Story/Meaning Behind "Stray Heart"

[Sanity Loan]

Something I've been thinking about lately: What is the story behind "Stray Heart?" Assuming it's a truthful story, do you think it's about Billie Joe cheating on Adrienne or Amanda? Or do you think it's two characters Billie Joe made up?

The lines "Everything that I want / I want from you / But I just can't have you" makes me think it's about Amanda, if it's a true story.

Thoughts on the meaning/story?

[inthehallwaynow]

are there going to be a bunch of people getting upset over the billie and adrienne cheating question? haha

[Tubbie Head]

Yeah, I also wonder what's the meaning behind that... and so many other songs to be honest. This is why I miss the interviews like we had for 21stCBD where they explained (more and less) the meaning of each song on the album. It'd be nice to have that for the trilogy 'cause some songs are pretty obscure.

[Sappy]

wasn't 'Missing You' suppose to be something he through together, with no true story behind it? I would think Stray Heart is another one of those, I feel, if anything, maybe it's about people he knows? but most likely it's more of a story he created, that has a catchy tune to it. but who knows, maybe it is a true story!

[green day is]

http://www.greendaycommunity.org/topic/90051-green-day-qa-thread/

http://www.greendaycommunity.org/topic/91775-uno-song-meanings/

http://www.greendaycommunity.org/topic/90910-ados-album/

Any one of these would be a better place for this, or perhaps we should have a thread for meanings in general.

[Sarcasm]

I always thought it was Westbound Sign sneezed out of the nose of the 60'.

But heres what gives me a hard on, it reminds me so much of One for the Razorbacks, a fictional little story about a couple, personified by Billie's really familiar way of writing almost every line like he has experienced it first hand.

Anyway, I love the song, following this thread to see what other people think to get some perspective.

http://www.greendaycommunity.org/topic/90051-green-day-qa-thread/

http://www.greendaycommunity.org/topic/91775-uno-song-meanings/

http://www.greendaycommunity.org/topic/90910-ados-album/

Anyone of these would be a better place for this, or perhaps we should have a thread for meanings in general.

nah, we've opened more for threads like these in the past few months.

[Guest]

Clearly Billie Joe watched too many daytime soaps during his cocaine hangovers, and was so fucked up he started thinking that he was part of the show. It must be that he felt guilty for shagging the character in the show, and the "Everything that I want / I want from you / But I just can't have you" line is him realising that he was hallucinating the whole thing.

[green day is]

But heres what gives me a hard on, it reminds me so much of One for the Razorbacks, a fictional little story about a couple, personified by Billie's really familiar way of writing almost every line like he has experienced it first hand.

One For The Razorback isn't fictional though. He even said he played a demo for it in his car with the girl, and when the title accidentally got changed to "Razorbacks" instead of Razorback he got pissed because it made it sound like it was for the football team instead of that girl, who he I guess was called "The Razorback" for some reason.

[Dirty Rotten Bastard]

We all know Billie wrote the song about Sven
Better love story than twilight <3

The one that got away

omg Sven I'm so sorry....not sorry.

[Sarcasm]

One For The Razorback isn't fictional though. He even said he played a demo for it in his car with the girl, and when the title accidentally got changed to "Razorbacks" instead of Razorback he got pissed because it made it sound like it was for the football team instead of that girl, who he I guess was called "The Razorback" for some reason.

this is why I don't read a lot of song meanings, I think it's much more entertaining to make up your own meaning based on what comes into your mind as you're listening.

[jumpsalty]

I think if it were as personal as being about him and Adie he'd be a little more reserved about throwing it out there so nonchalantly because he obviously knows there's going to be assumptions made ... But then who knows what happens in his head haha

That said though, he did say - and so did tre - that he writes songs about 'past and imaginary girlfriends'.

[Iva]

only if it was written in comic sans and consisted of a oneliner OP

I heard that!

[green day is]

this is why I don't read a lot of song meanings, I think it's much more entertaining to make up your own meaning based on what comes into your mind as you're listening.

Making up your own meaning is a lot different than assuming it's fictional for no reason.

[Sarcasm]

Making up your own meaning is a lot different than assuming it's fictional for no reason.

barring the lyrics I still think it's fair to assume it's fictional without going all out to figure out the origin of the song and ruin my own view of it

[iScottie]

I honestly think its fictional, too.

[Hermione]

I think if it were as personal as being about him and Adie he'd be a little more reserved about throwing it out there so nonchalantly because he obviously knows there's going to be assumptions made ... But then who knows what happens in his head haha

Exactly lol. If anyone thinks they've somehow caught him out by listening to the "cryptic" lyrics then they're sadly mistaken, fact is if he'd secretly had an affair he wouldn't bloody write about it in a song that his wife, family and fans can hear!

