“Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day

emerged as part of the punk rock scene in the Bay Area of California in the 1980s. The front man and lyricist Billie Joe Armstrong has written many of the band’s songs. Armstrong recorded his first song at the age of 5. One of his most personal songs is “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” which was inspired by the loss of Armstrong’s father when the singer was only 10 years old.

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
Like my father’s come to pass
Seven years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends

Armstrong begins his autobiographical song by singing that summer, which often represents vitality and life, is over. His line, “The innocent can never last,” is reminiscent of Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” To lose a parent at such a young age thrust Armstrong into a maturity he wasn’t ready for.

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are
As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

Armstrong’s father died of esophageal cancer, and he watched his father suffer through the disease. The chorus of “Wake Me Up When September Ends” recalls the waves of loss that can overwhelm when we remember those we have lost. Various experiences can trigger a mourner to think of their loved one, and grief can be difficult to work through. Certainly a 10-year-old child experiences the trauma of loss in a different way than an adult.

Children grieve as intensely as adults.
Credit: The Cove Center for Grieving Children

Samuel Bayer, famous for his work with other rock bands like Nirvana, was tasked with creating the music video for Green Day’s “Wake Me Up when September Ends.” Though the song came from Armstrong’s very real experience, Bayer decided to make the music video about a young man (played by Jamie Bell) who enlists in the military and is separated from his girlfriend (played by Evan Rachel Wood, who he promised to never leave. Armstrong agreed to change the subject matter of the film because the video retained the heartbreak of his terrible loss.

“Wake Me Up When September Ends” debuted in 2005 and became associated with Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast three days before September began. The song resonated with the devastation of the natural disaster and spoke to the people’s desire to fast-forward through the pain of loss. Green Day performed the song on a televised benefit soon after Hurricane Katrina to raise money for relief efforts.

You can view the short film of “Wake Me Up when September Ends” below.