Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

Slayer - Dittohead

Slayer - Dittohead Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Divine Intervention
Released: 1994

Dittohead Lyrics

This fucking country's lost its grip
Subconscious hold begins to slip
The scales of justice tend to tip

The legal system has no spine
It's corroding from inside
Slap your hand you'll do no time

Reality on vacation
All across a blinded nation
Mentality under sedation

Anyone can be set free
On a technicality
Explain the law again to me

Here in 1994
Things are different than before
Violence is what we adore

Invitation to the game
Guns and blades and media fame
Every day more of the same

Murder, mayhem, anarchy
Now are all done legally
Mastermind your killing spree

Unafraid of punishment
With a passive government
There's nothing for you to regret

Nothing to regret

Unimposing policy
No enforcing ministry
Gaping with judicial flaws
Watching a fading nation crawl

Clashing with the public's frame
I'm the one that's place in fame
Legislature sets the stage
Social slaves caught in my rage

Administrative anarchy there's nothing
You can do to me
The world around you drifting to a
Continental tomb you see
Violence is my passion
I will never be contained
Living with aggression and its
Everlasting reign

Writer/s: KING, KERRY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Dittohead

This is about the American justice system in 1994 and how it lets serious criminals escape.

R.E.M. - Let Me In

R.E.M. - Let Me In Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Monster
Released: 1994

Let Me In Lyrics

Let Me In

R.E.M. wrote this about Kurt Cobain after he died in 1994. Cobain was a fan of R.E.M., and when he died, Courtney Love gave them one of Kurt's guitars, which they used on this. It was a left-handed Fender (and one of the few guitars Cobain didn't smash), so Mike Mills had to restring it to play it right-handed.

Kurt Cobain (Rolling Stone, January 27, 1994): "I know we're gonna put out one more record, at least, and I have a pretty good idea what it's going to sound like: pretty ethereal, acoustic, like R.E.M.'s last album (Automatic For The People). If I could write just a couple of songs as good as what they've written... I don't know how that band does what they do. God, they're the greatest. They've dealt with their success like saints, and they keep delivering great music."

Nirvana - I Hate Myself And I Want To Die

Nirvana - I Hate Myself And I Want To Die Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Beavis And Butthead Experience
Released: 1993

I Hate Myself And I Want To Die Lyrics

Runny nose and runny yolk
Even if you have a cold still
You can cough on me again
I still haven't had my fulfill

In the someday what's that sound?

Broken heart and broken bones
Think about some capsules of horse pills
One more quirky cliched phrase
You're the one I wanna refill

In the someday what's that sound?

Most people don't realize
That two large pieces of coral,
Painted brown, and attached to his skull
With common wood screws can make a child look like a deer

Writer/s: KURT COBAIN
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Hate Myself And I Want To Die

"Runny nose and runny yolk. Even if you have a cold still."

Kurt Cobain was addicted to DXM, along with heroin. "Runny nose and runny yolk" is an image of snorting heroin (heroin when in powder form is yellow) and the "Cold Still" part of the lyric would mean that he was snorting heroin to keep himself from feeling the agonizing physical pain of the DXM withdrawal (for an elaboration on DXM, see the "Pennyroyal Tea" Songfacts).

This was released in 1993 on the album The Beavis and Butthead Experience, then released in 1994 on the B-side of the single "Pennyroyal Tea." An alternate version is on Disc 3 of With The Lights Out.

Kurt Cobain's last interview was with Rolling Stone magazine on January 27,1994. When the writer asked him, "One of your songs that you cut from In Utero at the last minute was I hate myself and I want to die. How literally did you mean it?" Cobain responded: "As literal as a joke can be. Nothing more than a joke. And that had a bit to do with why we decided to take it off. We knew people wouldn't get it; they'd take it too seriously. It was totally satirical, making fun of ourselves. I'm thought of as this pissy, complaining, freaked out, schizophrenic who wants to kill himself all the time: 'He isn't satisfied with anything.' And I thought it was a funny title. I wanted it to be the title for the album for along time. but I knew the majority wouldn't get it."

The song was supposed to be the title to Nirvana's 1993 album. They later chose "In Utero" after bassist Krist Novoselic convinced Cobain to switch, as he feared it could potentially result in a lawsuit.

The Oasis hit single "Live Forever" was inspired by this song. The English band's songwriter Noel Gallagher told NME: "Here was a guy who had everything and was miserable about it. We had f--k all, and I still thought getting up in the morning was the greatest f--king ever."

Marilyn Manson - The Family Trip

Marilyn Manson - The Family Trip Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Portrait Of An American Family
Released: 1994

The Family Trip Lyrics

The Family Trip

This was the first track off Manson's first album.

