. Even American Idiot and Homecoming were not originally written with a story or concept in mind, but they quickly became a part of one when the band decided to shift gears. And I wouldn't be surprised if bits of songs from Cigarettes and Valentines or even older tracks were used or recycled when making some of the AI songs or 21CB, for that matter. That's just how it goes. But it doesn't make any of those albums any less conceptual than they are.

You are certainly entitled to your own interpretation of things, and if you feel there is nothing more to the trilogy than a bundle of songs, then that is fine. But your reasoning here holds very little water in terms of justifying one interpretation as more "right" than the other.

It's written that way in the actual liner notes too I was all *gasp* when I saw it, lol

My point is there are fans on this very forum who are taking the songs completely literally, and coming up with stories and ideas that even billie probably hasn't thought of. Like someone saying drama queen was a character from dos - drama queen was written years ago. I don't think there's even supposed to be characters this time around.

Plus despite all of that, this isn't a conceit album. I know the band did the whole theme thing, but having a theme to make things run smoothly isn't the same as having a concept with running story lines like so many fans on this forum are saying.

[Bastard of 1967]

My point is there are fans on this very forum who are taking the songs completely literally, and coming up with stories and ideas that even billie probably hasn't thought of. Like someone saying drama queen was a character from dos - drama queen was written years ago. I don't think there's even supposed to be characters this time around.

Plus despite all of that, this isn't a conceit album. I know the band did the whole theme thing, but having a theme to make things run smoothly isn't the same as having a concept with running story lines like so many fans on this forum are saying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mYTmNrBHUhE

0:07 - 0:19

Billie: "I'd like to give people an understanding of what's happening."

Rob: "Okay, there's three albums...and people are first gonna say 'Well, is it an opera? Is it tied together? Is it not? Or what is it? Is it a concept?'"

Billie: "I think there's a story in this whole thing."

/discussion

[Annie, get your gun]

It never ceases to amaze me just how much Billie writes and writes, and rewrites. The true mark of an amazing writer.

Yes!! I remember an article from a magazine which intro talked about that; Billie writes all the time, songs, little notes... (he writes a LOT!)

But I can't remember where I read it

[Hermione]

Wow this is amazing! It's just so cool to see the lyrics straight from the source, and all the little differences and changes too. And holy shit unreleased song lyrics . Gonna enjoy having a good read of these

[gerardsangel4977]

My point is there are fans on this very forum who are taking the songs completely literally, and coming up with stories and ideas that even billie probably hasn't thought of. Like someone saying drama queen was a character from dos - drama queen was written years ago. I don't think there's even supposed to be characters this time around.

Plus despite all of that, this isn't a conceit album. I know the band did the whole theme thing, but having a theme to make things run smoothly isn't the same as having a concept with running story lines like so many fans on this forum are saying.

So, first, you said people were reading too much into things.....and now they're taking things too literally. Which is it?

" Like someone saying drama queen was a character from dos - drama queen was written years ago" <---------- The fact that you said this at all shows that you completely missed the point of my post. When a song was written or even it's original intent does not make it any less capable of becoming a part of a larger concept later on. I'm not going to bother listing anymore examples of cases where that has been true as I've already given several. The guys clearly brought back Drama Queen because they felt it fit within the themes of their current direction. Otherwise, they'd have just let it be. So it's not as if they just chose a random song from their back catalogue and said "hey, about we put this out now because we can." There was some level of thought put into it.

Not only that, but Billie has often said in interviews that he enjoys playing with multiple meanings in his lyrics. He *likes* that things can be interpreted in more than one way; He wants people to read into it as much--or as little--as they choose. Is it really all that surprising, then, that people take him up on that?

As to your last point, a concept album, by definition, does not need to have characters or a running storyline; It only needs a unifying concept to tie everything together (hence the term).

Besides which, the beauty of personal interpretation is that you can never be wrong. As long as you can support your interpretation, then it is just as valid as all the others.

[-Billiejoezee-]

Damn, these are really cool!

[YoYoFantaFanta]

I'm not sure how borrowed lyrics destroys the idea of shared themes....A theme is just general subject matter, and can easily be shared by two completely unrelated things. If anything, a line or group of lines reused elsewhere would reinforce the idea of similar themes or motifs, no?

As for the existence or not of a story, concept albums aren't always written in a deliberate, linear fashion, like books. Hell, depending on the individual writer's process, books aren' t always written in a linear fashion either. An author can easily go back and reuse a sentence or paragraph or scene or even an entire character from a previous, scrapped work, if it has a place in something they're working on currently. Doesn't make the end result any less of a story just because part of it was written separately from the rest.

Likewise, to use a recent example, multiple songs from the Black Parade were written independently of that album. In some cases, the originals versions of those songs were created years prior, including "Welcome to the Black Parade", which was initially written for their first album under the name "The Five of Us Are Dying", but ultimately became the cornerstone for their third. And Danger Days used songs and parts of songs that were from the album they scrapped. Even American Idiot and Homecoming were not originally written with a story or concept in mind, but they quickly became a part of one when the band decided to shift gears. And I wouldn't be surprised if bits of songs from Cigarettes and Valentines or even older tracks were used or recycled when making some of the AI songs or 21CB, for that matter. That's just how it goes. But it doesn't make any of those albums any less conceptual than they are.

You are certainly entitled to your own interpretation of things, and if you feel there is nothing more to the trilogy than a bundle of songs, then that is fine. But your reasoning here holds very little water in terms of justifying one interpretation as more "right" than the other.

It's written that way in the actual liner notes too I was all *gasp* when I saw it, lol

I didn't know Welcome to the Black Parade was for Bullets, that's pretty awesome. Where did you hear it?

