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When I Come Around

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"When I Come Around"
Single by Green Day
from the album Dookie
ReleasedJanuary 31, 1995[1]
Genre
Length2:58
LabelReprise
Composer(s)Green Day
Lyricist(s)Billie Joe Armstrong
Producer(s)
Green Day singles chronology
"Welcome to Paradise"
(1994) 		"When I Come Around"
(1995) 		"J.A.R."
(1995)
Music video
"When I Come Around" on YouTube

"When I Come Around" is a song by American rock band Green Day. It is the 10th track on their third studio album, Dookie (1994), and was shipped to radio in December 1994 before being physically released as the fourth single from that album in January 1995[9] by Reprise Records. It was played live as early as 1992.

"When I Come Around" peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for seven weeks, and reached number two on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. Worldwide, it became a top-10 hit in Australia, Canada, Iceland, and New Zealand. Mark Kohr directed the song's music video. As of August 2010, "When I Come Around" has sold 639,000 copies. This makes it the band's second best-selling single of the 1990s, behind their 1997 hit "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)".[10] In late 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Modern Rock Tracks (which by then had been renamed to Alternative Airplay), Billboard ranked the song as the 19th-most successful in the chart's history.[11][12]

Composition

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The song is played in 4/4 time and has a verse-chorus song structure. Most of the song is based around a sequence of four chords in the key of G flat major.[13]

Critical reception

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David Stubbs from Melody Maker felt the band is "threatening to get caught up in the tramlines of Rainbow's "Since You've Been Gone" in the opening chords [of the song]."[14] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "We asked Nick Lowe, one-time producer in the first wave of punk, what's the difference between then and now? He answered: 'Green Day can really play.' Life is sometimes so simple."[2] A reviewer from Music Week gave "When I Come Around" three out of five, writing, "The fourth track to be lifted from their gold-selling Dookie album lacks the character and charm of 'Basket Case' but shouldn't harm their chart fortunes if their US success is anything to go by."[15] Sylvia Patterson from NME viewed it as "their least frantic rouser to date [...] but nonetheless it's a mutant sun-ripe beef tomato of a pop guitar romp featuring the rhyming of "loser" with "user" and — heck! — "accuser" just like they were The Monkees."[16]

Music video

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The music video for the song is directed by Mark Kohr.[17] It shows the band walking to different places, like the Mission District and the Powell Street Station in San Francisco and Berkeley, California at night, along with various scenes of people doing common things all inter-related. One of the first scenes of the video eventually leads back to the scene at the end. The band's touring guitarist Jason White can be seen in the video with his girlfriend.

Before the video was filmed, MTV aired a live performance of the song by the band at the 1994 Woodstock Festival. MTV's Ultimate Albums: Dookie special credited the simple horizontally-striped sweater worn by Armstrong in the video for starting a fashion trend of similar sweaters.

Track listings

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Initial pressing

  1. "When I Come Around" – 2:58
  2. "Coming Clean" (live) – 1:36
  3. "She" (live) – 2:14
  • All live tracks were recorded on November 18, 1994, at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago

Australian single

  1. "When I Come Around" – 2:58
  2. "Longview" (live) – 3:30
  3. "Burnout" (live) – 2:11
  4. "2,000 Light Years Away" (live) – 2:48
  • All live tracks were recorded on March 11, 1994, at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, Florida. Tracks two and three are the same on the Live Tracks EP. Track four has an extended intro but is the same performance.

7-inch picture disc

A. "When I Come Around" – 2:58
B. "She" (live) – 2:14

Charts and certifications

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Certifications

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Certifications for "When I Come Around"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[37] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[45] 4× Platinum 320,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[46] Gold 50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[47] Gold 5,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[48] Gold 30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[50] Gold 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States December 1994 Radio Reprise
Australia January 31, 1995 CD [18]
Europe
United Kingdom May 8, 1995
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [51]

Use in media

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Myers 2005, p. 111.
  2. ^ a b "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. May 20, 1995. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  3. ^ "The best third albums". Radio X. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Punknews Staff (July 30, 2014). "Green Day - Dookie". Punknews. Archived from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022. "Basketcase" and "When I Come Around" were the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" of the punk genre
  5. ^ "25 Years Ago: Green Day Reset Their Career With 'Dookie'". Ultimate Classic Rock. February 2019. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  6. ^ Mezydlo, Jeff. "The definitive Green Day Playlist". Yardbaker. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "The 95 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1995". Spin. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  8. ^ Raub, Jesse (June 22, 2010). "Green Day – Dookie". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  9. ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 3, 1994. Archived from the original on April 29, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "Week Ending Aug. 8, 2008: Taylor Swift Returns - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  11. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (September 7, 2023). "Alternative Airplay Chart's 35th Anniversary: Foo Fighters Remain No. 1 Act, 'Monsters' New Top Song". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  12. ^ "Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Covach, John; Flory, Andrew (March 8, 2006). What's That Sound?: An Introduction to Rock and Its History. W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 478–479.
  14. ^ Stubbs, David (May 13, 1995). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 34. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  15. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. April 29, 1995. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  16. ^ Patterson, Sylvia (May 13, 1995). "Singles". NME. p. 51. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  17. ^ "GDA | Video Information". Greendayauthority.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2005. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  18. ^ a b "Green Day – When I Come Around". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  19. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8002." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  20. ^ Schlüter, Johan (June 9, 1995). "Official Danish Singles Chart". IFPI Report. No. Week 23. IFPI Danmark.
  21. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 21. May 27, 1995. p. 31.
  22. ^ "Green Day – Basket Case" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  23. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (18.3. '95 – 24.3. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). March 18, 1995. p. 26. Archived from the original on April 19, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  24. ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 31, 1995" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  25. ^ "Green Day – When I Come Around" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  26. ^ "Green Day – When I Come Around". Top 40 Singles.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  28. ^ "Major Market Airplay" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 29. June 24, 1995. p. 25. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  29. ^ "Green Day – When I Come Around". Singles Top 100.
  30. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  31. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  32. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  33. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  34. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  35. ^ "Green Day Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  36. ^ "Green Day Rock Digital". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  37. ^ a b "ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1995". ARIA. Archived from the original on August 3, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  38. ^ "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2018 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  39. ^ "Árslistinn 1995". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1996. p. 16. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  40. ^ "End of Year Charts 1995". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  41. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot 100 Singles Airplay" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-32. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  42. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot Album Rock Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-76. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  43. ^ "The Year in Music: Hot Modern Rock Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 51. December 23, 1995. p. YE-77. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  44. ^ "The Year in Music 1995: Top 40/Mainstream Top Titles". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 3, no. 51. December 15, 1995. p. 8.
  45. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Green Day – When I Come Around". Music Canada. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  46. ^ "Italian single certifications – Green Day – When I Come Around" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  47. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Green Day – When I Come Around". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  48. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Green Day – When I Come Around". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  49. ^ "British single certifications – Green Day – When I Come Around". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  50. ^ "American single certifications – Green Day – When I Come Around". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  51. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. May 6, 1995. p. 59.

Sources

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