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Yes, It's September, But For Green Day Fans, the New Month Is Nothing to Joke About

Newsweek 15 hrs ago Janice Williams

a person standing on a stage playing instruments: Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day performs onstage during the iHeartRadio Album Release Party at iHeartRadio Theater on February 07, 2020, in Burbank, California.

It's safe to say that summer has indeed come and passed now that the month of September is here—and like clockwork, people on social media are turning to Green Day's anthem, "Wake Me Up When September Ends," to wallow in their sorrow over the changing seasons.

oh god its september here comes the green day jokes
— Katya (@wenchvexed) September 1, 2020

Despite the masses yearly inclination to play the song repeatedly and share the lyrics on Twitter, it's actual origins really don't have much to do with the falling of leaves, changes in weather or anything else usually associated with the usual summertime sadness stirred up by September's arrival. And true fans of the band are reminding everyone of that as the feeds are flooded with memes and jokes about the hit song.

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"As a reminder, September songs that ARE cool to joke about this month: *most of em. September songs that AREN'T cool to joke about this month: * green day—wake me up when September ends," one Twitter user wrote on Tuesday.

as a reminder, september songs that ARE cool to joke about this month:
* most of em
september songs that AREN'T cool to joke about this month:
* green day - wake me up when september ends
— Heather â¬¢ Flowers (@HTHRFLWRS) September 1, 2020

While it may seem like the most clever anecdote to mark the times, the history behind "When September Ends" creation is a particularly sad one. Featured on Green Day's seventh studio album, American Idiot, the band's frontman Billie Joe Armstrong penned the song in homage to his late father, Andrew Armstrong, who died from esophageal cancer when Billie Joe Armstrong was 10 years old in 1982.

Billie Joe Armstrong opened up on the history of the song during Green Day's 2019 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, noting that the title stemmed from the phrase he told his mother when he first learned of his father's death.

"I think it's something that just stayed with me; the month of September being that anniversary that always is just, I don't know, kind of a bummer," he said. "But it's weird. When things happen like that when you're that young, it's almost like life starts at year zero, or something like that."

Although Billie Joe Armstrong admitted that there wasn't a day that went by when he didn't think of his father, the musician said he struggled to write music about his dad for years.

"I kind of avoided writing about him for many years and then finally having a breakthrough like... It felt good. It wasn't a negative emotion so much, but just honoring him," he said.

Considering the sensitivity and emotions equated with the track, Green Day fans took to Twitter to ensure people were being respectful of Billie Joe Armstrong's past while enjoying the song on the first of September.

"Since its September now, here's ur reminder to please not joke about the green day song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" the song is about the singer's father who died of cancer when he was a kid. It's just not funny," one person wrote on Twitter.

since its September now, heres ur reminder to please not joke about the green day song "wake me up when september ends" the song is about the singers father who died of cancer when he was a kid. its just not funny.
— ððð || ððð ðð ðððððððð (@tamagoyami) September 1, 2020

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