Basket Case Chords | Green Day Guitar Lesson


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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?
| Eb5 | Bb5 | C5 | G5 | Ab5 | Eb5 | Bb5 | Bb5 |
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

| Eb5 | Bb5 | C5 | G5 | Ab5 | Eb5 | Bb5 | Bb5 |
I went to a shrink, to analyze my dreams, she says it’s lack of sex that’s bringing me down.
| Eb5 | Bb5 | C5 | G5 | Ab5 | Eb5 | Bb5 | Bb5 |
I went to a whore, he said my life’s a bore, so quit my whining ’cause it’s bringing her down.

Chorus 2

| 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? 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

| 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?

Outro

||: Eb Ebsus4 Eb | Eb/C Ebsus4/C | Ab5 C5 | Bb5 :|| x4
| Ab5 Eb5 | Bb5 |


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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?
| E5 | B5 | C#5 | G#5 | A5 | E5 | B5 | B5 |
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

| E5 | B5 | C#5 | G#5 | A5 | E5 | B5 | B5 |
I went to a shrink, to analyze my dreams, she says it’s lack of sex that’s bringing me down.
| E5 | B5 | C#5 | G#5 | A5 | E5 | B5 | B5 |
I went to a whore, he said my life’s a bore, so quit my whining ’cause it’s bringing her down.

Chorus 2

| 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? 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

| 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?

Outro

||: E Esus4 E | E/C Esus4/C | A5 C#5 | B5 :|| x4
| A5 E5 | B5 |



Basket Case Chords: Learn the 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.


Basket Case Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro


You can download my chord chart as a PDF (key of E) or as an iRealPro file which you can, using the app, change the key.

  1. Basket Case chord chart PDF
  2. Basket Case chord chart iRealPro

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.



Basket Case is 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.



Basket Case Chords | Related Pages


Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics

When you can play Basket Case's chords, try these five tunes from the song book.

Green Day tunes

Green Day wrote Basket Case.

Green Day’s third album, Dookie (94), took the band to superstardom. With fifteen million copies sold, they became everyone’s favourite punk trio.

After a few more albums, Green Day released American Idiot (04). This firmly established them as one of the best-known bands in the world.


Green Day on the web

Listen to Green Day on Spotify.


About me | Dan Lundholm

Dan Lundholm wrote this guitar lesson about Basket Case chords.

This was a guitar lesson about Basket Case‘ chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.

Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.


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