Wake Me Up When September Ends

          "Wake Me Up When September Ends" was released in June of 2005 as the fourth single off of Green Day's seventh album, American Idiot. The song is commonly known to be dedicated to the lead singer's, Billy Joe Armstrong's, father, who died from throat cancer when Billy was a child. However, Green Day achieves a much larger meaning with their post September 11th song. This song appears on the album as the 11th track in order to connect with the families of all the victims hurt in the attacks on 9/11. The song speaks about the pain of losing loved ones and never being able to truly let go, "As my memory rests, but never forgets what I lost." The band protests war and argues that war removes the innocence from our nation, "the innocent can never last." 

          The music video for the song continues their message as an anti-war protest. A soldier promises to never leave his girlfriend, but is soon separated due to the Iraq War. He then dies in battle and leaves his loved ones mourning. The video emphasizes the idea that war turns innocence into fighting and death.