Green Day have never shied away from making political statements, and their latest tour is no exception. During the opening show of their Australian tour in Melbourne, the band made notable lyric changes to Jesus of Suburbia, one of their most iconic songs from American Idiot.
Originally, the lyrics read, “Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed?” but Billie Joe Armstrong altered the line to, “Am I retarded or am I just JD Vance?”—a clear jab at the U.S. senator. Later in the performance, Armstrong took direct shots at Elon Musk and Donald Trump, riling up the audience by saying, “Don’t you just wish politicians would shut their fing mouths? Don’t you want Elon Musk to shut his fing mouth? Don’t you want Donald Trump to shut up?”
Another change came during the same song when the original lyric, “We are kids of war and peace, from Anaheim to the Middle East,” was swapped for, “We are the kids of war and peace, from Ukraine to the Middle East,” reflecting current global conflicts.
Green Day have a history of modifying their lyrics to match the political climate. Past performances have seen American Idiot’s line, “I’m not part of a redneck agenda,” turned into, “I’m not part of a MAGA agenda” and, on another occasion, “I’m not part of the Elon agenda.” The latter led to a response from Musk himself, accusing the band of having “gone soft” and selling out to the system.
With these lyric changes, Green Day continue their legacy of outspoken performances, using their platform to make bold statements on politics and society.