The song consists of Manson reciting the poem Willy Wonka softly sang in the 1971 musical comedy Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory - "There's no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going..." The first part of the poem is found in Ronald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but the end of it (which describes death, Hell, and fear in general) was added for the film. Manson sometimes recites the poem at the beginning of his concerts.

The song's official title is "Prelude (The Family Trip)." It is filled with werewolf-esque growling and a screaming voice in the background. It leads directly into the second track, "Cake and Sodomy," where the growling die down.

Portrait of an American Family was a concept album about the fears of a middle-class white trash Christian family manifesting themselves. "Cake and Sodomy" is about conservative homophobia, "Lunchbox" is about a child deciding to become a rock star when he grows up, "Get Your Gunn" is about teenaged self-abuse, etc. Hence, this was an appropriate way to start it off.

Prior to Portrait Of An American Family's release in 1994, Manson had already sampled most of this spoken-word prelude on a demo from his Spooky Kids era called Choklit Factory. (thanks, Matt - Scone, Australia)

When Manson remixed his song "Cake and Sodomy" for his second album, Smells Like Children, it was called "Everlasting C--ksucker," a reference to the Everlasting Gobstopper, which was a candy in the film Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. The album also included a slow cover of "Cake and Sodomy" by Tony F. Wiggins called "White Trash," which was simply him singing it slowly while strumming his guitar.

Manson was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in a remake of the classic children's film that originally starred Gene Wilder. Johnny Depp got the job; however, Depp has stated that he based his performance on Manson, much like he based his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl on Keith Richards. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

Oasis - Whatever

Oasis - Whatever Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Definitely Forever
Released: 1995

Whatever Lyrics

I'm free to be Whatever I
Whatever I choose
And I'll sing the blues if I want

I'm free to say whatever I
Whatever I like
If it's wrong or right it's alright

Always seems to me
You only see what people want you to see
How long's it gonna be
Before we get on the bus
And cause no fuss
Get a grip on yourself
It don't cost much

Free to be whatever you
Whatever you say
If it comes my way it's alright

You're free to be wherever you
Wherever you please
You can shoot the breeze if you want

It always seems to me
You only see what people want you to see
How long's it gonna be
Before we get on the bus
And cause no fuss
Get a grip on yourself
It don't cost much

I'm free to be whatever I
Whatever I choose
And I'll sing the blues if I want

Here in my mind
You know you might find
Something that you
You thought you once knew
But now it's all gone
And you know it's no fun
Yeah I know it's no fun
Oh I know it's no fun

I'm free to be whatever I
Whatever I choose
And I'll sing the blues if I want

I'm free to be whatever I
Whatever I choose
And I'll sing the blues if I want

Whatever you do
Whatever you say
Yeah I know it's alright

Whatever you do
Whatever you say
Yeah I know it's alright

Writer/s: GALLAGHER, NOEL / INNES, NEIL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Whatever

This was released as a single and was not was available on any album apart from the Australian release of Definitely Maybe, which contained an extra disc included with the song. The single was released around Christmas 1994, and got them their highest chart entry to that date.

The first line: "I'm free to be whatever I, whatever I like if it's wrong or right it's all right," was written by Noel Gallagher about how his dad used to make him work on a building site with him as a teenager. Noel's dad tried to force him to become a builder. (thanks, Nick - southampton, England, for above 2)

In the US, this was released as a bonus track on the album. In France, Definitely Maybe was released with a bonus edition CD featuring this track. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The strings were arranged by Nick Ingham and Noel Gallagher and were played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which featured former ELO violinist Wilf Gibson.

The song has spent a total of 51 weeks on the UK Singles chart to date, more than any Oasis single. This included a re-entry for one week on June 20, 2010 at #64 due to the release of the Oasis singles compilation Time Flies... 1994–2009 - the first time that "Whatever" has been available to purchase digitally.

Part of the song's melody was borrowed from Neil Innes' 1973 song "How Sweet to Be an Idiot." Innes successfully sued Oasis for plagiarism and as a result now receives royalties and a co-writing credit. As a certain Alanis Morissette song goes this was ironic, because Innes is famed for his parodies of The Beatles in The Rutles, and has had to share songwriting credits and royalties with Lennon and McCartney.

The band knew this song was a hit as soon as Noel Gallagher first played it to them. Rhythm Guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs recalled to Q magazine in 2011: "Noel had shown us Whatever very early on and it freaked my head out. It was like, 'Nah you haven't f---ing written that.' It was brilliant."

Green Day - F.O.D.

