Appears on: Dookie [1994]
Music by: Green Day
Lyrics by: Billie Joe Armstrong
Length: 3:01
Information
Green Day's third single.
Billie Joe speaking to VH1 Ultimate Albums about the track: "The first time we played it was when they wanted to release it as a single. We thought, "Maybe we should start playing this song live, 'cause we were still stuck playing a lot of songs from 39 Smooth and Kerplunk." We immediately knew people had heard the song before, because everybody was singing along. It got to the point where I wasn't even singing the lyrics anymore; people were just doing it on their own." 1
Meaning
""Basket Case" was about anxiety attacks and feeling like you're ready to go crazy. At times I probably was. I've suffered from panic disorders my entire life. I thought I was just losing my mind. The only way I could know what the hell was going on was to write a song about it. It was only years later that I figured out I had a panic disorder. " - Billie Joe Armstrong, VH1 Ultimate Albums 2
Charts
#1 - US Modern Rock Tracks [1994]
#2 - Official Norwegian Singles Chart [1995]
#3 - Official Sweden Singles Chart [1994]
#6 - Official UK Singles Chart [1994]
#9 - US Mainstream Rock Tracks [1994]
#11 - Official Irish Singles Chart [1995]
#16 - US Top 40 Mainstream [1994]
#18 - Official German Singles Chart [1995]
#26 - Billboard Hot 100 Airplay [1995]
Video
Director: Mark Kohr
The video was nominated for multiple MTV Video Music Awards in 1995: Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best Hard Rock Video, Best Alternative Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Viewer's Choice Award. 3
Commercial Release
Tracks released with this single include:
- Basket Case
- On The Wagon
- Tired Of Waiting For You
- 409 In Your Coffeemaker (Unmixed)
- Longview (live)
- Burnout (live)
- 2,000 Light Years Away (live)
