Green Day, I Salute You!

Two words come to mind when I hear the 2009 Green Day hit song, “21 Guns”: explosive chorus.

Let’s be honest: no disrespect to Green Day, but the lyrics of this piece are rather generic. They are a typical, youthful angst anthem. That’s not to say the message in the lyrics is not important or heartfelt. The words just could have been a bit more interesting. (Opinions may differ!)

That said, “21 Guns” is still a great song. And an ear worm of epic proportions. And it’s all about the chorus!

Listen to how the song unfolds: preceded by an eerie synth-string intro, a not-too-rangy verse enters over a gentle acoustic guitar. Next, they add keyboards and a low key rhythm track.

Then - and this is important - there is a drawing back of the verse at its very end as lead singer Billie Armstrong sings “you’re in ruins”. The kick (bass drum) diminishes to a heart beat, creating “tension” by making us wonder what comes next.

And then… BOOM! Enter the chorus with an eruption of cymbal crashes.

But wait, there’s more! In awesome - and I believe, deliberate - contrast to the rather low-key verse melody, the vocal on the chorus, singing the very words of the title, rises in a major chord across an entire octave, causing Mr. Armstrong to revert to his falsetto voice (which is lovely, BTW).

That elegant chorus is all this song needs. Why? It is the very definition of a “hooky” chorus! Once you hear it, you can’t un-hear it. And frankly, it’s beautiful, IMO.

[And for those of you “of a certain age”, do you hear a bit of similarity in the chorus to Mott the Hoople’s “All The Young Dudes”? If so, you’re not alone. Music critics had noticed this as well. And to their credit, Green Day gave partial songwriting credit for “21 Guns” to David Bowie, who actually wrote “Dudes”. Amazing.]