One Eyed Bastard

Album: Saviors (2024)
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Songfacts®:

  • "One Eyed Bastard" is a punk anthem with heavy guitar riffs and fast-paced drumming. The song's lyrics are about revenge and the desire to make someone pay for their actions.

    "One Eyed Bastard started off as just a riff that I had - a shuffle, almost like a Black Sabbath kind of riff. Lyrically, I was just reflecting on bad times in life," shared frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. "That's the thing about nostalgia, sometimes you think, 'That was an awful time.' Everybody's got that ugly place in their life where they have to deal with ugly thoughts - it could be like revenge or whatever. Thankfully, I have an outlet in songwriting."
  • "Bada bing, bada bing, bada boom" is imitative of the sound of a drum roll and cymbal clash, meaning something finished or completed. The phrase can be traced back to at least 1958, when it appeared in comedian Pat Cooper's routine "Italian Wedding." It became part of the Italian-American lexicon and was popularized in the 1970s by The Godfather character Santino Corleone and later The Sopranos. Green Day's use of this expression in the chorus is likely intended to add a sense of humor to the otherwise serious and dark lyrics about revenge.
  • The song's title, which doesn't appear in the lyrics, is a rude way of saying penis. The song is about getting back at someone who hurt the singer; calling them "One Eyed Bastard" is another way of making them feel bad.
  • The electrifying track originated as a demo after the sessions for Father of All Motherf---ers and then revamped. It was leaked on the internet in late May 2023 and became the fourth single from Saviors on January 5, 2024.
  • Saviors was recorded at RAK Studios in London with the help of producer Rob Cavallo, who also worked with Green Day on two of their most famous albums, Dookie in 1994 and American Idiot in 2004.

    So why did Green Day lay down the album in England, thousands of miles away from where they live? It was Billie Joe Armstrong who suggested it after spending some time with family out there.

    "So many of our musical heroes have come from England, whether it's British Invasion, or early punk rock, or Britpop," bassist Mike Dirnt explained to Rolling Stone. "There's just so much good music. And it's very evident as you're walking around England. It's just a cool spot. It's got its own vibe. And we could get in a room, zero distractions, and play in a studio environment together, and record live together."
  • Green Day gave "One-Eyed Bastard" its live debut at New York City's at Irving Plaza on January 18, 2024.

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