Green Day - F.O.D. Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Dookie
Released: 1994

F.O.D. Lyrics

Something's on my mind
It's been for quite some time
This time I'm on to you

So where's the other face
The face I heard before
Your head trip's boring me

Let's nuke the bridge we torched two thousand times before
This time we'll blast it all to hell

I've had this burning in my gut now for so long
My belly's aching now to say

Stuck down in a rut
Of dislogic and smut
A side of you well hid

When it's all said and done
It's real and it's been fun
But was it all real fun?

Let's nuke the bridge we torched two thousand times before
This time we'll blast it all to hell

I've had this burning in my guts now for so long
My belly's aching now to say

To say
You're just
A fuck
I can't explain it 'cause I think you suck

I'm taking pride
In telling you to fuck off and die

I've had this burning in my guts now for so long
My belly's aching now to say

I'm taking pleasure in announcing this to you
So listen up 'cause you might miss

You're just
A fuck
I can't explain it 'cause I think you suck

I'm taking pride
In telling you to fuck off and die

Good night

I was alone
I was all by myself
No one was looking
I was thinking of you

Oh yeah did I mention
I was all by myself
All by myself
All by myself
All by myself

I went to your house
But no one was there
I went in your room
I was all by myself

I remember we had
Such wonderful times
When I'm all by myself
All by myself

Writer/s: BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG, FRANK E. III WRIGHT, FRANK EDWIN WRIGHT III, MICHAEL PRITCHARD, MIKE DIRNT, MIKE RYAN PRITCHARD, TRE COOL
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

F.O.D.

Billie Joe Armstrong wrote this about his hatred for someone who back stabbed him. The Letters F.O.D. stand for "F--k Off and Die."

This is the song Green Day were playing when authorities halted their free show at the Hatch Shell in Boston, on September 9, 1994. Many in the crowd of 65,000 had turned unruly (not uncommon during Green Day shows around this time), and security was overwhelmed.

Crush - Jellyhead

Crush - Jellyhead Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Teenage Kicks
Released: 1996

Jellyhead Lyrics

So what if your jeans are torn
They've been torn since Bros were cool
I wanted you for a little while
You got it wrong by a million miles

Big deal what a thrill what a let down
Kissing in your car
When I should have been out
I want the Prodigy really loud
I want it all right now

[Chorus]
Over and over I feel it
Boyfriend you're alone
You must be out of your mind
Jellyhead, you've really blown it

[Chorus]

In the slow lane
Never change the way that I feel
Go home never know never be real
'Cause not one thing you said was true

I'm gonna find somebody new
Make up break up always the same
Get out what about you and me
Say i've been hanging around you too long
When summer comes I'm gone

[Chorus: x2]

I want to be flying in the clear sky
I want to be diving in the blue
I gotta be out in the evening
Jellyhead without you
Without you

[Chorus: x2]

Writer/s: MALE, JONATHAN / SMITH, PETE / DEMATOS, DANNY
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Jellyhead

Crush were a Pop duo comprising Jayni Hoy and Donna Air, who were both actresses in the BBC teenage drama, Byker Grove. Their music career began in December 1994 when the pair teamed up with fellow Byker Grove star Victoria Taylor under the Byker Grooove! band name, to release the one-off single "Love Your Sexy…!!"

The song peaked at #48 in the UK Singles Chart and after Taylor left the music industry, Hoy and Air evolved into the duo Crush. Their debut single, "Jellyhead," was a minor success in the UK (#50) and also was a small hit in the US (#72). This and their follow-up single, "Luv'd Up," which reached #45 in the UK were both included on their debut album, Teenage Kicks.

Later in 1996, Jayni Hoy dropped out and singer and actress Luciana Caporaso was parachuted in as a replacement. Their second self-titled album was released in 1997 by Robbins Entertainment, but there was little interest. and their music career petered out.

Donna Air continued with her acting career, juggling the odd TV part with presenting roles on such shows as The Big Breakfast and TFI Friday and small parts in big films including The Mummy Returns (2001) and The Counsellor (2013). Air also became a fixture in British gossip columns initially when she embarked on a long-term relationship with casino owner and conservationist Damian Aspinall and to a greater extent when it was reported that she was dating James Middleton, brother of the Duchess of Cambridge.

A former child actress, Luciana Caporaso first attempted a musical career at the age of 14, releasing three singles in 1994 which all reached the lower regions of the UK Top 75. After joining Crush, she watched the Spice Girls take the girl band concept to heights nobody had ever dreamed of, whilst her group sunk into oblivion. Luciana spent the remainder of the 1990s and first half of the 2000s performing with several other artists without attracting much attention. However, in 2006. she started a run of successful collaborations, which were:

2006 - Hooked up with Production Duo Bodyrox singing on their single "Yeah Yeah," which was a big European hit (#2 in the UK)

2007 - Featured on another hit dance tune, Super Mal's "Bigger Than Big" (#19 in the UK).

