Advertisement
Memes

The dark origins of the ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’ meme

Summer has come and passed…

Photo of Angela Andaloro

Angela Andaloro

wake me up when september ends meme

Wake Me Up When September Ends memes, inspired by the Green Day ballad off of the album American Idiot, are a group of memes that joke about September. The memes are similar to “It’s Gonna Be May” jokes. As fans have learned, however, the song’s origins are dark.

Featured Video

Song origins

The lyrics refer to September, but despite the memes‘ humorous tone, the song’s roots are much heavier. The song, which is the only one on the album that isn’t part of a larger story arch, was written by lead Billie Joe Armstrong.

The song tackles the singer’s father’s death. Andrew Armstrong died of esophageal cancer on September 1st, 1982. The song was released in 2004. Billie Joe had written it earlier but wasn’t ready to share it until American Idiot.

Advertisement
Billie Joe Armstrong performing "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
@ThisGuyFawkes/Tenor

Wake Me Up When September Ends lyrics

The song’s first verse sets the tone of the somber but powerful track.

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends
Like my father’s come to pass
Seven years has gone so fast
Wake me up when September ends

Advertisement

The Green Day memes are often posted on two dates. Some are shared on the first of September, and others on the first of October to signify the month’s end.

Wake Me Up When September Ends meme controversy

While some find humor in Wake Me Up When September Ends memes, there are a lot of people who don’t agree with making the song the subject of humor. In 2020, Green Day fans started to take a stand against memes related to the song, given that its serious subject matter is now well documented.

tweets that read 'as a reminder, september songs that ARE cool to joke about this month: * most of em september songs that AREN'T cool to joke about this month: * green day - wake me up when september ends, 'wake me up when september ends' is a song billie joe armstrong wrote about his dad dying of cancer, and every september without fail a ton of people spam him with memes about it, which really fuckin sucks!!! don't do that!!!'
@HTHRFLWRS/X
Advertisement
tweet that reads 'since its September now, heres ur reminder to please not joke about the green day song 'wake me up when september ends' the song is about the singers father who died of cancer when he was a kid, its just not funny'
@tamagoyami/X
In Body Image
@tamagoyami/X

Billie Joe was a good sport when he joked about the phenomenon in a 2016 interview with Vulture.

“It’s like when Jesus was born on December 25th. People go ‘Hey it’s Christmas time.’ When the Easter Bunny comes it’s like, ‘Hey it’s Easter.’ September comes then people go, ‘Hey it’s that guy from Green Day.’ Have fun, get a life at the same time,” joking that his next song would be, ‘Shut the fuck up when October comes.’”

Advertisement

Meme examples

In Body Image
@busbuys/9gag
Green Day wake me up when september ends meme
@busbuys/9gag
billie joe armstrong september meme
@busbuys/9gag
Advertisement
tweet that reads 'Be sure to stay up late tonight and wake up all your “wake me up when September ends” friends right at midnight'
fighting emo kids with caption 'when your boy wakes you up before september ends'
alarms wake me up when september ends meme
squidward wake me up when september ends meme
u/FunkyMonkey47293/Reddit
Advertisement
star wars september meme
u/FunkyMonkey47293/Reddit
crazy girlfriend wake me up when september ends meme
u/FunkyMonkey47293/Reddit
green day september
@YaboiGibbons/IMGFLIP

More fall memes:

Advertisement

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

 
The Daily Dot