When I Come Around

"When I Come Around"
Single by Green Day
from the album Dookie
Released	January 31, 1995
Format	CD single
Recorded	1993
Genre	Punk rock,[1] alternative rock[2]
Length	2:58
Label	Reprise, WEA International
Writer(s)	Billie Joe Armstrong / Green Day
Producer(s)	Rob Cavallo, Green Day
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Green Day singles chronology
"Basket Case" (1994) "When I Come Around" (1995) "She" (1995)

"When I Come Around" is a song released by American punk rock band Green Day. It is the tenth track on their third studio album, Dookie, which was released as the fourth single from that album in 1995. "When I Come Around" was Green Day's most popular radio single in their early career, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. This was their highest charting radio single until 2004's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" peaked at number 2. It was one of the most successful alternative rock songs of 1995. It topped the Modern Rock Tracks for seven weeks, and also hit number two on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. "When I Come Around" has sold 639,000 copies as of August, 2010,^[3] which makes it the band's second best-selling single of the 1990s, only behind the 1997 hit "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)".

Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the song after breaking up with his girlfriend, Adrienne Nesser (whom he later married).

Track listing

Initial pressing

1. "When I Come Around" – 2:58
2. "Coming Clean" (live) – 1:36
3. "She" (live) – 2:14

• (Live tracks recorded November 18, 1994 at Aragon Ballroom, Chicago)

AU single

1. "When I Come Around" – 2:58
2. "Longview" (live) – 3:30
3. "Burnout" (live) – 2:11
4. "2,000 Light Years Away" (live) – 2:48

• (Live tracks recorded March 11, 1994, at Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, Florida; Tracks 2-3 are the same on the Live Tracks EP; Track 4 has an extended intro, but is the same performance)

7" picture disc

Side A

• "When I Come Around" – 2:58

Side B

• "She" (live) – 2:14

Music video

The music video shows the band walking to different places, like the Mission District and the Powell Street Station in San Francisco and Berkeley, California at night, along with various scenes of people doing common things all inter-related. One of the first scenes of the video eventually leads back to the scene at the end. The band's friend and now secondary guitarist Jason White can be seen in the video with his girlfriend at the time. Mark Kohr directed this video.^[4]

Before the video was filmed, MTV aired a live performance of the song by the band at the 1994 Woodstock Festival.

MTV's Ultimate Albums: Dookie special credited the simple horizontally-striped sweater worn by Armstrong in the video for starting a fashion trend of similar sweaters.

Chart positions

Chart (1995)	Peak position
scope="row"	Australia (ARIA)[5]	7
scope="row"	Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6]	3
scope="row"	Germany (Official German Charts)[7]	45
scope="row"	Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8]	33
scope="row"	New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9]	4
scope="row"	Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[10]	28
scope="row"	UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11]	27
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay[12]	6
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40[13]	2
scope="row"	US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[14]	1
scope="row"	US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[15]	2

References

1. "Green Day - Fantasy Studios" (PDF). Fantasy Studios. Issued in February 1994, Dookie would spawn five hit singles — ‘Longview’, ‘Welcome To Paradise’ (a re‐recording of a track on Kerplunk), ‘Basket Case’, ‘When I Come Around’ and ‘She’ — and, with worldwide sales of over 16 million units, would prove to be the group’s most popular work, while establishing them at the forefront of the neo-punk scene.
2. "Top 10 Alt-Rock Videos From 1995". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
3. "Week Ending Aug. 8, 2008: Taylor Swift Returns - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
4. "GDA | Video Information". Greendayauthority.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
5. "Australian-charts.com – Green Day – When I Come Around". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
6. "Green Day – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Green Day.
7. "Musicline.de – Green Day Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Green Day – When I Come Around" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
9. "Charts.org.nz – Green Day – When I Come Around". Top 40 Singles.
10. "Swedishcharts.com – Green Day – When I Come Around". Singles Top 100.
11. "Archive Chart: 03/06/1995" UK Singles Chart.
12. "Hot 100 Airplay". Billboard. (subscription required (help)).
13. "Mainstream Top 40". Billboard.
14. "Green Day – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Green Day.
15. "Green Day – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Green Day.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics