Difference between revisions 104569366 and 104569367 on dewiki

{{Infobox single <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs -->
| Name           = Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
| Cover          = goodriddanceisnotthebest.jpg
| Caption        = Single cover art
| Artist         = [[Green Day]]
| Album          = [[Nimrod (album)|Nimrod]]
| A-side         = 
| B-side         = 
| Released       = December 23, 1997
| Format         = [[CD single|CD]]
| Recorded       = 1997
| Genre          = [[Acoustic rock]], [[soft rock]]
| Length         = 2:35
| Label          = [[Reprise Records|Reprise]]
| Writer         = [[Billie Joe Armstrong]] / [[Green Day]]
| Producer       = [[Rob Cavallo]] and [[Green Day]]
| Certification  = Gold <small>([[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]])</small>
| Last single    = "[[Hitchin' a Ride (Green Day song)|Hitchin' a Ride]]"<br />(1997)
| This single    = "'''Good Ridance (Time of Your Life)'''"<br />(1997)
| Next single    = "[[Redundant (song)|Redundant]]"'<br />(1998)
}}
"'''Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)'''", also called "'''Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)'''" or more commonly "'''Time of Your Life'''", is a popular song by the American [[rock music|rock]] band [[Green Day]]. Although written by lead singer [[Billie Joe Armstrong]] just after the release of the group's 1994 album ''[[Dookie]]'', the song was not released until Green Day's third major-label album, ''[[Nimrod (album)|Nimrod]]'', in 1997, although an alternate version (with harder chords and stronger vocals) did appear as a B-side to the 1995 German import single for "[[Brain Stew/Jaded]]".<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/release/556012 Track Listing for "Brain Stew" Single]</ref>

==Writing and composition==
In comparison to previous Green Day material, "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" features more mellow, contemplative lyrics with [[acoustic music]]. Band member [[Mike Dirnt]] went on to state that the release of this song was probably the "most punk" thing they could have done.<ref>VH1 Top 100 Songs of the '90's: "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"</ref> The song is more commonly promoted on the radio as "Time of Your Life", and it became a Billboard Rock chart-topper and an international hit, and was the only song from ''Nimrod'' that was a crossover success when released in single form.<ref>[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/searchResult.jsp?exp=y&Ntt=Time+of+Your+Life&Ntk=Keyword&an=bbcom&nor=10&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=37 The Charting power of "Time of Your Life"]</ref>

The song began life as an entirely different version as a [[B-side]] to the ''[[Insomniac (Green Day album)|Insomniac]]'' album. This alternate version featured strummed chords instead of the usual sound and lacked the orchestra strings found on the more well known version. This early version can be found on the "[[Brain Stew/Jaded|Brain Stew]]" single.

[[Billie Joe Armstrong]] in an interview in ''Guitar Legends'' magazine, May 2005:
{{cquote| "At the time I wrote Good Riddance, I was breaking up with a girl that was moving to [[Ecuador]], and I was trying to be as understanding about it as I could. I wrote the song as kind of a [[bon voyage]]. I was trying not to be bitter, but I think it came out a little bit bitter anyway... I thought that calling the song "Time of Your Life" was just a little too level-headed for me, so I had to come up with something different"}}

On the album version, at the beginning, Billie Joe Armstrong makes a mistake (the 4th string of the open G chord is played instead of the 3rd), tries again, repeats the mistake, and in anger swears in a barely audible voice. This mistake was recorded on purpose and included in the song to provide comic relief, as it is considered one of their more serious songs.

==Appeal==
The song reached a massive audience in one night, when it was used during the special two part "Clip Show" of the extremely popular show ''[[Seinfeld]]'' in 1998. The song played during a montage of clips from the show.

Billie Joe plays an electric acoustic version of the song as their traditional show-closer for live Green Day concerts, including their live performance on ''[[Bullet in a Bible]]''.

The song features on their greatest hits [[Compilation album|compilation]] ''[[International Superhits!]]''.

The song appeared on the ''[[Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time, 2009]]'' at 75, as voted by the Australian public.

The song was certified as a digital gold single by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] in 2005, seven years after its release. It speaks in part to its lasting popularity into the rise of the [[music download|digital download]] era.