2008 - The guest vocalist on Taio Cruz's #5 UK hit, "Come On Girl."

2009 - Sang on Richard Vission and Static Revenger's, "I Like That," which peaked at #3 on the Australian Singles Chart and was certified double platinum Down Under.

2010 - Luciana and her songwriting partner, Nick Clow had a song, "Cupid Boy," recorded by Kylie Minogue for her Aphrodite album.

2011 - Having moved to the US, Luciana hooked up with producer Dave Audé and recorded a song "I'm Still Hot," which peaked at #1 on Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. It marked her first ever song to chart in the US as solo performer. The song also reached #42 on the Australian singles chart.

Lauren Christy - The Color Of The Night

Lauren Christy - The Color Of The Night Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The Color Of The Night soundtrack
Released: 1994

The Color Of The Night Lyrics

You and I moving in the dark
Bodies close but souls apart
Shadowed smiles and secrets unrevealed
I need to know the way you feel

[Chorus]
I'll give you everything I am
And everything I want to be
I'll put it in your hands
If you could open up to me oh
Can't we ever get beyond this wall

'Cause all I want is just once
To see you in the light
But you hide behind
The Color Of The Night

I can't go on running from the past
Lave has torn away this mask
And now like clouds like rain I'm drowning and
I blame it all on you
I'm lost - God save me

'Cause all I want is just once
To see you in the light
But you hide behind
The color of the night

'Cause all I want is just once
Forever and again
I'm waiting for you, I'm standing in the light
But you hide behind
The color of the night

Please come out from
The color of the night

Writer/s: CHRISTY, LAUREN / FRONTIERE, DOMINIC / FRIEDMAN, JUD J.
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

The Color Of The Night

The sultry British singer Lauren Christy scored a minor hit with this song, which was the theme to the 1994 Bruce Willis movie Color of Night, which is about a psychiatrist who stumbles into the murders of some clients in a therapy group he oversees. The film was a huge flop, but the passionate song, about a woman reaching out to a distant lover who seems to be hiding some kind of trauma, got decent airplay.

Lauren Christy wrote this song with Jud Friedman and Dominic Frontiere. Christy would make her mark as a songwriter as part of the writing team The Matrix, whose co-writes include "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne and "Extraordinary" by Liz Phair.

Bush - Everything Zen

Bush - Everything Zen Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Sixteen Stone
Released: 1994

Everything Zen Lyrics

There must be something we can eat
Maybe find another lover
Should I fly to Los Angeles
Find my asshole brother
Minnie mouse has grown up a cow
Dave's on sale again
We kissy kiss in the rear view
We're so bored
You're to blame
Try to see it once my way
Everything Zen
Everything zen
I don't think so
Rain dogs howl for the century
A million dollars a steak
As you search for your demi-god
And you fake with a saint
There's no sex in your violence
There's no sex in your violence
Try to see it once my way
Everything zen
Everything zen
I don't think so
I don't believe that Elvis is dead
I don't believe that Elvis is dead
I don't believe that Elvis is, Elvis is
There's no sex in your violence

Writer/s: GAVIN ROSSDALE
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Everything Zen Song Chart

This was the first single from Bush. The lyrics are about youth culture.

Lead singer Gavin Rossdale made reference to two of his favorite people in one of the lyrics: Tom Waits and Allan Ginsburg. The line "Rain Dogs howl for the century" refers to the Waits album Rain Dogs (also a "song), and the Ginsburg poem Howl.

The line "Minnie Mouse has grown up a cow, Dave's on sale again" refers to David Bowie, whose song "Life On Mars" contains the line: "Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow, Lennon's on sale again."

In an interview with Guitar World, guitarist Nigel Pulsford said that the solo in the song was "Probably recorded after a few drinks." (thanks, Corey - Boston, MA)

This was the first song Bush made a video for. It was directed by Matt Mahurin, who had done videos for U2, Peter Gabriel, and Alice in Chains.

This song helped bring the word "asshole" into the mainstream. The first verse contains the line "Should I fly Los Angeles, find my asshole brother," which most radio stations left as is. This type of profanity would have been removed just a few years earlier, but standards of acceptable profanity were being lowered. The TV show NYPD Blue was using it on primetime US TV, something that had never been done before.

