86

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"It's kind of about this conversation I had with someone when I went back to Gilman last December [1994]. I ran into this old friend of mine and all he could say was, 'Wow, what the fuck are you doing here?'"
Billie Joe Armstrong


Insomniac.jpg
86
Song length: 2:48
Album: Insomniac
Chronology
Previous song: "Bab's Uvula Who?"
Next song: "Panic Song"

"86" is the seventh song of Insomniac. The song also had a very limited release as a promo CD.

"86" is about someone being expelled from a place that they called home and losing their friends there. Billie Joe Armstrong wrote this song after he and Green Day were expelled from 924 Gilman Street because they signed to a major record label, Reprise Records. Billie Joe once explained the song during an interview with Spin Magazine in December 1995.[1]

The song name comes from the slang term "86", meaning to expel something or someone. 924 Gilman Street has an 86 list for people who were banned from that club.[2]

Live performances[edit | edit source]

"86" is rarely played live and has mostly just been played during the Insomniac Tour.[3]

A notable live performance of "86" was included as a B-side to the "Minority" single and on the UK, Australian, and Japanese editions of Warning. This performance was on March 26, 1996 at Sportovní Hala in Prague, Czech Republic. It is called "86 (Live from Prague)" on the "Minority" single's track listing but is listed "86 (live)" on the UK, Australian, and Japanese editions of Warning.

"86" is the 13th track on the UK edition but the 14th track on the Australian and Japanese editions (a live performance of "Brat" was added in as track 13, shifting "86" to track 14).

Lyrics[edit | edit source]

Main article: 86/lyrics

References[edit | edit source]