Homecoming

This song has five parts, so they're like chapters: Jesus of Suburbia has nothing left to do. He's been on the streets. He stands alone again. So where else to go? Home. Part 1, the Death of St. Jimmy. He's leaving the streets, he's going back, he's leaving Jimmy behind. He realizes that turning away wasn't the answer, and he's gained nothing from it except knowledge that life is no better in a different atmosphere. He hoped for too much, and got nothing in return. St. Jimmy kills himself, in a sense, in Jesus of Suburbia's mind, he's gone. Still, there's no one who cares, and nobody cares. Part 2, East 12th St. It tells us that Jesus of Suburbia met and accepted conformity, got a job, and is just in his own world as people move around him. He'd rather be out and around with 'the underbelly', his friends. He feels trapped. Alone, and again, must get away. "This lifelike dream ain't for me"... Part 3, Nobody Likes You. He's still depressed about losing Whatsername, as he waits for her to return, but no luck. All of his dreams at this point are shot to hell, as her voice still pounds in his head "NOBODY LIKES YOU, EVERYONE LEFT YOU..." Part 4, Rock 'N Roll Girlfriend. In the inlay, is shown as a postcard from "Tunny," who seems to be another person Jesus of Suburbia met while on the streets. Tunny explains that he's living it up where he is, and the rebel life he leads, while Jesus Of Suburbia is rotting with his dead end job, in his dead end life. Part 5, We're Coming Home Again. It is Jesus of Suburbia accepting things. He's coming to the realization of everything and everyone, and is just accepting it. He comes home. It's left on a confusing note. He's not sure if he's happy or sad, he's just home, living, and he just... is.

Part 5 of this song could be about having kids. After the main character matures he gets a girl pregnant (not whatsername) then his friends come out of the wood work to see him and bring gifts for the baby. The lyrics are: "Here they come marching down the street Like a desperation murmur of a heart beat Coming back from the edge of town Underneath their feet The time has come and it's going nowhere Nobody ever said that life was fair now Go-carts and guns are treasures they will bear In the summer heat The world is spinning Around and around Out of control again From the 7-11 to the fear of breaking down." The line, "the time has come and it's going no where" means that now that he has a child who is going to be in his life forever he has to become a man finally and act like one. Then after this point he feels the need to tell whatsername, his ex, out of the blue that he's going to be a dad "So send my love a letterbomb and visit me in hell." He calls where he's living hell because he feels trapped and maybe even punished for his past lifestyle. When he says "I started fn' running As soon as my feet touched the ground" In other words he hit the ground running. As soon as he found out he was going to be a dad he pulled up his socks and gave 110% to parenthood. The idea of "coming home" could come from the fact that he lived in a lot of places after leaving his home but none of them felt like a home and now that he has a family he has what feels like a home again (even if it was forced on him). The name "homecoming" could even suggest that 'home' came to him instead of him going out and finding it on his own.

On VH1 Storytellers, Billie Joe Armstrong explained the song could be about returning home and finding everything has changed, or even finding a home in an unlikely place like a mental institution or a prison. Mike Dirnt added that the band wanted to keep it open-ended. "It's a reflective ending. It's open-ended, and we wanted it like that for a reason because I think as individuals or as the characters in the book, people just... they don't know until it's over."