Lyrics aren't as simple as "truthful" or "made up", it isn't as black and white as that. They're truthful because they're about thoughts and feelings he's had or possibly influenced by things he's experienced in the past, that doesn't mean they're 100% factually correct essays detailing a specific real event. Billie's said himself that the stuff about having flings etc on the albums is just fantasy. He clearly stated it just in case it wasn't obvious enough to anyone with half a brain. I'd say Stray Heart is a song about a character cheating on his girlfriend and promising to never do it again, with the inspiration drawn from thoughts and feelings Billie's had and/or experiences he's had at some time in his life. The specifics of that are quite frankly none of our business, there's a difference between working out a song's meaning and sticking your nose into someone's personal business by making assumptions and gossiping about how their private life might relate to it. Art and real life.....there's a difference between these two things.

[MaraGreenDay]

I don't think it's like something he went trought, i think is just a story, but only Billie knows

This is why i don't like to asume meanings of songs, cause in the end, only the writer knows what it means or what he wants to say with it.

[Of Rage and Love]

I feel the same way about Stray Heart as I feel about the ridiculous accusations that Billie was having an affair with Lady Cobra just because of the song "Lady Cobra" (I hate cracked.com). I never felt that "Lady Cobra" was about Lady Cobra, but rather about the party type of girl "Well she just wants to get me high, Stick a needle in my eye, Reeks like hell, lost in temptation, rubbing on my inner demons, I don't wanna suicide, I don't want this to end, I just wanna be your friend". I feel like Stray Heart is just telling a story. Of course there are parts of Billie's life that influence the lyrics and themes of the songs, but I don't feel like they are as black and white as the lyrics would have you believe. Similar to the story of American Idiot, Billie has said that there are parts of himself in the characters JOS and St. Jimmy, but that doesn't mean that what happened in the story is exactly what happened to him, the story is just influenced by parts of his life.

[Guest]

HE WAS SHAGGING LADY COBRA OMGZ

[Annie, get your gun]

I don't know what to think about it, 'cause to me is like something we never heard before from him. I'd love to know what is it all about, though. It's a beautiful song of impossible love

[Sarcasm]

HE WAS SHAGGING LADY COBRA OMGZ

who wouldn't, but knowing Billie, like all other love songs it's about not getting laid.

[Guest]

who wouldn't,

She doesn't do anything for me at all

[laurie_black]

Oh my god, I love this song, there are so many different ways of interpreting it, ways in which it’s still a personal song – I mean aside from the obvious one, the cheating with another woman. Though, as others suggested, it could still be about that and it could be about an imaginary ex-girlfriend or other people he knows who went through that. Or maybe the cheating means giving in to the temptation represented by alcohol and drugs.

But I’m not really satisfied with that explanation because of the “But I just can’t have you” line. The narrator says he’s where he belongs, that he’s sure the other person is all he’ll ever need and that they’ll never part again – yet he can’t have her. Well, that doesn’t seem to apply to Adrienne because he does still have her. However, considering the little I know about them from biographies and such, I pieced together a scenario in my mind how this song could still be about Adrienne. It’s obviously all just my imagination, but I thought I might just as well share it. From what I know. Billie and Adrienne couldn’t really be together when they first met because Adrienne went to college in Minnesota and Billie had his band in California. That might be the heartbreaking part referred to by “your precious heart was torn apart by me” – leaving her to go back home. Then Billie was with Amanda, I thought that could be what he means by “this stray heart went to another”, but then they broke up and he started thinking about Adrienne again and that he’s now sure he wants to be with her, but sad that it doesn’t seem possible. In that scenario it would also make sense to say “I’ll never stray again from you” because they had already been a couple before, but broken up. Maybe the whole part about “everything I want, I want from you” is him convincing her to give them another try while at the same time being kind of hopeless that there’s a chance for that.

Yeah well, that’s all wild guessing, but it’s interesting to think about the possibilities, I think. And it's sweet, so I like it

[Dirty Rotten Bastard]

This song could have been written years ago. It might not be true. It might be true. Speculating whether or not Billie is/was cheating on anybody is quite irrelevant when there's many details about his life and indeed the song (such as when it was written) which you don't know in order for you to obtain any accurate guesses.

Discuss the song all you like. Knock yourself out. Trying to work out whether or not Billie has had an affair-in my opinion that's far too creepy and personal for a discussion.

I was already tempted to make a thread about how "Brat" is about Billie planning to murder his mum and step dad and steal the $500 they have in savings in order to buy meth.

But then I remembered there is literally no way I wouldn't get banned for that.

And it's all a true story.

[Sanity Loan]

This song could have been written years ago. It might not be true. It might be true. Speculating whether or not Billie is/was cheating on anybody is quite irrelevant when there's many details about his life and indeed the song (such as when it was written) which you don't know in order for you to obtain any accurate guesses.

Discuss the song all you like. Knock yourself out. Trying to work out whether or not Billie has had an affair-in my opinion that's far too creepy and personal for a discussion.

And it's all a true story.

Well, speculating that he did is a pretty fair assumption considering the lyrics of this song. You cannot deny that. Though, it's none of our business, he made it public by releasing a song about it.