KROQ, an influential radio station in Los Angeles, started playing this in 1994. Their airplay helped break the song in the US.

Bush included two versions of this song on their 1997 album Deconstructed: The Lhasa Fever Mix and the Derek DeLarge Mix. In the DeLarge Mix, you can hear Gavin Rossdale's ex-girlfriend Jasmine Lewis (subject of "Glycerine"), singing "no sex in your violence."

In 1996, No Doubt was Bush's opening act for about three months on an American tour. During this tour, Rossdale took up with No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani, leading Rossdale's bandmates to refer to this song as "Everything Gwen." Stefani and Rossdale later married.

Tim McGraw - Give It To Me Strait

Tim McGraw - Give It To Me Strait Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Not a Moment Too Soon
Released: 1994

Give It To Me Strait Lyrics

Bartender I may sit here on this bar stool all night long
But I won't need much attention
I just need some time alone
So if you'll give me some quarters and a bottle of your best
You can just sit back and let the jukebox do the rest

Give It To Me Strait
Sing "Am I Blue" while I sit here and cry
And tell me how my baby's gotten so good at goodbye
It's gonna take a fireman to put this old flame out
So come on give it to me Strait
Before I come unwound

Let's start off nice and easy
Something like "If I Know Me"
And we'll work our way up slowly to "Fool Hearted Memory"
Yeah I've got all night long to sit right here and fall apart
So don't leave out one single song
I know 'em all by broken heart

Give it to me Strait
Sing "Am I Blue"
While I sit here and cry
And tell me how my baby's gotten so good at goodbye
It's gonna take a fireman to put this old flame out
So come on give it to me Strait
Before I come unwound

There ain't one country singer
That ain't good for a bad heartache
And for me there's nothing smoother
Than a good stiff shot of Strait

It's gonna take a fireman to put this old flame out
So come on give it to me Strait
Before I come unwound
So come on give it to me Strait
Before I come unwound

Writer/s: STEVE GRAUBERGER, REESE WILSON
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Give It To Me Strait

From the title of the song to the lyrics (which contain references to specific songs), this is very obviously a tribute to fellow country singer George Strait. Songs referenced include "Am I Blue," "Baby's Gotten Good at Goodbye," "The Fireman," "If I Know Me," "Fool Hearted Memory" and "Unwound." (thanks, Beau - Phoenix, AZ)

Not a Moment Too Soon was #1 on the Billboard Country chart for 26 weeks and was the best-selling Country album in 1994.

Korn - Daddy

Korn - Daddy Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Korn
Released: 1994

Daddy Lyrics

Mother please forgive me
I just had to get out all my pain and suffering
Now that I am done, remember I will always love you
I'm your son

Little child, looking so pretty
Come out and play, I'll be your Daddy
Innocent child, looking so sweet
A rape in my eyes and on your flesh I'll eat

You've raped!
I feel dirty
It hurt!
As a child
Tied down!
That's a good boy
And fucked!
Your own child
I scream!
No one hears me
It hurt!
I'm not a liar
My God!
Saw you watching
Mommy why?!
Your own child

It's alright

I didn't touch you there
Mama said she didn't care
I didn't touch you there
That's why mama stopped and stared

I fucking hate you! Motherfucker!
Motherfucker! I fucking hate you! Fuck you!
You son of a bitch, you fucking ruined my life!
I wanted to die!
I'm sick of it, mother fucker, oh oh
Why'd you fuck'n do it to me?
I hate you!
I fuck'n hate you!
I hate you!
Why?!
I hate you!

Writer/s: Davis, Aldrin / Lilly Jr, Harold Spencer
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Daddy

Lead singer Jonathan Davis wrote this about a neighbor who used to abuse him. He had this to say about the song: "People think 'Daddy' was written because my dad f--ked me up the ass, but that's not what the song is about. It wasn't about my dad or mom. When I was a kid I was being abused by someone else and I went to my parents and told them about it. They thought I was lying and joking around, so they never did any s--t about it. They don't believe it was happening to their son. I don't like to talk about it." (Thanks, Ana - Wilkes Barre, PA)

When Korn performed their 1994 self-titled debut album from start to finish at Las Vegas's Brooklyn Bowl on March 13, 2015, it included a rare performance of this song. Having played this once, Davis had said it was too emotional for him to perform live again.

Speaking to Rolling Stone in advance of the 2015 performance, Davis called the song "just so old news to me." He added: "It's not going to affect me like it did back then. There was abuse there, I dealt with it, and the person who abused me is dead now. Karma took them [laughs]. And, y'know, I've buried that. I'm just going to play the song for the people that need it, you know what I mean?"

