Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?

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"Its [sic] a song about forgetting what you're going to say. It's trying to get motivated to do something because your elders tell you, you have to get motivated. So then you get frustrated and you think that you should do something but you end up doing nothing. But then you enjoy it."
Billie Joe Armstrong


Kerplunk.jpg
Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?
Song length: 2:44
Album: Kerplunk
Chronology
Previous song: "No One Knows"
Next song: "Words I Might Have Ate"

"Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" is the 11th song on Kerplunk. It comes after "No One Knows" and is followed by "Words I Might Have Ate".

Billie has mentioned in live shows that this song is his favorite off the album. When he was in school, Billie had to read this book for an assignment. He hated it, mostly because he hated being forced doing so. As an adult, Billie read the novel again and found it very "Punk rock".

Song meaning[edit | edit source]

This song is about the novel Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. Holden Caulfield is the leading character in this novel. Holden feels like an outcast, trying to find his way through adolescence. He wants to move forward in life, but lacks the motivation to do so, which frustrates him. He makes decisions in his head, but doesn't act on them. He keeps everything inside, overthinking everything.

Lyrics[edit | edit source]

Main article: Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?/lyrics