Jesus of Suburbia

From Green Day Wiki

"Jesus of Suburbia" was the fifth and final single to be released from Green Day's seventh studio album, American Idiot. The single was released on October 25, 2005. The original song ran just over 9 minutes, which was considered to be unfriendly for radio appeal, so it was cut down to around 6½ minutes for the radio edit. The long version was still played on many album rock and alternative rock radio stations.

Track listings

Australian single:

"Jesus of Suburbia" - 9:09
"Are We the Waiting" (Live from VH1 Storytellers) - 2:57
"St. Jimmy" (Live from VH1 Storytellers) - 3:07

10" vinyl:
Side A

"Jesus of Suburbia" - 9:09

Side B

"St. Jimmy" (Live from VH1 Storytellers) - 3:07

Song information

The song was co-written by Green Day (with Billie Joe Armstrong writing the lyrics), and was co-produced by Rob Cavallo. The song is in the key of C sharp major. In this song, Green Day detail the life and times of a so-called Jesus of Suburbia, the fictional protagonist of American Idiot. His real name is Jimmy, which is revealed in the extended music video when a girl calls him that and in the cut version of the video when he writes "Saint Jimmy" on a bathroom stall (later on in the American Idiot album, he officially changed his name in the song "St. Jimmy", although still calls himself Jesus of Suburbia, and is called that by Whatshername in "Letterbomb"). The name "Jesus of Suburbia" may just mean he is the savior of the rebels in suburbia. He is a resident of Jingletown, USA, and the son of a divorced mother. His younger years were spent on a "steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin", watching television, using drugs, and loitering in front of convenience stores. Although everything seems alright at first, Jimmy feels trapped and bored in Jingletown and longs for escape, as he narrates in "City of the Damned".

In a coming of age move, Jimmy leaves Jingletown by the end of the song to explore The City. His exploits in The City are not described in this song, but are described in greater detail in the rest of the album, especially in "Holiday" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". Nevertheless, to describe the essence of the personality of Jimmy, Green Day proclaims, "I'm the son of rage and love. The Jesus of Suburbia, from the bible of none of the above, on a steady diet of soda pop and ritalin..."

"Jesus of Suburbia" has five movements:

I. "Jesus of Suburbia"
II. "City of the Damned"
III. "I Don't Care"
IV. "Dearly Beloved"
V. "Tales of Another Broken Home"

The song was also featured on their live album, Bullet in a Bible.

Lyrics

I. Jesus of Suburbia

I'm the son of rage and love The Jesus of Suburbia From the bible of none of the above On a steady diet of soda pop and Ritalin No one ever died for my sins in hell As far as I can tell At least the ones I got away with

And there's nothing wrong with me This is how I'm supposed to be In a land of make believe That don't believe in me

Get my television fix sitting on my crucifix The living room or my private womb While the moms and brads are away To fall in love and fall in debt To alcohol and cigarettes and Mary Jane To keep me insane and doing someone else's cocaine

And there's nothing wrong with me This is how I'm supposed to be In a land of make believe That don't believe in me

II. City Of The Damned

At the center of the Earth In the parking lot Of the 7-11 where I was taught The motto was just a lie It says home is where your heart is But what a shame Cause everyone's heart Doesn't beat the same It's beating out of time

City of the dead At the end of another lost highway Signs misleading to nowhere City of the damned Lost children with dirty faces today No one really seems to care

I read the graffiti In the bathroom stall Like the holy scriptures of a shopping mall And so it seemed to confess It didn't say much But it only confirmed that The center of the earth Is the end of the world And I could really care less

City of the dead At the end of another lost highway Signs misleading to nowhere City of the damned Lost children with dirty faces today No one really seems to careeeeee

III. I Don't Care

I don't care if you don't I don't care if you don't I don't care if you don't care [x4]

I don't careeeeeeeeee

Everyone is so full of shit Born and raised by hypocrites Hearts recycled but never saved From the cradle to the grave We are the kids of war and peace From Anaheim to the middle east We are the stories and disciples Of the Jesus of suburbia Land of make believe That don't believe in me Land of make believe And I don't believe And I don't care! I don't care! [x4]

IV. Dearly Beloved

Dearly beloved are you listening? I can't remember a word that you were saying Are we demented or am I disturbed? The space that's in between insane and insecure Oh therapy, can you please fill the void? Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed Nobody's perfect and I stand accused For lack of a better word, and that's my best excuse

V. Tales of Another Broken Home

To live and not to breathe Is to die In tragedy To run, to run away To find what you believe And I leave behind This hurricane of fucking lies I lost my faith to this This town that don't exist

So I run I run away To the light of masochist And I leave behind This hurricane of fucking lies And I walked this line A million and one fucking times But not this time

I don't feel any shame I won't apologize

When there ain't nowhere you can go Running away from pain When you've been victimized Tales from another broken home

You're leaving... You're leaving... You're leaving... Ah you're leaving home..

Music video

The music video of "Jesus of Suburbia" was directed by Samuel Bayer, who also directed the music videos for the first four singles released from the American Idiot album, and had high hopes for the music video. The official music video premiered on October 14, 2005 in the UK and on October 25, 2005 on the MTV network for viewers residing in the U.S. Two official versions exist: One is a twelve-minute edit, complete with dialogue while the other is a six and a half-minute director's cut, inclusive solely of the music itself and devoid of additives. The six-minute version is censored, whereas the twelve-minute version is not. The video starred Lou Taylor Pucci as the main character (an indie actor who has starred in Thumbsucker and The Chumscrubber). Pucci's co-star (Jimmy's love interest) was played by Kelli Garner, who happened to play Pucci's love interest in the film Thumbsucker from that same year (2005). Jimmy's mother was portrayed by Canadian actress Deborah Kara Unger. Although Billie Joe was originally tipped to provide the acting role of the main character, this was altered during pre-filming.

The plot of the video essentially follows that of the song.

Trivia

"Jesus of Suburbia" was featured on MuchMusic's 100 Greatest Music Videos Countdown at #8.
Director Samuel Bayer said this was going to be his "swan song" video. But he went on to direct Green Day's "Working Class Hero" music video.
The video contains a reference to The Smashing Pumpkins' music video for "1979" in the sense of the "I Don't Care" section of the song's video closely resembling the convenience store part of the "1979" including the "Jesus Of Suburbia" from this song's video getting an Icee and throwing it over his shoulder while a chest-mounted camera follows him.
Part II heavily quotes "On With the Show" by Mötley Crüe, "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams, Part IV quotes "Over the Rainbow" and "Come On Eileen". Part V quotes "Ring of Fire" by June Carter and Merle Kilgore and popularized by Johnny Cash.
7-Eleven is the main setting for most of the video.
The video for "Jesus of Suburbia" has footage from their live album Bullet in a Bible where they played at Milton Keynes in 2005. The music in Jesus of Suburbia is an edited version of the live one they sang at Milton Keynes.
Drummer Tré Cool states that this is one of his favorite songs in "American Idiot" because he gets to do his kind of "Drum Solo"
In the version of the song in Bullet in a Bible, Billie Joe changes the lyrics from "Anaheim to the Middle East" to "England to the middle east"