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About

Genius Annotation

“21 Guns”, the second single off 21st Century Breakdown, is a power ballad that questions war and shows a narrator looking for peace. When taken on its own out of the 21st Century Breakdown story-arc, the song’s lyrics can be interpreted as anti-war, however, when applied to the story of Christian and Gloria, its meaning is far less global, instead, they’re referring to their relationship and all its conflicts.

The name “21 Guns” comes from the 21 Gun Salute, the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor.

Billie told Q Magazine:

It brings up 21st Century Breakdown in a lot of ways, and the 21-gun salute for someone that’s fallen, but done in an arena rock ‘n’ roll sort of way.

The song reached No. 3 on the Alternative Songs chart and No. 17 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Also, on the Billboard Pop Songs, it reached #7. It was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocals and Best Rock Song in 2010.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Green Day say about "21 Guns"?
Genius Answer

Billie Joe:

“21 Guns” is definitely one of the songs where you feel like you’re playing in front of a lot of people. It’s one of the things I wrote on piano and it ended up being just sort of this moment alone, you know. I think a lot of people think that song is about world peace or something. But I think also there’s like maybe sort of surrendering to the static to try to find some kind of inner peace or, you know, finding strength in silence. You know, surrendering doesn’t always have to mean that you’re giving up. But maybe it means you’re just trying to find a little humanity.

Mike:

I think that’s a good description. I mean, that’s a really powerful moment, and I think it’s gonna be a really powerful moment live too. On the record it’s one of those moments where you kinda feel like you’ve purged a lot of emotion and you’re surrendering to your emotions. Pretty heavy content. – [x]

What does this song even mean?
Genius Answer

It’s an anti-war song which also serves as a metaphor for Christian’s and Gloria’s (21st Century Breakdown’s main characters) tumultuous relationship.

Why is this song important for Billie Joe?
Genius Answer

Billie told Rolling Stone

I got really burned out, because I was pushing myself to take things to a new level musically and lyrically, and that got pretty serious and dark. I had this feeling of wanting to surrender. I was just kind of living like a tortured soul. And you end up kind of torturing the people that are around you, whether it’s your family or your friends, and nobody understands what it is that you’re going through, and maybe that’s just being an artist or the pains of getting older. So, that’s sort of what that song is about, where you just get so lost in what you’re doing that at some point all you’re doing in life is just trying to find your way back. Maybe back to sanity. Sometimes you have to figure out what’s worth fighting for, because you might just be fighting yourself. I think that that’s the one thing that’s a theme throughout a lot of my songs: the feeling of being lost.

Credits
String Arranger
String Conductor
Percussion
Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Recording Engineer
Bass Guitar
Background Vocals
Assistant Recording Engineer
Additional Recording Engineer
Performance Rights
Release Date
May 25, 2009
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