"Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a song by the American rock band Green Day and the fourth single from their seventh studio album, American Idiot (2004). Written by the band's front man Billie Joe Armstrong, the song is about the death of Armstrong's father in September 1982 and his life since. The song's lyrics have also been interpreted in other ways, including as a song about the victims and survivors of the September 11 attacks. The song is a rock ballad, starting with an acoustic guitar and later introducing an electric guitar and bells. It was recorded at Ocean Way Recording.
The song was released as a single on June 13, 2005, through Reprise Records. It charted in several countries, reaching number one in the Czech Republic and Croatia, while reaching number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified platinum once by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and four times by Music Canada. While initial reactions to the song were mixed, it has been since praised for its lyrics and is now considered one of Green Day's best. It received the Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Song award at the 2006 Kids' Choice Awards, while Green Day was picked for the Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Music Group.
An accompanying music video, filmed in Los Angeles, was directed by Samuel Bayer. It depicts a young couple (played by Jamie Bell and Evan Rachel Wood) that are split up after the boyfriend joins the United States Marine Corps during the Iraq War, and leaves his fate uncertain. Bayer said that he designed the music video as a "mini-movie", different from other music videos, while also aiming to spread awareness about the Iraq War's effects on soldiers. The music video was well received, reaching number one on Total Request Live and being voted as the second best music video of 2005 by readers of Rolling Stone.
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" has been performed at several of the band's concerts, and has also been covered by other musicians. In the years since its release, the song has often seen annual spikes in popularity during the final days of September, commonly coinciding with internet memes about the song. The song became associated with Hurricane Katrina after a blogger created a viral video pairing the song with news coverage of the disaster.
Background and production
upright|alt=Billie Joe Armstrong playing an electric guitar while singing into a microphone|left|thumb|Green Day frontman [[Billie Joe Armstrong performing in 2005]]
In 2004, Green Day released their seventh studio album, American Idiot. A punk rock concept album, American Idiot narrative is focused on the story of a teenager (who refers to himself as the "Jesus of Suburbia") growing up in the United States under the presidency of George W. Bush during the Iraq War, criticizing both.
One of the songs in American Idiot, "Wake Me Up When September Ends", is not entirely related to the album's central narrative. and held onto the song title for several years after. In an interview with the Howard Stern Show, Armstrong said that he initially avoided writing a song about his father for years, until he "[had] a breakthrough" and created "Wake Me Up When September Ends" in his honor.
Release
American Idiot was released on September 21, 2004, through Reprise Records; The song was featured in American Idiot, the 2009 jukebox musical based on the album, and its 2010 cast recording. The song was later included in Green Day's greatest hits album God's Favorite Band (2017). The song was included as part of the 20th anniversary reissue of American Idiot, alongside live and demo recordings of the song, released on October 25, 2024. A demo recording of the song, set to be part of the reissue, was released early on September 6, 2024, alongside the B-side track "Governator" and a live recording of "St. Jimmy"
Composition and lyrics
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a slow-paced emo It begins with an acoustic guitar arpeggio, later introducing other instruments such as an electric guitar and bells which create what Jordan Blum of PopMatters described as a "militarist rhythm"; Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone considered "Wake Me Up When September Ends" to be the song's "sadder, more adult sequel".
Marginally diverging from the album's main narrative, the song's lyrics are primarily about the life of Armstrong after his father's death, and his life since. Johnny Luftus of Pitchfork criticized the song's shift in tone from the rest of the album, believing it to be slow compared to the rest of American Idiot, describing it as the "cost of ambition". He later criticized the song again in a review of Bullet in a Bible, stating that the song made it "unclear what Idiot was supposed to mean in the first place".
When ranking the band's songs, Scott Waldman of Alternative Press and the staff of Consequence placed "Wake Me Up When September Ends" at numbers 8 and 20, respectively. The former's Philip Cosores said that the song "provided an emotional gut-punch", while the latter said that the song reminded him of his own father, thanking Armstrong for writing the song. Jon O'Brien ranked the song as the fourth best in American Idiot, describing Armstrong's performance as "one of his most powerful vocals", and one that could still compare to more recent emo songs.
Commercial performance
In the United States, the song reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent 20 weeks on the chart. It also reached number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 12 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. On Billboard year-end charts for 2005, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" was number 46. The song was certified platinum by the RIAA in 2008. In Canada, the song entered the CHR/Pop Top 30 at number four, the Hot AC Top 30 at number three, and the Rock Top 30 at number one. It was certified platinum in the country four times by Music Canada.
