What does Boulevard of Broken Dreams mean?

Green Day: Boulevard of Broken Dreams Meaning

Album cover for Boulevard of Broken Dreams album cover

Song Released: 2004


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Boulevard of Broken Dreams Lyrics

I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's only me and I walk alone

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
and I'm the only one and I walk...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    kaimmm
    click a star to vote
    Dec 18th 2005 !⃝

    I think this song is about a man who is trying to find someone who likes him for who he is, and he can't find that person. During the chorus the lyric: "Sometimes I wish someone up there would find me" suggests that he is longing for someone like him.
    Boulevard of broken dreams is about being alone... And being afraid to be alone...
    It's about a guy who is alone, and that's all he knows. He wishes someone would find him and walk with him. I also think he is walking away from something, hence the Broken Dreams part.
    It's sort of a metaphor for life. The guy is all alone and he wants somebody to be with him, as he walks the boulevard of broken dreams, which is life. That is why part of the song says, "I walk a lonely road, the only on that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's only me and I walk alone."
    I think this song is about someone who wants to find a place where he or she belongs. Somewhere she or he can be with someone that can trust, a place where he can be safe.
    I think this song is about depression, maybe being alone is in his head there could be people all around him but they don't see him, like he has clearly displayed he wants some help but no one is helping
    Basically (not to get into the whole story of the CD) I think this song is about going out on your own and not always following the group; going against popular belief as a part of growing up.
    I see this song as being about how the 'American Dream' and the idealistic view that everyone will be able to make something of themselves on their own generally, is completely wrong because life just isn't like that. People need people and if you try to go out completely alone then life will be very lonely, especially if you fail since not everybody can make it to the top and completely fulfil their dreams. I can also see how it's about depression though and
    It's about depression. "Check my vital signs" if you have ever been in the hospital for depression you would understand this completely.
    I think it's about a guy who has problems with suicide. He is lost in his mind in his head. He knows that whatever he does in life, he'll commit suicide and he won't never be able to do something good. He wishes that someone would soon help him to get out of this situation. He feels really sad, he's near death. I think it's what it means.
    Boulevard Of Broken Dreams is about what this guy is feeling inside. To me, it doesn't really have anything to do with him actually walking by himself, but in his mind he's all alone. It's as if no one knows exactly what's going on in his head and that's why he's alone because no one understands what he's dealing with. In the verse "Sometimes I Wish Someone Out There Will Find Me" I think it's saying that sometimes he wishes someone was on his page feeling the same thing he is and understands what he's going through, and until then he walks alone. I think this because the entire middle of the song talks about what's going on in his head. Get the CD and read the lyrics... Also, this is how I interpreted this song because that is exactly how I feel right now.
    I think it means two things. Following Jesus of Suburbia's story, he feels like an outcast, or a stranger in the land he is in, because it says, "Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone." Also, I think he feels lonely and maybe misunderstood, because he says "My shadow's the only one that walks beside me," and "Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me." So basically he is alone in a land where he doesn't know where anything is or who anyone is, and just wants to be found.
    I think it's about someone who wants something more in his life. The person has a good life but he wants more. He/She doesn't want to walk alone anymore, want someone with the same dreams

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    St_Jimmy406
    click a star to vote
    Jul 21st 2009 !⃝

    I can fit this song to my time at school.

    I walk a lonely road
    The only one that I have ever known
    Don't know where it goes
    But it's home to me and I walk alone

    At school, I learnt to be alone because I was bullied a lot and no one stuck up for me.

    I walk this empty street
    On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
    Where the city sleeps
    and I'm the only one and I walk alone

    I used to walk on this cobbled area and the other kids would stare at me from where they were. I Walk Alone.

    I walk alone
    I walk alone

    I walk alone
    I walk a...

    My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
    My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
    Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
    'Til then I walk alone

    Who doesn't want someone who understands them completely? You'll probs never find that person but if you do you're very lucky. I longed for someone to help me but no one ever did.

    Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah,
    Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah

    I'm walking down the line
    That divides me somewhere in my mind
    On the border line
    Of the edge and where I walk alone

    Walking Down The Line..... It could mean the line between danger and safety, anger/sadness and happiness etc which I could fit to so many of my memories of school.

    Read between the lines
    What's fucked up and everything's alright
    Check my vital signs
    To know I'm still alive and I walk alone

    Sometimes you begin to want to die and maybe you do inside. Read Between The Lines What's Fucked Up And Everythings All Right means that even though the people around you think you are ok, it doesn't mean you are and sometimes they should look further than the skin to see what's really going on.

    I walk alone
    I walk alone

    I walk alone
    I walk a...

    My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
    My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
    Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
    'Til then I walk alone

    Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Ah-ah, Aaah-ah
    Ah-ah, Ah-ah

    I walk alone
    I walk a...

    I walk this empty street
    On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
    Where the city sleeps
    And I'm the only one and I walk a...

    My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
    My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
    Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
    'Til then I walk alone...

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 26th 2013 !⃝

    Although a lot of other examples a shown throughout the song, it hit me hard when he sung 'Check my vital signs, know that i am alive and I walke alone'. It is pretty clear that this is talking about depression unfortunately, and self harm. He is checking to see if he is still alive, because he feels like an empty shell of a person. Beautifully written song :)

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 2nd 2021 !⃝

    My interpretation (although i know it's likely flawed and far from the truth) is that it could symbolize the loneliness and depression you can feel from the effects of late stage capitalism.

    To clarify, most of the time, late stage capitalism, especially in america, has a huge emphasis on "the american dream", which is a concept that very few can actually possibly reach, as there are so many people who end up below the poverty line when said dream fails. Failing to reach the dream and fulfill it is extremely rare, and it also tends to isolate those people from others.

    The way i see it is that he is singing this from the perspective of someone who has been beaten down by late stage capitalism, ending up either homeless or in a very poor neighborhood, and struggling either below the poverty line or just at the edge of it. The neighborhood or street can be seen as a boulevard of broken dreams, said broken dreams being the dreams of making it big in life, like you have been told all your life from the people around you and how america is made out to be in the media, and realizing that the american dream isn't for you, and perhaps never was for you.

    Struggling financially can isolate you severely, and give you depression and cause you other similar troubles, and can make you seem disconnected from other people. You might feel like you are the only one struggling with this, and that you are alone in this experience, even if many other people are as well, and it might feel like you are actually walking down a lonely road.
    If you grew up in a poor household, this is especially true, since you may very well have been bullied through your childhood, causing said lonely road to be all you have ever known.

    Again, i feel this might be an interpretation that doesn't stand true, but i feel it actually does fit the album and it fits with the song, especially knowing the economical landscape in huge parts of the world, and how issues with said economical issues can affect how you feel mentally.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 1st 2020 !⃝

    this song(maybe?) is about how you are on a path that no one supports you with, so you end up walking alone, with your shadow as your only company

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 29th 2020 !⃝

    I personally think that boulevard of broken dreams is about a man with depression. I think thia because in the song it says "sometimes I wish someone up there would find me" this I interpret as him hoping that someone would realize that there's something wrong with him, in this case I assume depression.

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 22nd 2020 !⃝

    what if it is just a guy walking and we all take it to far and say hes a lonely man
    I walk a lonely road
    The only one that I have ever known
    Don't know where it goes
    But it's home to me, and I walk alone
    I walk this empty street
    On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
    Where the city sleeps
    And I'm the only one, and I walk alone
    I walk alone, I walk alone
    I walk alone, I walk a-
    My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
    My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
    Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
    'Til then I walk aloneI'm walking down the line
    That divides me somewhere in my mind
    On the borderline
    Of the edge and where I walk alone
    Read between the lines
    What's fucked up, and everything's all right
    Check my vital signs
    To know I'm still alive, and I walk alone
    I walk alone, I walk alone
    I walk alone, I walk a-My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
    My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
    Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
    'Til then I walk aloneI walk this empty street
    On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
    Where the city sleeps
    And I'm the only one, and I walk a-
    My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
    My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
    Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
    'Til then I walk alone

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 26th 2018 !⃝

    I like this song because "no one" out there walks with you...no matter if it's your best friend. Even if your friend who gives you vital signs..."you'll always walk alone". You're out there "walking alone".

