The title of the song might be referring to the narrator's opinion that we often live life without thinking about our future, we "hide away from hopes behind a smile and smoking dope" - we act like we are not human, but only resemble humans, while inside we are a lot more like robots that have no real plans or ambitions, and hence no future.

Greatest Pop Punk Albums". Rolling Stone. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019 . Retrieved 8 October 2019. Words I Might Have Ate was about Nina. She broke my heart. I was a shitty boyfriend. The 'school grounds' was a school we hung out at and smoked weed and made out and stuff. Oh to be young."

The best Green Day song from every studio album:

Light Years Away" (music written by Green Day, Jesse Michaels, Pete Rypins and Dave "E.C." Henwood) a b Raggett, Ned. " Kerplunk! Review". AllMusic. Rovi. Archived from the original on March 14, 2011 . Retrieved June 19, 2011.

Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th conciseed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.This is a song about missing someone you love, thinking about them all the time and dreaming of being next to them again. In this song, the narrator is wondering what will happen to him when he grows older. He starts off with thinking about an old man he saw - he sees that his man didn't succeed in life and realizes that this can happen to anyone. He wonders what this man was dreaming of when he was younger. Everyone has dreams of a great future, but it doesn't mean those dreams will come true - in fact, you might end up "wearing woman's shoes and being crazy" like this old man. Jenkins, Craig (April 22, 2021). "The Best and Most Misunderstood of Green Day, According to Billie Joe Armstrong". Vulture . Retrieved April 28, 2022. Mike had this beautiful bass line he wanted to turn into a song. I wrote lyrics for it. Song is No One Knows."