green day jesus

"Jesus of Suburbia" is the fifth and final single to be released from Green Day's seventh studio album, American Idiot. The song starts with a riff borrowed from the David Bowie song "Moonage Daydream" and also bears likeness to Bowie's "The Buddha of Suburbia," possibly a reference to Bowie. 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.

The song was co-written by Green Day (with Billie Joe Armstrong writing the lyrics), and was co-produced by Rob Cavallo. Parts I, II and III of the song are in the key of C sharp major. Part III transitions out by playing a C#5/G#5 chord progression, and ends on the G#5 chord, which changes the key to G sharp major and introduces part IV, "Dearly Beloved". In part V, "Tales of Another Broken Home", the key is changed to G#7 for most of the movement, save for the bridge near the end of the track, which is once again in G sharp major. Following the bridge, part V reverts back to its original tempo and key for the song's outro.

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 Whatsername 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.