It is also known to be played at graduation ceremonies.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

==Music video==
The music video was directed by Mark Kohr, and features Billie Joe Armstrong playing an [[acoustic guitar]] in a bedroom interjected with scenes depicting various people undergoing every-day-things. Band members [[Mike Dirnt]] and [[Tré Cool]] make [[cameo appearance]]s in the video as a person getting gas (Dirnt), and an injured bike rider (Cool). Also when the video came out, both names of the songs were swapped and were known as "Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)", this name was also used on the single cover.

In 1998 Green Day won their first MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video for "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" and they were also nominated for Viewer's Choice.<ref>[http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1998/mtvvmas.htm Rock on the net MTV Video Music Award History]</ref>

The video can be found on their music video compilation DVD, ''[[International Supervideos!]]''.

Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) was voted #37 on the VH1 Classic's countdown ''VH1's Classic 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's''.

==Tracklist==
{{tracklist
| collapsed       = no
| headline        = CD 1
| total_length    = 7:40
| title1          = Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)
| note1           = Clean Album Remix
| length1         = 2:28
| title2          = Suffocate
| note2           = Non-LP Track
| length2         = 2:47
| title3          = You Lied
| note3           = Non-LP Track
| length3         = 2:25
}}
{{tracklist
| collapsed       = no
| headline        = CD 2
| total_length    = 8:05
| title1          = Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)
| note1           = Clean Album Remix
| length1         = 2:28
| title2          = Desensitized
| note2           = Non-LP Track
| length2         = 2:47
| title3          = Rotting
| note3           = Non-LP Track
| length3         = 2:50
}}
{{tracklist
| collapsed       = no
| headline        = EU CD
| total_length    = 8:05
| title1          = Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)
| note1           = Clean Album Remix
| length1         = 2:28
 
| title2          = Desensitized
| note2           = Non-LP Track
| length2         = 2:47
 
| title3          = Rotting
| note3           = Non-LP Track
| length3         = 2:50
}}
{{tracklist
| collapsed       = yes
| headline        = AU Version
| title1          = Time of Your Life (Good Riddance)
| note1           = Clean Album Remix
| length1         = 2:28
| title2          = Rotting
| note2           = Non-LP Track
| length2         = 2:50
| title3          = Suffocate
| note3           = Non-LP Track
| length3         = 2:47
| title4          = You Lied
| note4           = Non-LP Track
| length4         = 2:25
}}

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable"
!Chart (1998)
!Peak<br />position
|-
| [[UK Singles Chart]]
|align=center|11<ref>[http://www.everyhit.com/ UK Charts] Search 'Time of your life'</ref>
|-
| [[ARIA Charts|Australia Singles Chart]]
|align=center|2<ref>[http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=time+of+your+life Australia Charts - Time of your life]</ref>
|-
| [[RIANZ|New Zealand Singles Chart]]
|align=center|40<ref>[http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?cat=s&search=time+of+your+life New Zealand Charts - Time of your life]</ref>
|-
| [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] [[Mainstream Rock Tracks]]
|align=center|7<ref name="allmusic">[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=GREEN%7CDAY&sql=11:3vfqxq85ldke~T51 Allmusic - Greed Day chart success]</ref>
|-
| [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] [[Modern Rock Tracks]]
|align=center|2<ref name="allmusic"/>
|-
|}

==Covers==
*[[Dwight Yoakam]] covered the chorus at the end of his performance in ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992 TV series)|The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]'' on the May 26, 2009.
*[[Colin Murray]] covered the song during the 2007 ''[[Comic Relief does Fame Academy]]''.
* In 2004, the Swedish band [[Raymond och Maria]] performed this song at the last episode of the talk show ''[[Sen kväll med Luuk]]''.
* The song was covered by the American country musician [[Glen Campbell]] and can be found on his August 2008 release ''[[Meet Glen Campbell]]''.
*[[Rancid (band)|Rancid]] have covered the song in some acoustic performances, [[Matt Freeman]] is the lead vocalist in the cover.
* Comedian Tim Hawkins plays a spoof of this song entitled "These Are the Things You Don't Say to Your Wife"
* California indie band [[The Citizen Vein]] covered this song in 2007 to close their final performance before vocalist [[Adam Lambert]] left the band. (This version was lyrically and instrumentally identical to the one found on the [[Brain Stew]] single; however, the instrumentals were played on a [[bass guitar]] and Lambert's vocals were more emotional. The tempo was also a bit faster, adding an almost cheerful tone to the song.)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Green Day}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)}}
[[Category:1997 singles]]
[[Category:Green Day songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Billie Joe Armstrong]]  

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