Dookie album cover

Green Day – Basket Case Lyrics

Rock

Do you have the time to listen to me whine
About nothing and everything all at once?
I am one of those melodramatic fools
Neurotic to the bone, no doubt about it

Sometimes I give myself the creeps
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me
It all keeps adding up
I think I'm racking up
Am I just paranoid?
Or am I just stoned?

I went to a shrink
To analyze my dreams
She says it's lack of sex that's bringing me down
I went to a whore
He said my life's a bore
So quit my whining 'cause it's bringing her down

Sometimes I give myself the creeps
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me
It all keeps adding up
I think I'm racking up
Am I just paranoid?
Am I just drunk?

Jump

Grasping to control
So, I better hold on

Sometimes I give myself the creeps
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me
It all keeps adding up
I think I'm racking up
Am I just paranoid?
Am I just drunk?

Jump

Hey, bunch of funny little people
Funny looking
Oh, yeah, look that guy with the green hair
He's a punk rocker
Look, look he's even telling everybody
You fucking hippie
Oh, thank you very much

About This Song

"Basket Case" is Green Day's breakthrough anthem about anxiety, paranoia, and mental health struggles, delivered through the lens of a self-aware narrator questioning their own sanity. The song captures the overwhelming nature of anxiety disorders with lyrics that bounce between self-deprecating humor and genuine distress, as the protagonist wonders if they're "cracking up" or simply overthinking everything. Musically, it features Green Day's signature pop-punk sound with driving power chords, a catchy melody, and Billie Joe Armstrong's urgent vocal delivery that perfectly matches the song's frantic energy. The track became a defining moment for 1990s alternative rock, helping bring punk music to mainstream audiences while openly addressing mental health topics that were rarely discussed in popular music at the time. Its blend of accessibility and authenticity made it both a commercial hit and a relatable anthem for a generation dealing with similar feelings of uncertainty and anxiety.

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