“Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road . . .”
Thus beginneth “Good Riddance,” perhaps the most poignant poetry penned by the great Billie Joe Armstrong in the early post-Dookie period. Official statistics are difficult to come by, but it is estimated that if you graduated from high school between 1998 and 2001, there is a 73.67% chance that THIS was your class song. If you throw out the 1999 grads (who seemed rather fond of Prince’s “1999”), that number swells to 98.97%. A recent study found that GED candidates from the same time period were similarly partial to the tune: nearly 80% would have chosen the song (or its equivalent) as their class song if they had been allowed a class song. It was even determined that a majority of students who dropped out of high school between 1998 and 2001 can sing along with the chorus if you get them started . . .
“It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.”