"Minority" is a song by American punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band Green Day

Green Day

Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...

. It was released as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Warning

Warning (Green Day album)

Warning is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on October 3, 2000 through Reprise Records. Building upon its predecessor, Nimrod , the album eschewed the band's trademark punk rock sound and incorporated acoustic and pop rock elements...

. The song was number 1 for five weeks on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Modern Rock

Modern rock

Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...

 chart in late 2000.

Track listing

1. "Minority" (Radio version)
2. "Brat" (Live from Tokyo) - 1:42
3. "86" (Live from Prague) - 2:59

AU Single

1. "Minority" (Album version) - 2:49
2. "Brat" (Live from Tokyo) - 1:42
3. "86" (Live from Prague) - 2:59
4. "Jackass" (Album version) - 2:47

7"

Side A

1. "Minority"
2. "Brat" (Live from Tokyo) - 1:42

Side B

1. "Jackass"
2. "86" (Live from Prague) - 2:59

7" vinyl box set

1. "Minority" - 2:49
2. "Warning
   Warning (Green Day song)
   "Warning" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It is the second single and title track from their sixth album, Warning.Billie Joe Armstrong has said that the original concept was to create a song whose lyrics were made up of all signs and labels, and the idea grew from there.The song was...
   
   " - 3:42
3. "Hold On" - 2:56
4. "Outsider" - 2:17

Meaning

In an interview, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong

Billie Joe Armstrong

Billie Joe Armstrong is an American rock musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, main songwriter and lead guitarist for the American punk rock band Green Day...

 said that "The song is about being an individual and how you have to drift through the darkness to find where you belong."

Billie Joe Armstrong commented that this was the point in which their song writing became slightly more politically based. The lyrics "I pledge allegiance to the under world, one nation under dog..." were taken from the American Pledge of Allegiance

Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...

 but "twisted upside down a bit."

The lyric "down with the moral majority" from the chorus refers to the now dissolved socially conservative American organization called the Moral Majority

Moral Majority

The Moral Majority was a political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying...

.

Composition

The acoustic introduction to the song launches straight into the main riff, behind which a catchy bassline adds to the feel. The upbeat jig that runs throughout the song makes "Minority" a live favorite as Green Day nearly always include it in their live sets. "When we play 'Minority', that's the point which I always think the floor's gonna cave in," commented Mike Dirnt

Mike Dirnt

Michael Ryan Pritchard is an American musician, best known as the bassist, backing vocalist and co-founder of the American Rock band Green Day. While at school, he would play "air-bass." While pretending to pluck the strings, he made the noise, "dirnt, dirnt, dirnt"...

.

Music video

The music video was released in September, 2000 and directed by Evan Bernard

Evan Bernard

Evan Bernard is an American director of commercials and music videos who has directed videos for artists such as Moby, the Beastie Boys, Green Day, Lit, Cibo Matto and many others.After studying advertising design at Syracuse University and St...

 (who also directed the "Nice Guys Finish Last

Nice Guys Finish Last

"Nice Guys Finish Last" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the fourth and final single from their fifth album, Nimrod...

" video). It shows the band on a parade float

Float (parade)

A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Viareggio, the Maltese Carnival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Key West Fantasy Fest parade, the...

, playing their instruments in the middle of San Diego (specifically Broadway) followed by a very reduced number of people. There are also computer-generated balloons made to look like each individual member. In the end they destroy the float (this is typical of a Green Day music video: destruction of instruments, props and buildings can also be seen in a number of their other videos, including "Walking Contradiction

Walking Contradiction

"Walking Contradiction" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the fourth and final single from their fourth album Insomniac. The song reached number 21 on the Modern Rock Tracks in August 1996....

", "Basket Case

Basket Case (song)

"Basket Case" is a song by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the third single from their third album, Dookie. The song spent five weeks at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.Rolling Stone Readers ranked it No...

", "Longview

Longview (song)

"Longview" is a song and the first major-label single by the American punk rock band Green Day. It is the fourth track on the band's third album, Dookie . The song was the band's first single to top the Modern Rock chart in the U.S...

", "Hitchin' a Ride" and "American Idiot

American Idiot (song)

"American Idiot" is a song by the American punk rock band Green Day. It was released as the first single from their album of the same name.Released in 2004, the single peaked at #61 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Green Day's first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry , helping revive the band's career...

"). The video was released uncut on International Supervideos!. It was filmed in downtown San Diego. When he first sings the phrase "Fuck 'em all," Billie Joe can be seen giving the middle finger to the buildings to both the left and right.
The video marks the last appearance of one of Billie Joe's replicas of his first guitar (a Fernandes

Fernandes Guitars

Fernandes Guitars is a guitar and accessory manufacturer that originated in Japan in 1969, building flamenco guitars. As the company grew it expanded production to include more acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers, and accessories to become one of the biggest guitar...

), 'Blue'.

Other versions

• A live version on Tune in, Tokyo.
• Another live version on the CD/DVD Bullet in a Bible
  Bullet in a Bible
  -Certifications:-Personnel:* Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, harmonica* Mike Dirnt – bass, backing vocals* Tré Cool – drums, percussion-Additional musicians:* Jason White – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals...
  
  .