The Outhere Brothers - Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)

The Outhere Brothers - Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle) Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: 1 Polish, 2 Biscuits & A Fish Sandwich
Released: 1994

Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle) Lyrics

Don't Stop (Wiggle Wiggle)

First released in 1994 as a single in Europe, this song imported the American Miami Bass sound that was popularized by groups like 2 Live Crew and Quad City DJs. And like the oeuvre of the 2 Live Crew, the song was shockingly explicit and caused a similar outrage that of course made it wildly popular far beyond its artistic merits.

This original version ran 4:45, but was cut down to 3:19 for radio play once the controversy started. With the explicit lyrics removed, the song was reduced to its groove and chorus, but fueled by media coverage, this was enough to send it to #1 on the UK charts in March 1995.

The subject of this song's profane content was actually raised in Parliament, when on June 15, 1995, the MP for Worcester Peter Luff asked:

Will my right hon. Friend find time for an early debate on the availability of pornographic material to children? I hope that he has had the opportunity to study the correspondence that I delivered to his office yesterday. It is correspondence that I have had with my constituent, Mr. Wilde, about the purchase by his 11-year-old daughter of a grossly obscene record which rejoices in the innocent name "(Don't Stop) Wiggle Wiggle" by the Outhere Brothers. Such filth suggests that the record industry is not policing its output effectively, and that there could be a need for further action by the Government.

Tony Newton MP replied for the Government: "I have indeed read the correspondence that my hon. Friend kindly gave me, and I fully understand his concern. He has written to my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister of State, Home Office, and I am sure that she will reply to him."

The press also reported that this song - and several others by the band - had come under fire from another MP, and that the Crown Prosecution Service was considering a prosecution under the Obscene Publications Act. (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England)

The Outhere Brothers were fronted by two Chicago musicians: the rapper Keith Mayberry (also known as "Malik" or "Silk E") and producer Lamar "Hula" Mahone. The pair got some help from an Italian production team known as Aladino, and also from Craig Simpkins, an American producer who goes by "Azza K. Fingers." They collectively shared songwriter credits on this and other Outhere Brothers tracks, but Mayberry and Mahone were the only members who appeared in publicity materials and videos.

Just as there were dirty and clean releases of this song, there were different official videos made as well. The first video (the dirty one) showed the groups frontmen cavorting with various vixens in boot camp and wrestling scenarios. The second (clean) video was made up of old footage of dancers and cartoons.

Pulp - Babies

Pulp - Babies Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: His 'n' Hers
Released: 1994

Babies Lyrics

Well it happened years ago,
When you lived on Stanhope Road.
We listened to your sister,
When she came home from school,
'cause she was two years older,
And she had boys in her room.
We listened outside and heard her.

Alright.
Well that was alright for a while,
But soon I wanted more.
I want to see as well as hear,
And so I hid inside her wardrobe.
And she came round four,
And she was with some kid called David,
From the garage up the road.
I listened outside I heard her.
Alright.

Oh I want to take you home.
I want to give you children.
You might be my girlfriend, yeah.

When I saw you next day,
I really couldn't tell,
'cause you might go and tell your mother.
And so you went with Neve,
And Neve was coming on,
And I thought I heard you laughing,
When his Mum and Dad were gone.
I listened outside, I heard you.
Alright.

Oh I want to take you home.
I want to give you children.
You might be my girlfriend, yeah.

Well I guess it couldn't last too long.
I came home one day,
And all her things were gone,
I fell asleep inside.
I never heard her come.
And then she opened up her wardrobe,
And I had to get it on.

Oh, listen
We were on the bed when you came home,
I heard you stop outside the door.
I know you won't believe it's true,
I only went with her 'cause she looks like you.
Oh I want to take you home.
I want to give you children.
You might be my girlfriend, yeah.

Writer/s: BANKS, NICK / COCKER, JARVIS BRANSON / DOYLE, CANDIDA / MACKEY, STEPHEN PATRICK / SENIOR, RUSSELL
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Babies Song Chart

The 'Stanhope Road' mentioned in the lyrics are likely referencing a real-life Stanhope Road in the Intake district of Sheffield, where Jarvis Cocker was born and raised.

In 2009 on the Sky Arts show Jarvis Cocker: Songbook, Cocker discussed the song's genesis with Will Hodgkinson, noting that it came from drummer Nick Banks messing up some chords on the guitar, and Cocker overhearing this and running with the sounds these gaffed chords had generated to create the song.

Like a few other singles in the early 1990s for the band, "Babies" was released in several versions - originally as a 12" single for Gift Records in 1992, before a remixed version was put out on the Sisters EP in 1994 and made it onto their breakthrough album His 'N' Hers in the same year.

