Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Revisiting the pseudonym developed in Billy Gnosis, the author paints the tale of a boy losing himself to drugs and vice.
Guitarist Brett Gurewitz described the song as
… one of the few songs that was kinda vaguely autobiographical. Billy was me. It was about a kid who was a drug addict.
[Verse 1]
I can recall the warm youth of a summer day, yeah
The sweetest lemonade
The darkest game arcade
And Billy had a yearning in the corner of his mind, yeah
It moved him secretly
It moved him powerfully
[Chorus]
But prescience was lacking, and the present was all
And his aptitudes were carelessly wasted
And challenging life with the abandon of a fool
He squandered the hours of his day, yeah
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 2]
Then darkness and disorder slapped him sharply in the face, yeah
It hit him like a friend
Struck somethin' deep within
He couldn't break the chain of slow decay that seemed to drag him
Just like a fatal tide
Toward the other side
[Chorus]
And Billy was a lunatic just barkin' at the moon
And his brain was totally wasted
He then exchanged his friends for a needle and a spoon
And he threw his future away, yeah
[Bridge]
Bolt the door and throw away the key, yeah
Your dim reflection is all that you can see
[Chorus]
So where is the justice when no one is at fault
And a human life is tragically wasted?
How fragile is the flame that burns within us all
To light each passing day, yeah?
Billy was written by Brett Gurewitz.
Billy was produced by Bad Religion.
Bad Religion released Billy on Thu Nov 02 1989.