How Billie Joe Armstrong Accidentally Wrote Green Day’s Hit Song “Brain Stew”

Have you ever tried to sit down and write a song? It’s difficult, and most inspiration for a song comes when you’re not trying to write a song at all. Have you ever listened to an interview with a musician about a song, and they say, “The song wrote itself!” or “Ohh, it just poured out of me?” Well, that’s not some artistic malarkey; it’s the cold, hard truth. One songwriter who can attest to that fact is Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, particularly in terms of the song “Brain Stew”.

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Evidently, Armstrong is more than qualified to answer this question, as the man has garnered a plethora of no. 1 hits and is the frontman of one of the most iconic 2000s rock bands of all time. Of course, he worked hard to achieve these accolades. However, sometimes, he wrote his best songs by not working at all. As a matter of fact, he did that on one of Green Day’s biggest hits, “Brain Stew”.

The Accidental Inspiration Behind Green Day’s “Brain Stew”

In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Billie Joe Armstrong revealed how a simple equipment test amounted to one of Green Day’s biggest hits.

“I just got some recording equipment, and I was just kind of testing it out,” Armstrong revealed. “Then I was just like wanting to kind of like mess around with it… and then I was just like [plays the opening riff from ‘Brain Stew’].”

Following the inception of the iconic “Brain Stew” opening riff, Armstrong just kept adding to it.

“Then I just wrote a melody over it that was like you know almost Beatle-esque or something that kind of floated over the top of it,” Armstrong told Stern. “So it just kind of all kind of fell together.”

Concerning the lyrics, Armstrong revealed more lore about the song.

“I just sat down,” he continued. “And when I got the first line ‘I’m having trouble trying to sleep,’ and it’s just a song basically about being, you know, staying up all night. […] It was just kind of a nocturnal creep song.”

If Armstrong’s comments teach you anything, it’s not to torture yourself over a creative project. Rather, where there is a will, there is a way, and inspiration will strike when the time is right. So, in all, if you’re writing a song, just be patient, as it will come.

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