Nice Guys Finish Last

"Nice Guys Finish Last"
"Nice Guys Finish Last"
Single by Green Day
from the album Nimrod and Varsity Blues soundtrack
Released	March 23, 1999
Recorded	1997
Studio	Conway (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Punk rock
Length	2:48
Label	Reprise
Composer(s)	Green Day
Lyricist(s)	Billie Joe Armstrong
Producer(s)	Rob Cavallo; Green Day;
Green Day singles chronology
Music video
	"Nice Guys Finish Last" on YouTube

"Nice Guys Finish Last" is a song by American rock band Green Day. It is the opening track and the fourth and final single released from their fifth studio album, Nimrod (1997). The use of the song in the movie Varsity Blues helped propel it to hit status and earned it a nomination for an MTV Movie Award for best song from a movie in 1999.^[3]^[4]

Track list

AU single/Japanese EP:

"Nice Guys Finish Last"
"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" (live)
"The Grouch" (live)
"She" (live)

Tracks 2-4 were recorded live at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Reception

PopMatters listed "Nice Guys Finish Last" as the tenth best Green Day song, commenting "Blessed with a driving insistency and an acerbic, infectious chorus, "Nice Guys Finish Last" should've been way bigger than it actually was."^[5]

Music video

The music video features the band as a mock football team (parodying the Green Bay Packers with Green Day). The stage set up for them is portrayed as analogous to a football playing field, and in the video, a number of concert scenes are shown in ways that simulate football game action; lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong is tackled by a fan, Mike Dirnt sprains his ankle when jumping, and a coach motivates them in a locker room midway during the song. The video itself, directed by Evan Bernard, humorously extends the analogy with a voice-over emulating that of legendary NFL Films narrator John Facenda.

Chart positions

Chart (1999)	Position
Australia (ARIA)^[6]	80
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)^[7]	31

References

^ Raub, Jesse (June 22, 2010). "Green Day – Nimrod". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
^ Travers, Paul (14 May 2020). "Green Day's 15 best music videos, ranked in order of greatness". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
^ "MTV Movie + TV Awards (1999)". IMDb. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
^ "Green Day - Nice Guys Finish Last". Desitara. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
^ AJ Ramirez. "Nice Guys Finish Last: The Top 15 Green Day Songs". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
^ "Green Day Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2016.

[1] Raub, Jesse (June 22, 2010). "Green Day – Nimrod". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2016.

[travers-2] Travers, Paul (14 May 2020). "Green Day's 15 best music videos, ranked in order of greatness". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.

[3] "MTV Movie + TV Awards (1999)". IMDb. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2019.

[4] "Green Day - Nice Guys Finish Last". Desitara. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2013-04-24.

[5] AJ Ramirez. "Nice Guys Finish Last: The Top 15 Green Day Songs". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2013-05-25.

[ryan-6] Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.

[sc_Billboardalternativesongs_Green_Day-7] "Green Day Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 13, 2016.

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v t e Green Day
Billie Joe Armstrong Mike Dirnt Tré Cool John Kiffmeyer Sean Hughes Raj Punjabi
Studio albums	39/Smooth Kerplunk Dookie Insomniac Nimrod Warning American Idiot 21st Century Breakdown ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! Revolution Radio Father of All Motherfuckers Saviors
Live albums	Bullet in a Bible Awesome as Fuck Woodstock 1994 BBC Sessions
Compilations	1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours International Superhits! Shenanigans Demolicious Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band
EPs	1,000 Hours Slappy Sweet Children Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking Tune In, Tokyo... Last Night on Earth: Live in Tokyo 21 Guns
Tours	Pop Disaster Tour American Idiot World Tour 21st Century Breakdown World Tour 99 Revolutions Tour Revolution Radio Tour Hella Mega Tour The Saviors Tour
Associated acts	Foxboro Hot Tubs The Network Pinhead Gunpowder The Frustrators The Lookouts The Big Cats The Influents The Longshot The Coverups
Related articles	Discography List of songs Awards and nominations Adeline Records Seltzer v. Green Day, Inc Punk Bunny Coffee Cigarettes and Valentines Money Money 2020 Stop Drop and Roll!!! American Edit Green Day's American Idiot soundtrack Green Day: Rock Band songs ¡Cuatro! Foreverly "Boulevard of Broken Songs" Ordinary World Love Is for Losers No Fun Mondays Money Money 2020 Part II: We Told Ya So!
Category

v t e Green Day songs
1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours	"Knowledge"
Kerplunk	"Welcome to Paradise"
Dookie	"Longview "Basket Case "She" "When I Come Around"
Insomniac	"Stuck with Me" "Geek Stink Breath" "Brain Stew / Jaded" "Walking Contradiction"
Nimrod	"Nice Guys Finish Last" "Hitchin' a Ride" "Redundant" "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)"
Warning	"Warning" "Waiting" "Minority"
American Idiot	"American Idiot" "Jesus of Suburbia" "Holiday" "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
21st Century Breakdown	"21st Century Breakdown" "Know Your Enemy" "East Jesus Nowhere" "Last of the American Girls" "21 Guns"
Awesome as Fuck	"Cigarettes and Valentines"
¡Uno!	"Let Yourself Go" "Kill the DJ" "Oh Love"
¡Dos!	"Stray Heart" "Amy"
¡Tré!	"X-Kid" "The Forgotten"
Revolution Radio	"Bang Bang" "Revolution Radio" "Still Breathing"
Father of All Motherfuckers	"Father of All..." "Oh Yeah!"
Saviors	"The American Dream Is Killing Me" "Look Ma, No Brains!" "Bobby Sox" "One Eyed Bastard" "Dilemma"
Other songs	"J.A.R." "Xmas Time of the Year" "I Fought the Law" "The Saints Are Coming" "The Simpsons Theme" "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" "Dreaming"