Green Day's 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' Heartbreaking Meaning Revisited

The story behind Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is more heartbreaking than what fans can imagine.

"Wake Me Up When September Ends" resurfaced this year - just like what it usually does when the month of September starts - as fans looked back at Green Day's single. The song was originally released in 2005 as part of its seventh album, "American Idiot," and was dedicated to the Hurricane Katrina victims and September 11th attacks.

Aside from the tragedies, the chart-topping track had a more personal story that Billie Joe Armstrong experienced in the past.

What Does Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" Mean?

In 2019, the Green Day frontman appeared in an interview on the "Howard Stern Show" and revealed that the "Wake Me Up When September Ends" title reminds him of his late father, who died on September 10, 1982, following his battle with esophageal cancer.

Armstrong was only 10 when he lost his father.

"I think about him every day, really," he revealed. "I kinda avoided writing about him for many years, and then finally having a breakthrough like that felt good. It wasn't like a negative emotion so much, but it was just kind of like honoring him."

Armstrong told Howard Stern that he is reminded of her late father every day, although the emotions become stronger during the month of September each year.

The musician also referenced Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, and Dave Stewart's 1983 hit "Here Comes The Rain Again" in the song's lyrics "Here comes the rain again / Falling from the stars."

Green Day Hints at New Music

After surviving this year's September, Armstrong hyped fans by hinting at an unreleased Green Day song. He shared a "Wake Me Up When September Ends" meme in a teaser on his social media pages and showed a calendar with the date October 24 encircled using red ink.

"It's October 1st, WAKE UP," the frontman wrote. "Now go hit snooze on theamericandreamiskillingme.com."

Fans who visit the website are asked to hit the snooze button and fill out the form with their contact information to become part of Green Day's "wake-up call."

Once released, the new music will follow the band's most recent studio album, "Father of All Motherfuckers," released in February 2020.

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