Don't wanna be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation that doesn't know media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind f***America.
Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well that's enough to argue.
Well maybe I'm the f***** America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along in the age of paranoia.
Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well then that's enough to argue.
Don't wanna be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information nation of hysteria.
It's going out to idiot America.
Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
Well that's enough to argue.
This song talks about some of the current issues of American society and values. The lines, "don't wanna be an American idiot", and, "i'm not a part of a redneck agenda" insinuate that the artist does not want to be one of the many people who tend to follow the "redneck" ideals or views, which he believes are idiotic. He says, "one nation controlled by the media", which would refer to the fact that most people believe that everything they hear on TV is true (assuming that the same theme is followed). Lastly, the line, “information nation of hysteria” implies that the media is attempting to create problems or embellish minute problems in order to gain popularity and money, but this is influencing the American people who watch it.