This tale of voyeurism, with Cocker singing about spying on two sisters, spawned a sequel in the Pulp song "Your Sister's Clothes," which takes place four years later.

The Rolling Stones - Love Is Strong

The Rolling Stones - Love Is Strong Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Voodoo Lounge
Released: 1994

Love Is Strong Lyrics

Love Is Strong Song Chart

This was the first Stones single bass player Bill Wyman did not play on. Darryl Jones, who had played with Miles Davis and Sting, took over on bass when Wyman quit.

The video was directed by David Fincher, whose films include Se7en and The Social Network. The clip contains stunning visual effects, which were done at the Digital Domain studio and supervised by Fred Raimondi. Done in black-and-white, we see the band as giants stomping through New York City like Godzilla going through Tokyo - an image that was used in much of the promotional material for the Voodoo Lounge tour.

In later years, the size-disparity effect would become commonplace, but it was no easy feat in 1994, when such attempts usually ended up looking like the Beastie Boys clip for "Intergalactic." Using advanced compositing techniques, Fincher and Raimondi were able to place the human figures in the setting with an uncanny realism, using camera moves to keep it interesting. The video won the MTV award for Best Special Effects.

R&B producer Teddy Riley cut 4 mixes of this for a CD sampler.

This was the first single from Voodoo Lounge. The album won the first ever Grammy for Best Rock Album. It was the first album The Stones recorded without Bill Wyman, a founding member of the band. It was also the Stones' first release on Virgin Records. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Grace
Released: 1994

Hallelujah Lyrics

Well I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

But baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
You know, I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do ya
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya

And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Hallelujah

Writer/s: COHEN, LEONARD
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Hallelujah

Arguably Buckley's most famous work, this was originally written and recorded by Leonard Cohen in 1984 on his album Various Positions. Cohen's rendition was released as a single in Spain and the Netherlands, but got little attention in the United States.

Jeff Buckley heard the song in the early '90s and began performing it at his shows in and around New York City. He included it on his 1994 debut album Grace, but the song didn't gain widespread attention until after Buckley's death in 1997, which sparked renewed interest in his work. Many artists took note of "Hallelujah" and recorded their own versions of the song. Many of these covers found their way into movies and TV shows, popularizing the song across a wide audience.

The song is about love which has soured and gone stale. Cohen used a lot of religious imagery, including references to some of the more notorious women in the bible. Here's some lyric analysis:

"You saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you" - Bathsheba, who tempted the king to kill her husband so he could have her.

"She tied you to her kitchen chair, she broke your throne and she cut your hair" - Delilah, who cut off Sampson's locks that held his superhuman strength.

"But remember when I moved in you and the holy dove was moving too" - This could be a reference to the divine conception and Mary.

The lines referring to the immaculate conception can also be interpreted as having a sexual connotation: "And every breath we drew was hallelujah."

Leonard Cohen explained: "Hallelujah is a Hebrew word which means 'Glory to the Lord.' The song explains that many kinds of Hallelujahs do exist. I say: All the perfect and broken Hallelujahs have an equal value. It's a desire to affirm my faith in life, not in some formal religious way but with enthusiasm, with emotion." (thanks, Roderick - Qingdao, China)

Regarding the line, "The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift," to which the chords played are: F - G - Am - F:

It is clever the way that not only the chords line up in the lyrics and in the music, but also because the connotations themselves of "major" and "minor" add to the meaning of the song. The "fourth" is a major chord based on the fourth of the key Buckley is playing in. Likewise the fifth is the major chord based on the fifth tone of the key. The "Minor Fall" corresponds to Buckley playing a minor chord based on the sixth of the key. "Major Lift" corresponds to playing the major chord on the fourth again. (thanks, Gol - Gainesville, FL)

The Bible makes reference to King David communing with the Lord and learning that certain types of music were more pleasing. The chords mentioned in the lyrics (that "David played and it pleased the lord) are often used in hymns. (thanks, Mike - Perth, Australia)

Leonard Cohen recalls singing this song to Bob Dylan the morning after Dylan's concert in Paris on July 1, 1984. Cohen says they sat down at a café and traded lyrics, and that Dylan especially liked the last verse of the song (Cohen often tells the story of comparing songwriting technique with Dylan at this meetup: while "Hallelujah" took him years to write, Dylan told Cohen that he wrote "I and I" in 15 minutes).

Dylan would later perform the song, singing it at two shows in 1988.