  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 13th 2017 !⃝

    I think he still has hope in him from Jesus of suburbia. The verse “read between the lines” and “ I walk the line that divides me somewhere in my mind” refers to that there is hope just little.

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 6th 2017 !⃝

    I believe that Green Day targets the stigma around mental health and how lonely someone can feel in the world we live in today. The person may put on a mask and act like everything is alright but when the city "goes to sleep", they reveal how lonely and how much they help they need.

  11. rickandmortyfan
    click a star to vote
    Jun 2nd 2017 !⃝

    This song and the entire album is about a person with borderline personality disorder, somebody back me up on this.
    "I'm walking down the line that divides me somewhere in my mind"
    "On the borderline of the edge of the edge and where I walk alone"
    "What's fucked up and everythings alright" (they used to describe borderline personality disorder as borderline personity meaning on the borderline of neurotic and psychotic.
    It's so blantant and I listened to this as a teenager not understanding the lyrics fully. I loved the album.
    And then being diagnosed as BPD as an adult, I interpreted this song correctly having done lots of research on the disorder. I was amused to say the least

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 10th 2016 !⃝

    he IS ALL alone aNd HE wants someoNe to find hiM and Care about HIm and KNow whAt tf he gOing thRough. HE is lost And hopEs to be fOuNd, but untIL he is, he wiLl reMain lost.

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 10th 2015 !⃝

    It's a song about entering adulthood and being unsure of who you are and what to do. Another main focus of the song is how the American dream can let you down, nothing is promised, and the only person who can help you succeed in life is you. This belief is contrary to the beliefs of many young people today, who have been led to believe that they will be held up by society, however when they leave home, they become aware of what a harsh, jungle-like environment the western world is for young people trying to get a start in life.

  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 4th 2015 !⃝

    Totally lost and alone without the person he loves the most. Needing someone so much but complications in a relationship stop two people being together, this being the lonely road until they are together especially in their dreams.

  15. happyrainbowturtle
    click a star to vote
    Jan 28th 2015 !⃝

    I think it's about being lonely and having no one to be there for you. A very sad but genius song.

  16. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 5th 2013 !⃝

    i think that this song is about bullying. the speaker in the song says that he has no one there for him and that he is alone. He has been alone all his life. We know this because he says"i walk this lonely road, the only road that i have ever known." hes saying that loneliness is all he has ever had. Perhaps he has been bullied as a young child, and he just feels trapped. i don't think that he is taking about Jesus. When he says boulevard of broken dreams i think he means that he "walks" toward broken dreams (not being able to do the things he wants).

  17. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 28th 2013 !⃝

    It's about a lonely person even if they don't appear outwardly lonely they are inside. Maybe not depressed but lonely.

  18. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 21st 2012 !⃝

    I think this song is about feeling all alone.

    I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone.

    You're all alone and not sure where you'll end up, but this loneliness is all you've ever known.

    I walk this empty street on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone.

    The loneliness is very empty and it crushes your dreams. There are people around you, but no one cares about you.

    My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. Sometimes, I wish someone out there will find me. 'Til then, I walk alone.

    The first two lines say that you're all alone. Then it says that you want someone to find you and be with you, but until then, you're all alone.

    I'm walking down the line that divides me somewhere in my mind. On the borderline of the edge and where I walk alone.

    You're losing yourself to insanity.

    Read between the lines of what's fucked up and everything's alright. Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive and I walk alone.

    You seem to be fine to everyone else, but you're not. You're alive physically but don't feel very alive.

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