Basket Case | Chords + Lyrics
Verse 1
||: Eb5 | Bb5 | C5 | G5 | Ab5 | Eb5 | Bb5 | Bb5 :||
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.
Chorus 1
| Ab5 | Bb5 | Eb5 | Eb5 |
Sometimes I give myself the creeps.
| Ab5 | Bb5 | Eb5 | Eb5 |
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me.
| Ab5 | Bb5 | Eb5 D5 | C5 |
It all keeps adding up, I think I’m cracking up.
| Ab5 | Bb5 |
Am I just paranoid? Or am I just stoned?
Instrumental 1
||: Eb5 Bb5 C5 | C5 Bb5 Eb5 :||
Verse 2
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.
Chorus 2
Sometimes I give myself the creeps.
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me.
It all keeps adding up, I think I’m cracking up.
Am I just paranoid? Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Instrumental 2
||: Eb5 Bb5 C5 | C5 Bb5 Eb5 :|| x4
| Ab5 | Ab5 | Bb5 | Bb5 N.C |
Grasping to control, so I better hold on.
Instrumental 3
||: Eb5 | Bb5 | C5 | G5 | Ab5 | Eb5 | Bb5 | Bb5 :||
Chorus 3
Sometimes I give myself the creeps.
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me.
It all keeps adding up, I think I’m cracking up.
Am I just paranoid? Or am I just stoned?
Outro
||: Eb Ebsus4 Eb | Eb/C Ebsus4/C | Ab5 C5 | Bb5 :|| x4
| Ab5 Eb5 | Bb5 |
Basket Case | Chords + Lyrics (tune down 1/2 step)
Verse 1
||: E5 | B5 | C#5 | G#5 | A5 | E5 | B5 | B5 :||
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.
Chorus 1
| A5 | B5 | E5 | E5 |
Sometimes I give myself the creeps.
| A5 | B5 | E5 | E5 |
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me.
| A5 | B5 | E5 D#5 | C#5 |
It all keeps adding up, I think I’m cracking up.
| A5 | B5 |
Am I just paranoid? Or am I just stoned?
Instrumental 1
||: E5 B5 C#5 | C#5 B5 E5 :||
Verse 2
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.
Chorus 2
Sometimes I give myself the creeps.
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me.
It all keeps adding up, I think I’m cracking up.
Am I just paranoid? Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Instrumental 2
||: E5 B5 C#5 | C#5 B5 E5 :|| x4
| A5 | A5 | B5 | B5 N.C |
Grasping to control, so I better hold on.
Instrumental 3
||: E5 | B5 | C#5 | G#5 | A5 | E5 | B5 | B5 :||
Chorus 3
Sometimes I give myself the creeps.
Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me.
It all keeps adding up, I think I’m cracking up.
Am I just paranoid? Or am I just stoned?
Outro
||: E Esus4 E | E/C Esus4/C | A5 C#5 | B5 :|| x4
| A5 E5 | B5 |
Basket Case Chords: Learn the Simple Yet Effective Power Chord Progressions
Basket Case chords follow a familiar but clever pattern, using the classic I – V – VI movement for the verse, with all chords as 5 chords. The chorus switches to a IV – V – I progression, reinforcing a sense of predictability.
The twist that keeps things interesting comes at the end of the verse, where the progression shifts to III – IV – I – V. In the key of E, this gives us:
| E5 (I) | B5 (V) | C#5 (VI) | G#5 (III) |
| A5 (IV) | E5 (I) | B5 (V) | B5 (V) |
For the chorus, a chromatic chord in the bVIIx leads us to the VI. Here’s how it looks in the key of E:
||: A5 (IV) | B5 (V) | E5 (I) | E5 (I) :||
| A5 (IV) | B5 (V) | E5 (V) D#5 (bVIIx) | C#5 (VI) |
| A5 (IV) | B5 (V) |
This movement blends familiarity with enough variation to keep the progression engaging. Here’s a chord chart.
Basket Case Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
You can download my chord chart as a PDF (key of E) or as an iRealPro file, with using the app, you can change the key.
This may be useful should someone insist on playing in the original key but you don’t have a guitar tuned down to Eb (use my online guitar tuner), or the Digitech drop pedal on your board.
Green Day’s signature song
Released as a single from their third album, Dookie (1994), Basket Case played a key role in propelling Green Day to worldwide fame. Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the song about his struggles with anxiety, stating: “The only way I knew how to deal with it was to write a song about it.”
While Green Day has had many hits since, such as American Idiot, Time of Your Life, and When September Ends, Basket Case will forever remain their signature song.
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