Track This: Green Day's "Church on Sunday"

While listening to Green Day's recent BBC Sessions recordings, I rediscovered several of Warning's best tracks, including the profound "Church on Sunday," a song that feels like a panacea after Insomnia and much of Nimrod. Many people focus on the negativity and anger of Green Day's music, but even in the most negative songs, Billie Joe's lyrics engage through humor and hopefulness. At first, musically, the song feels like just another three-chord Green Day anthem of defeat and broken relationships. The version on the BBC Sessions includes a plaintive saxophone line that underscores, yet rebuts the challenge in Billie Joe's voice and breaks into full euphoric swing during later choruses. The call-and-response aptly resembles the tug and pull of aging relationships.  

"Church on Sunday" maintains its analysis of enduring relationships that grow despite stress and change. Compromise is key to success in most life connections, and Billie Joe aptly expresses that he has made mistakes and must atone for them. In re-listening to the song, I have begun to understand the depth of the narrator's relationship. He has made many mistakes, but they have been together long enough for her to see past them and commit to making changes. However, the listener is never sure if the narrator is telling the truth because he is so hyperbolic, explaining "If you live with me, I'll die for you and this compromise." Thus, their relationship might just be the sort that includes such drastic ups and downs and reconsiderations of life goals and positions. He still wants to have Friday night fun but is often expected to compromise and fulfill domestic requirements. 


Track This is a recurring feature of Snobbin' that turns the music appreciation dial up and rips it off your stereo. It introduces a new track, allows readers to rediscover an underappreciated track, or just serves as a forum to discuss a track that falls into the ear candy category and should be listened to unabashedly for years to come. 

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