Father To A Son

Album: Saviors (2024)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong wrote this song for his two sons, Joey and Jakob, who were 28 and 25 at the time. He's letting them know how they enriched his life, and making it clear he'll be there for support on their life journeys.
  • "Father To A Son" is part of Green Day's 14th album, Saviors, which finds Billie Joe Armstrong in a reflective mood, looking back on his struggles with alcoholism and mental health. Through the travails, his wife Adrienne, whom he married in 1994, has been there to support him, and they formed a strong bond with their kids even as Armstrong assumed the role of rock star.
  • Armstrong knows he's getting soft on this song, but he thought the message was important. "I was like, 'How do I sum this up without getting too sappy?'" he said in People.
  • Both Joey and Jakob followed in the footsteps of their dad, becoming musicians. Joey, a drummer, formed a band called Emily's Army in 2004 that later became SWMRS. Jakob, who sings and plays guitar, formed a band called Ultra Q.

Comments: 1

  • Alyssa Marieeee from Allentown PaSo adorbs.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Curt Kirkwood of Meat Puppets

Curt Kirkwood of Meat PuppetsSongwriter Interviews

The (Meat)puppetmaster takes us through songs like "Lake Of Fire" and "Backwater," and talks about performing with Kurt Cobain on MTV Unplugged.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Tom Waits Lyrics Quiz

Tom Waits Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Pool balls, magpies and thorns without roses - how well do you know your Tom Waits lyrics?

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.