{{About|the Green Day song|the quotation|Leo Durocher#Nice guys finish last{{!}}Leo Durocher}} {{Infobox song | name = Nice Guys Finish Last | cover = Green Day - Nice Guys Finish Last cover.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Green Day | album = Nimrod ''and'' Varsity Blues soundtrack | released = March 23, 1999 (Aus) | recorded = 1997 | studio = Conway (Hollywood, California) | venue = | genre = * Punk rock<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/nimrod|title=Green Day – Nimrod|journal=Alternative Press|date=June 22, 2010|access-date=February 12, 2016|last=Raub|first=Jesse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703045104/http://www.altpress.com/reviews/entry/nimrod/|archive-date=July 3, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="travers">{{cite web |last1=Travers |first1=Paul |title=Green Day's 15 best music videos, ranked in order of greatness |url=https://www.kerrang.com/green-days-15-best-music-videos-ranked-in-order-of-greatness?next |website=Kerrang! |date=14 May 2020 |access-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-date=January 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111180258/https://www.kerrang.com/green-days-15-best-music-videos-ranked-in-order-of-greatness?next |url-status=live }}</ref> * pop-punk<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ranking Green Day's 12 Albums|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/green-day/ranking-every-green-day-album|website=Paste Magazine|access-date=2026-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref> | length = 2:48 | label = Reprise | lyricist = Billie Joe Armstrong | composer = Green Day | producer = * Rob Cavallo * Green Day | prev_title = Redundant | prev_year = 1998 | next_title = Minority | next_year = 2000 | misc = {{external music video|{{YouTube|n4qZ1dicRWk|"Nice Guys Finish Last"}}}} }}
"'''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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000453/1999/1/|title=MTV Movie + TV Awards (1999)|website=IMDb|access-date=November 4, 2019|archive-date=January 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123215755/https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000453/1999/1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.desitara.com/videos/view/2404/Green_Day___Nice_Guys_Finish_Last |title=Green Day - Nice Guys Finish Last |publisher=Desitara |access-date=2013-04-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731115719/http://www.desitara.com/videos/view/2404/Green_Day___Nice_Guys_Finish_Last |archive-date=2012-07-31 }}</ref>
==Track list== '''AUS single''' #"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."<ref>{{cite web |author=AJ Ramirez |url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/162725-nice-guys-finish-last-the-top-15-green-day-songs/P1/ |title=Nice Guys Finish Last: The Top 15 Green Day Songs |publisher=PopMatters |access-date=2013-05-25 |archive-date=2012-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102000343/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/162725-nice-guys-finish-last-the-top-15-green-day-songs/P1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==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== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Chart performance for "Nice Guys Finish Last" !Chart (1999) !Peak<br>position |- !scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)<ref name=ryan>{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|80 |- {{single chart|Billboardalternativesongs|31|artist=Green Day|rowheader=true|access-date=November 13, 2016}} |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Green Day}}{{Green Day songs}}{{authority control}}
Category:1997 songs Category:1999 singles Category:Green Day songs Category:Reprise Records singles Category:Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Category:Songs written by Billie Joe Armstrong Category:Songs written by Mike Dirnt Category:Songs written by Tré Cool