Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (2:34)

“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 band Green Day. Although written by lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong just after the release of their 1994 hit album Dookie, the song was not released until their third major-label album Nimrod in 1997 although an alternate version did appear as a B-side to the 1995 German import single for “Brain Stew/Jaded”.


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. 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.

The song began life as an entirely different version as a B-side to the 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” single.

Billie Joe Armstrong in an interview in Guitar Legends magazine, May 2005: