Green Day has again infused political commentary into their music by altering a line in one of their most iconic songs to critique President Donald Trump.
The band took center stage at Coachella on April 12, headlining the second day of the festival. They performed in front of artists such as Travis Scott, Charlie XCX, and Sam Fender, while making a significant lyric change during the performance of ‘American Idiot’.
Lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong has been vocally critical of the Trump administration, expressing his views during a tour in Australia last month.
Now, he has brought his statements back to the United States, performing in California, his home state. Both Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt hail from Rodeo, an unincorporated area near San Francisco.
During their rendition of the band’s hit song, which has surpassed a billion streams on Spotify, Armstrong altered a line.
The well-known lyrics usually go: “Well, maybe I’m the f***ot, America / I’m not a part of a redneck agenda.”
However, Coachella attendees heard: “Well, maybe I’m the f***ot, America / I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda.”
Reactions on Twitter were mixed, with one person commenting: “Sad. I used to like them. Just tools of the libs now.”
Another user wrote: “Tiresome. Why is he even still in the country? I thought they were leaving?”
Despite some backlash, others appreciated the political stance, with one viewer describing their act as: “The best Coachella performances in years.”
Someone else remarked: “This is a true punk who wants peace.”
In addition to domestic politics, Green Day addressed the conflict in the Middle East during their performance of ‘Jesus of Suburbia’.
Armstrong altered another line during this song.
The original lyrics are: “I don’t feel any shame, I won’t apologize / When there ain’t nowhere you can go / Runnin’ away from pain when you’ve been victimized / Tales from another broken home.”
At Coachella, the audience heard: “I don’t feel any shame, I won’t apologize / When there ain’t nowhere you can go / Runnin’ away from pain, like the kids from Palestine / Tales from another broken home.”
Last month, in the same song, Armstrong swapped a line to criticize JD Vance after Vance criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Oval Office.
The original line is: “Am I r*****ed, or am I just overjoyed?”
He changed it to: “Am I r*****ed, or am I just JD Vance?”
This change sparked both disapproval and praise, with one person tweeting: “Kudos for the anti-fascism, but not so much for the ableism.”