Editing 39/Smooth (section)

==Composition==
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| footer            = Biographer [[Ben Myers]] drew comparisons between ''39/Smooth'' and the sound of [[Buzzcocks]] (top) and [[Hüsker Dü]] (bottom).
| image1            = The Buzzcocks 1.JPG
| alt1              = Four men on a stage playing instruments and singing into microphones
| width1            = 190
| image2            = Hüsker Dü (1986 Warner Bros publicity photo).jpg
| alt2              = Three men standing
| width2            = 190
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The main lyrical theme of ''39/Smooth'' revolves around [[unrequited love]] and longing for desire, which appeared in "At the Library with Waba Sé Wasca", "Disappearing Boy" and "The Judge's Daughter". While "I Was There" and "16" are about reminiscing on youth, which Gaar suggested that these were interesting declarations from the band as the members themselves were still young.<ref name="Gaar36">Gaar 2006, p. 36</ref> Musically, ''39/Smooth'' has been tagged as punk rock,<ref name="Myers60">Myers 2006, p. 60</ref><ref name="Discogseditorial" /> [[pop-punk]],<ref name="AMG" /><ref name="SGbest" /> [[skate punk]],<ref name="IGNbest" /><ref name="Spinranked" /> and [[power pop]].<ref name=TPreview/> Myers said the songs merged the band members' overt adoration of [[Pop music|pop]] [[Hook (music)|hooks]] by British acts from the 1960s, topped by the "regionalized intonation of British punk's strongest voices."<ref>Myers 2006, pp. 60–61</ref> He also highlighted the sound of the [[Buzzcocks]] and [[Hüsker Dü]] as points of comparison,<ref name=Myers60/> while ''[[Stereogum]]''{{'s}} Jay Papandreas drew comparison to labelmates [[Crimpshrine]] and the Lookouts,<ref name=SGbest/> and Eduardo Rivadavia, writing for [[Discogs]], said its [[Three-chord song|three-chord tracks]] were indebted to the work of the [[Ramones]].<ref name=Discogseditorial>{{cite web|url=https://blog.discogs.com/en/unassuming-punk-rock-primer-39-smooth/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416074329/https://blog.discogs.com/en/unassuming-punk-rock-primer-39-smooth/|title=How Green Day 'Accidentally' Launched A Legendary Career With 1990's Unassuming Punk Rock Primer, 39/Smooth|publisher=[[Discogs]]|author=Rivadavia, Eduardo|date=April 13, 2020|archivedate=April 16, 2020|access-date=April 17, 2024}}</ref><!-- editorial by an established writer, not USERG -->

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With album opener "At the Library with Waba Sé Wasca", Allyson Johnson of The Young Folks said the band presented the [[Punk rock in California|Southern Californian sound]] that managed to "both fit them in the scene while allowing them to stand out ..." She added that it displayed the formula for which they would continue to use throughout their career: "The gritty and buzzsaw sounding guitars only make for a more immediate, satisfying star."<ref name=TYFyears>{{cite web|url=https://www.theyoungfolks.com/music/159262/celebrating-30-years-with-green-day/|title=Celebrating 30 years with Green Day|publisher=The Young Folks|author1=Johnson, Allyson|author2=Holly, Jack|date=October 13, 2021|access-date=April 15, 2024|archive-date=March 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317154300/https://www.theyoungfolks.com/music/159262/celebrating-30-years-with-green-day/|url-status=live}}</ref> Armstrong said "Don't Leave Me" was about an occasion in the [[seventh grade]] where a girl had broken up with him.<ref name=Gaar39>Gaar 2006, p. 39</ref> "I Was There" has lyrics written by Kiffmeyer;<ref name=Gaar36/> Gaar said it was a broad retrospective view of "one's past — torn between wanting it to last, but ultimately choosing to look ahead toward tomorrow."<ref name=Gaar44>Gaar 2006, p. 44</ref> Jack Holly of The Young Folks said Armstrong can be heard recounting locations him and his bandmates had visited and individuals they have encountered in their brief run as a band.<ref name=TYFyears/>{{#tag:ref|Spitz compared the introspective nature of "I Was There" to that of "[[In My Life]]" (1965) by [[the Beatles]], which Green Day leaned into for later songs in their career, such as "[[Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)]]" (1997), "[[Waiting (Green Day song)|Waiting]]" (2001) and "[[Wake Me Up When September Ends]]" (2004) to help them stand out from their contemporaries.<ref name=Spitz65/>|group="nb"}} "Green Day", which starts with the sound of a [[Bong|bong hit]],<ref name=PMreview/> discusses being inebriated while dreaming about a girl and staring directing at the ceiling.<ref name=Gaar36/> On "Going to Pasalacqua", Holly wrote that Armstrong was adamant about trying to get the attention of girl that he would visit a [[funeral home]], Pasalacqua, located in [[Benicia, California]], to achieve this.<ref name=TYFyears/> Johnson spotlighted "16" as a highlight, touching on the song's sense of heightened youthfulness, and noted that it was more restrained compared to the rest of the tracks.<ref name=TYFyears/> "Road to Acceptance", which was influenced by racism, talks about a person who lambasts their own reputation as an outsider.<ref name=Gaar36/> Preceded by the slower song "Rest",<ref name=Gaar36/> "The Judge's Daughter" concluded ''39/Smooth''; Armstrong said it was about a girl from [[Pinole Valley High School]].<ref>Gaar 2006, pp. 38, 39</ref>