Outside of North America, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" reached number one on the charts in Croatia and the Czech Republic, In the United Kingdom, it reached number one on the UK Rock & Metal chart, as well as peaking at number eight on the UK singles chart. The song won the Favorite Song award at the 2006 Kids' Choice Awards, hosted by Nickelodeon. At the same ceremony, Green Day was the recipient of the Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Music Group.
Music video
The song's music video was directed by Samuel Bayer, known for directing music videos for Nirvana and Metallica. Bayer envisioned the video as a mini-movie, wanting to create something unlike other music videos that he felt were predictable. Bayer also said that he wanted the music video to be more political than the album's other music videos, saying that he "wanted kids to talk about the war", and felt that MTV had not spread awareness of the conflict and its consequences on soldiers. Although it was not the song's original meaning, Armstrong felt it was appropriate. Bayer and his crew spent a month casting actors for the roles and conducted rehearsals, which was uncommon for music videos. implying that the boyfriend and some of his squad had been killed in action.
Responses to the music video were generally positive. reaching number one on Total Request Live Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly considered the video to be the second best music video of the year, behind the music video for Destiny's Child's "Girl". In 2019, he later included the clip on his list of the best story-oriented music videos. At the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" was nominated for the Best Rock Video award, but it lost to AFI's "Miss Murder".
Live performances and other versions
thumb|Green Day performing in Manchester in 2024, where the Saviors Tour began|alt=The members of Green Day performing, with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong lifting an electric guitar in the air while playing it, and drummer Tré Cool playing in the background
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" has been included on the set lists of numerous Green Day concert tours. Among these was the set list for the 2010 21st Century Breakdown World Tour, the 2021 Hella Mega Tour, and the 2024 Saviors Tour. The band performed the song live for the Howard Stern Show in October 2019, alongside an interview with Armstrong discussing the song's origin. Armstrong again performed the song for One World: Together At Home, a charity live stream dedicated to COVID-19 relief efforts hosted by Global Citizen, in April 2020.
In April 2021, Australian singer-songwriter Didirri performed a cover of the song on Like A Version, a weekly segment of Triple J, alongside an original song from one of his recent EPs. A version of the song, covered by Australian pop-punk band With Confidence, was included on American Superhits!, a limited-edition compilation of Green Day song covers released by Kerrang!.
Legacy
"Wake Me Up When September Ends" became closely associated with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast of the United States three days before the start of September 2005. The association began after a blogger (known as Karmagrrrl) created a video pairing the song with recordings of television coverage of the disaster, which went viral. According to Loudwire, its viewership on YouTube increased by 135 percent on the last day of September 2019 compared to the rest of the year's daily average. Consequentially, the band sees increased revenue during those days. He later referenced the memes in a promotional video released on October 1, 2023, for the then-upcoming song "The American Dream Is Killing Me".
Personnel
Personnel are adapted from the UK CD1 liner notes.
|4
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Hot AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)
|3
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)
|1
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Croatia (HRT)
|1
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Germany Airplay (BVMI)
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Greece (IFPI)
|29
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Russia Airplay (TopHit)
|22
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2011 weekly chart performance for "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
!Chart (2011)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2020 weekly chart performance for "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
!Chart (2020)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
!scope="row"|US Alternative Digital Song Sales (Billboard)
|8
|-
!scope="row"|US Rock Digital Song Sales (Billboard)
|7
|}
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2023 weekly chart performance for "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
!Chart (2023)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
!scope="row"|Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)
|8
|}
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2005 year-end chart performance for "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
!scope="col"|Chart (2005)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)
|87
|-
!scope="row"|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)
|72
|-
!scope="row"|Brazil (Crowley)
|35
|-
!scope="row"|Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)
|90
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)
|53
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100
|46
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)
|41
|-
!scope="row"|US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)
|54
|-
!scope="row"|US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)
|16
|-
!scope="row"|US Triple-A (Billboard)
|44
|}
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2006 year-end chart performance for "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
!scope="col"|Chart (2006)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"|Brazil (Crowley)
|38
|-
!scope="row"|CIS Airplay (TopHit)
|135
|-
!scope="row"|Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)
|67
|-
!scope="row"|Russia Airplay (TopHit)
|144
|-
!scope="row"|US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)
|25
|}
Certifications
Release history
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders unsortable"
|+Release dates and formats for "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
!scope="col"|Region
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Format(s)
!scope="col"|Label(s)
!scope="col"|
|-
!scope="row"|United States
|rowspan="2"|June 13, 2005
|Alternative radio
|rowspan="5"|Reprise
|align="center"|
|-
!scope="row"|Australia
|rowspan="2"|July 11, 2005
|align="center"|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United States
|
|align="center"|
|-
|August 29, 2005
|
|align="center"|
|}