The American Dream Is Killing Me

[6] "The American Dream Is Killing Me" begins with a "jig-like electric guitar riff", before the rest of the band joins in and the song takes on a "classic bouncy Green Day beat".

[12] The song's bridge contains a "string-infused" chamber pop interlude reminiscent of the Beatles, where Armstrong sings "People on the street / Unemployed and obsolete / Did you ever learn to read the ransom note?

The band simultaneously released the teaser on a new website titled "The American Dream Is Killing Me", which allowed users to "register for a wake-up call" and receive email updates regarding Saviors.

[5][26] An accompanying music video for "The American Dream Is Killing Me", directed by Brendan Walter and Ryan Baxley, was uploaded to Green Day's YouTube channel on October 24, 2023.

[30] Inspired by film noir[31] and Night of the Living Dead, it was intended to serve as both entertainment and social commentary for life in the United States.

[32] "The American Dream Is Killing Me" received generally positive reviews from music critics, with Tom Breihan of Stereogum declaring it the "best new Green Day single in many years" upon its release.

[6] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times called the song a "spry return to the power-trio days of American Idiot",[33] while Helen Brown of The Independent observed that "the energy of a trio who met in their mid-teens seems undimmed now they're in their fifties".

However, Brown criticized how "relentless" noises in the song "sludges out the sound too thickly",[34] while Mark Richardson of The Wall Street Journal noted how the chorus "walks the line between catchy and irritating".

[35] The lyrics of "The American Dream Is Killing Me" received mixed reviews, with critics praising the song's "vivid" political commentary[36] while critiquing them as "surface-level".

[12] Luke Winstanley of Clash similarly deemed the song a "confident statement of intent", however noted it "lack[ed] real acidic bite".

[51] Green Day debuted "The American Dream Is Killing Me" during a surprise show at the Fremont Country Club in Las Vegas on October 19, 2023.

[56] The band included "The American Dream Is Killing Me" in the setlist of their January 18, 2024 show at Irving Plaza as part of the Small Stages Series by Sirius XM.