Anyway, every album has a theme or a few. 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours was mostly love songs. Kerplunk had themes of love, apathy, and growing up. Dookie has themes of apathy, anger, and anxiety. Insomniac has themes of drugs and rejection. Nimrod has themes of family issues, hate, and drinking. Waring has themes of hope. American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown both have political themes, but American Idiot is more about alienation and leaving home, while 21st Century Breakdown is more about everything falling apart. Uno, Dos, and Tre have themes of partying, love, hate, and reflection. That's all of the Green Day albums for what I can tell.

[gerardsangel4977]

I didn't know Welcome to the Black Parade was for Bullets, that's pretty awesome. Where did you hear it?

Anyway, every album has a theme or a few. 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours was mostly love songs. Kerplunk had themes of love, apathy, and growing up. Dookie has themes of apathy, anger, and anxiety. Insomniac has themes of drugs and rejection. Nimrod has themes of family issues, hate, and drinking. Waring has themes of hope. American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown both have political themes, but American Idiot is more about alienation and leaving home, while 21st Century Breakdown is more about everything falling apart. Uno, Dos, and Tre have themes of partying, love, hate, and reflection. That's all of the Green Day albums for what I can tell.

MCR talked about "The Five of Us Are Dying" in quite a few of the early interviews for Black Parade....the two places that come to mind most readily are the "My Chemical Romance Welcomes You to the Black Parade", which is still available for download on iTunes, I believe, and the liner notes from the Special Edition of the album. I'm fairly certain it was mentioned in passing in some of the other print interviews as well. I just can't think of which ones off the top of my head.

[stories and songs]

Thank you for these!

Billie's handwriting looks like a font. It is so cool looking.

I too wish they kept the verse with the title referenced in Dirty Rotten Bastards. While I LOVE the song so much, there are times when I listen to it and think that there is something missing that could perhaps make it flow a bit better. Maybe it was this piece!

It never ceases to amaze me just how much Billie writes and writes, and rewrites. The true mark of an amazing writer.

He truly is an amazing writer. I admire him for his writing abilities so, so much. He has this magnificent way of taking very common, accessible language and making it resonate with listeners on a more personal level. And the writing never seems half-assed. Just as you said, he writes and rewrites, tweaking as he goes along. That is the more time-consuming, sometimes frustrating way to write, but it is the technique suggested for writers to apply in order to get the best result.

[WhatsUpLucas]

Awesome thread. Really. Fucking. Awesome.

I just wish Dirty Rotten Bastards had those two verses. "Cripple sucking on the nipple" HAHAHA.

[brianbags]

I really do agree with you. I think songwriting, for the majority of songwriters, is just a random composition of lines that comes to mind. It is then subsequently supervised and altered by the brain's desire for it to make some sense, so it often do, but your interpretation of a song is most likely as valid as the writer's own.

Exactly. People really also like to pick out one line in the verse and say "Hey that's what the song is about".

It's easy to sit there and think of some phrases/words that sound good together...they won't make much sense. And honestly neither do those of a lot of songwriters, including BJ.

[solongfromthestars]

Thanks for finding these, this is awesome!

I think the thing that's so beautiful about songwriting (and especially Billie's) is that it is so easy to "read too much into" and find so many different meanings, themes and stories. So what if that's not what he intended? There's nothing wrong with having a personal interpretation, especially if it helps you connect and relate to the song.

As someone else already said, some changes in lyrics or even recycling older ones doesn't mean their meaning can't change or fit into something else. I know that as a writer my lyrics can mean ten different things or fit into ten different songs. Same goes for my novels, I've often used scenes or characters from something I wrote years ago in an entirely new and different idea. I don't think it's even natural not to re-write and change things as you go along, I know I've never completed a piece without doing that. It doesn't necessarily affect the meaning.

My only issue with this stuff is fans who state their interpretation as fact and make no effort whatsoever to imply that it's personal. It's annoying and disrespectful to the writer, even more so when it gets thrown around the Internet as truth.

[PanicAttack!]

Exactly. People really also like to pick out one line in the verse and say "Hey that's what the song is about".

It's easy to sit there and think of some phrases/words that sound good together...they won't make much sense. And honestly neither do those of a lot of songwriters, including BJ.

What is often most beautiful about a song's lyrics are the lines seperately on their own, or just the mere sound of them, and not the meaning.

[alienlifeform]

I'll probably doing a cover version of Dirty Rotten Bastards with my band using that verse that was cut out.. this song is just amazing

[Forever Now]

Thanks!

[Annie, get your gun]

Can somebody understand what does it say on the part that's all crossed out? the first words are "Pray for me.....>" but I can't understand the rest

[ChelseaDagger]

how am I just seeing this post????

so fucking awesome! thanks for posting!!!

[Rumpelstiltskin2000]

I think it's:

Pray for me and stoke this flame

I sing to/for you a moonlight serenade/don't run away ????

From an 8th Avenue (??will/we'll crash/witch craft??)

To the Whispering Wall

but maybe I'm wrong, I don't know

[Annie, get your gun]

I think it's:

Pray for me and stoke this flame

I sing to/for you a moonlight serenade/don't run away ????

From an 8th Avenue (??will/we'll crash/witch craft??)

To the Whispering Wall

but maybe I'm wrong, I don't know

It's better than what I tried to deduce. Thank you!

[Android Jesus]

Wow!! So cool!! Thank you, this is so helpful! GDC is always the best place for finding stuff!

[invalid.]

Thanks! I love Billie's handwriting... not the neatest but SO clearly recognizable and even sorta (well, very) cute.