Nice Guys Finish Last
Track 1 from Nimrod
Released 1997
Green Day has played this song live 180 time(s).
Track 1 from Nimrod
Released 1997
Green Day has played this song live 180 time(s).
Lyrics
Nice guys finish last.
You're running out of gas
Your sympathy will get you left behind.
Sometimes you're at your best, when you feel the worst.
Do you feel washed up, like piss going down the drain?
Pressure cooker pick my brain
and tell me I'm insane.
I'm so fucking happy I could cry.
Every joke can have its truth and now the joke's on you.
I never knew you were such a funny guy.
Oh nice guys finish last,
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back
You might break your spine.
Living on command.
You're shaking lots of hands.
You're kissing up and bleeding all your trust,
taking what you need.
Bite the hand that feeds.
You lose your memory and you got no shame.
Pressure cooker pick my brain and tell me I'm insane.
I'm so fucking happy I could cry.
Every joke can have its truth
and now the joke's on you.
I never knew you were such a funny guy,
Oh nice guys finish last,
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back,
You might break your spine.
Oh nice guys finish last,
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back,
You might break your spine.
Oh nice guys finish last,
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back,
You might break your spine!
You're running out of gas
Your sympathy will get you left behind.
Sometimes you're at your best, when you feel the worst.
Do you feel washed up, like piss going down the drain?
Pressure cooker pick my brain
and tell me I'm insane.
I'm so fucking happy I could cry.
Every joke can have its truth and now the joke's on you.
I never knew you were such a funny guy.
Oh nice guys finish last,
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back
You might break your spine.
Living on command.
You're shaking lots of hands.
You're kissing up and bleeding all your trust,
taking what you need.
Bite the hand that feeds.
You lose your memory and you got no shame.
Pressure cooker pick my brain and tell me I'm insane.
I'm so fucking happy I could cry.
Every joke can have its truth
and now the joke's on you.
I never knew you were such a funny guy,
Oh nice guys finish last,
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back,
You might break your spine.
Oh nice guys finish last,
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back,
You might break your spine.
Oh nice guys finish last,
When you are the outcast
Don't pat yourself on the back,
You might break your spine!
Song Meaning
The metaphors in this leading track are extremely clever, such as the lines "Don't pat yourself on the back/You might break your spine." They all point to the narrator's strong feeling that the truly genuine people rarely come out on top. As a result, people who aim to accomplish something must be aggressive and assertive. The narrator has realized this fact, and seems to have had past experience with it: he tried being a "nice guy," and it didn't get him anywhere.
More Songs from Nimrod
1)
Nice Guys Finish Last
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)
18)
