Green Day Sobers Up and Faces Hard Truths in Blurry ‘Dilemma’ Video

Green Day gets stuck on a chaotic carousel in the music video for their latest single, “Dilemma.” Directed by Ryan Baxley, the visual finds Billie Joe Armstrong mentally retracing his steps as he wakes up facedown on the floor with only a blurry account of how he ended up there — he lost track somewhere in between the fifth and tenth drink of the night.

“‘Dilemma’ was one of those songs that was kind of easy to write because it was so personal to me,” Armstrong shared in a statement. “We’ve seen so many of our peers struggle with addiction and mental illness. This song is all about the pain that comes from those experiences.”

As the song plays through the video, the color returns to Green Day’s world. No longer lost in a haze of black-and-white memories from bouncing between bars and parties, they’re left to sit with the hard truths revealed in their sober state.

“Welcome to my nightmare/Where dreams go to disappear/Sit around in rehab/Feeling like a lab rat/Strange days are here again/And it’s getting weirder/Here’s to all my problems/I just want to drink the poison,” Armstrong sings. “I was sober now I’m drunk again/I’m in trouble and in love again/I don’t want to be a dead man walking.”

“Dilemma” will appear on Green Day’s forthcoming studio album Saviors, out Jan. 19. The single follows the release of “The American Dream Is Killing Me” and “Look Ma, No Brains!” “We’ve never been more excited to unleash new music than with Saviors, a record that’s meant to be rocked live, together,” the band shared in a statement. “So let’s thrash.”

From Rolling Stone US.