Green Day’s Anti-war Song Really Is That Good

I was just transcribing the lyrics so a friend and I can perform this song at an upcoming peace rally, and I just realized, again, what a nice piece of songwriting Green Day’s “Life During Wartime” is.
MP3 of Life During Wartime (5 MB) (Or download it from my archive.)
Sorry ahead of time for not being able to make out a few words of the lyrics…
(Can anybody help out with those?)
Think we got ’em now..:-)

Here are the tabs

Life During Wartime
Music and Lyrics by Green Day
yeah we say making changes starts
in the little things you do
revolution begins at home
but for most of us it ends there too
we’re doing something
we’re making changes
like changing the brand of crap we buy
we say it makes a difference
but that’s just another lie
it used to be us and them
and you and me
and now we can’t reach our potential
without a common enemy
a real war to fight against
instead of our petty disagreements
how can i rationalize
my life during wartime lie
a call to action
and a reaction
taking our lives in our own hands
instead of sitting around and talking bout
the same old shitty bands
the war’s going on right now
and i’m not doing anything about it
without a crowd I’m not so loud
i can’t do anything by myself
but that’s just another lie

17 thoughts on “Green Day’s Anti-war Song Really Is That Good

  1. Andrew

    it used to be us and them
    and you and me
    and now … potential
    without a common enemy
    and now “we can’t reach” I think.

  2. Renata Gibson

    hey.. i was looking for this song’s lyrics, and in one website i found “without a crowd i’m not ALLOWED”, instead of “so loud”.. now i’m confused.. 😛
    and hey.. this one was the only website i found where i was able to get the whole lyrics.. 🙂
    i’m looking for the tabs, also.. does anyone know where i can get it?
    thanx a lot..

  3. josh

    hey, you got the 4th line wrong.
    yeah we say making changes starts
    in the little things you do
    revolution begins at home
    but for most of us it ends there too (not at 2:00)

  4. kevin

    i definitely have to side with josh. i think that it is “…but for most of us it ends there too.”

  5. twitch

    been trying for AGES to find guitar tab for this amazing song. any thoughts? (if anyone feels they could email this to me, that would be awesome).
    keep up the good work.

  6. Danny

    Its a pinhead gunpowder song. Without a crowd I’m not so loud. for most of us it ends there too. we cant reach our. Tabs at e-tabs.com

  7. andrea

    hey!
    I like this song and i love green day and pinhead gunpowder!
    i have to make a report in my english lesson so i picked up this song to discuss.
    can anyone give me the song meaning? would be great!
    i’m not quite sure about it.
    thanks

  8. Zach

    Hey the song “Life During Wartime”..is originally by a band called Pinhead Gunpowder…they used to share Green day’s label on Lookout Records….sorry just a stupid fact…don’t mean to be an ass….bye

  9. Zach

    Hey the song “Life During Wartime”..is originally by a band called Pinhead Gunpowder…they used to share Green day’s label on Lookout Records….sorry just a stupid fact…don’t mean to be an ass….bye

  10. cody

    Pinhead Gunpowder are a band that have been around since about 1991 – Their last release came at the end of last year (Compulsive Disclosure on Lookout Records). The Line up is Aaron Cometbus on drums, Bill on bass, Jason on guitar, and Billie on guitar + vocals. Billie = Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. By The Way Aaron writes pretty much all the lyrics for the band and hes given credit for it on the notes of “Goodbye Ellston Avenue” the album the original song appears on (Lookout 168).Billie Joe re-recorded the song acoustically and put it up on greenday.com as a protest during the Iraq War. Pinhead Gunpowder are STILL on lookout and i reccomend “Compulsive Disclosure” , or any of their releases to anyone. They Rule.
    Also its lyrics by Aaron Music by Pinhead Gunpowder. I cant be bothered to type them out but the lyrics are in the “Goodbye Ellston Avenue” booklet.
    Hope i help wilthout coming across too “know it all” even if i am about 9 months late!!!!!!!!

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  12. j si Flis

    This might be so out of date but I’ll add to Codys spiel not to corectiit but to add. Aaron (yes we’re on a first name basis and yes I am name dropping but fuck I have to cling on to something, I used to be somebody ya know) writes all phg music now mostly cause billies tied to rock star conrtacts(no I’m not dissing him in fact I respect him)and can’t write music or words for any one but green day, I think, Aaron will hum the tunes to billie & co then shows how he thinks whatever words he got fit the music. About Green day recording a phg song, I can only geuss but I I know greenday support and give back to thier friend and punk scene.ie food not bombs benifate at the oakland colosiume , welcome to paradise being a clause on the dookie contract(so lookout could benifate $$$ they’re big time rec deal). Back in 96 or 95 I was in ugene visiting aaron and he showed me a gig sheet from a small redmond shooting star show at a local punk house(the monkey house) he had done the main art in his recognizable photo copy manipulation artwork we all know from many records.He had wrote billie a letter on the back of said poster and a few months later got a letter with a sizeable check(aarons probably gonna be pissed ) ok not huge like millions but more than I’ve had at one time.turns out green day made a banner from the poster art for the geek stink breath tour. I almost won a beer off bilie at the vancouver show by betting I knew where the art came from. My plan was foiled when he spotted my Embroidered blatz berr patch, put 1 and 1 together and dedused it was an unfair bet seeing as i must know aaron,. There hows that for shameless punck rock name dropping. All I wanted was to explain greenday arent posers,they didnt sell out ,people bought in.They pley the same poppy love songs they allways did and the havent forgot thier friends. love j flis

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