The melody has become a favorite in churches across America, where instrumental versions are often played by organists and bell choirs. Musically, it fits right in with traditional hymns, but the lyrics, although filled with religious imagery (especially the title), are rarely appropriate in this setting, since it is definitely not a worship song.

You will sometimes hear versions of the song with the lyrics altered for church performance. One such rendition was recorded by The Osmonds in 2015. It begins:

I heard about this baby boy
Who comes to Earth to bring us joy
And I just want to sing my song to ya

Larry Holder, the composer of "More Than a Child" and other worship songs, gave us his thoughts on the subject. Said Holder: "While there is Biblical imagery, it is not a worship song, in the common understanding. The music by itself is very moving, so I can understand someone wanting to use it instrumentally, although to me, it would tend bring to mind the lyrics (in my case, I'd start thinking about Shrek) which would actually be a distraction from worship.

It is interesting how someone came up with alternate lyrics for what the Osmonds sang, and that would definitely fit within a musical program at church at Christmas time in particular. (I have to presume permissions were obtained for such a derivative work to be written for such public use). I have heard that many of the hymns that Martin Luther penned actually used common melodies heard in the pubs of his day, so setting worship lyrics to secular melodies already well known has some logic to it.

There has been a lot of change in worship style, just in the past decade or so. I am a bass player in a praise band, in a church that not so many years ago was pretty much just choir, piano, organ (we actually have two services now, one traditional, one contemporary, which is not uncommon). It is easy to see how something contemporary but not purely originally worship music can become adapted and adopted into a contemporary worship setting. We sometimes walk a fine line between leading true worship and merely providing entertainment."

John Cale, who founded The Velvet Underground, recorded this song for the 1991 Leonard Cohen tribute album I'm Your Fan, and also included it on his 1992 solo album Fragments Of A Rainy Season. Jeff Buckley started covering the song after hearing Cale's version.

Cale shaped his own interpretation after Cohen faxed him 15 pages of lyrics for the song, claiming that he "went through and just picked out the cheeky verses." Cale's version also appears in the 1996 movie Basquiat and on its soundtrack.

Buckley always closed his live shows with this song. Remarkably, his revved-up crowds became extremely silent. (thanks, Kristy - La Porte City, IA)

Cohen started work on this song five years prior to recording it on his 1984 Various Positions album, by which time he had 80 verses to choose from - he picked the best four.

Rufus Wainwright recorded this for the 2001 movie Shrek. Wainwright did not sing on the version used in the film (John Cale did), but his version is on the soundtrack. Wainwright recorded for Dreamworks, which also distributed the movie, and he had an album coming out a few weeks after Shrek was released.

When the song appeared in Shrek, it was introduced to a very young audience, greatly expanding its appeal. (thanks, Andy - Indiana, PA)

Rufus Wainwright is the gay father of Leonard Cohen's granddaughter. Don't worry, we'll explain. Rufus is the son of the famous recording artist Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle. Loudon is a bit younger than Leonard but the two are spiritual twins in the unique folk-poetry they're both known for. Kate McGarrigle, originally from Quebec, has herself crafted brilliant work both before and after meeting and marrying Loudon. Kate gave birth to Rufus in 1973 and died from cancer in 2010. Still, before and after Kate's death the Wainwright family was and is very close with Leonard Cohen and his daughter, Lorca. The Cohens and Wainwrights are both nothing short of Canadian folk music royalty (Loudon is from the States but his marriage to Kate made him an honorary Canuck).

In 2011, Rufus had a child with Leonard's daughter and the little girl, Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen, is being raised by the trio of Lorca, Rufus, and Rufus' lover John Weisbrodt. You can call it an unconventional setup, but one thing is certain: Viva most definitely has a long history of Canadian folk talent coursing through her veins.

A stark, a cappella version of this song by Imogen Heap plays during the season finale of the show The O.C. in 2006, accompanying a scene where the character Marissa dies.

Other notable uses of this song on TV shows:

Without A Trace on the first season finale episode.

The Fox series House, where It was used on the second season premiere episode "Acceptance."

The final episode of the third season of The West Wing. The president and staff were attending an opera when CJ Craig's (Press Secretary) secret service guard (and new love interest) was gunned down trying to stop a robbery.

This plays at the end of the movie The Edukators (Die fetten jahre sind vorbei), which got the Award Of The Public in Cannes, 2004. The main characters by then lost some faith in humanity, start an open relationship and continue to fulfill their revolutionary dreams. (thanks, Chris - Wageningen, Netherlands)

This appears in the final minutes of the 2005 Nicolas Cage movie Lord Of War. (thanks, Sandy Currin - lillington, NC)

In March 2008, Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice performed this song during Leonard Cohen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Afterwards he told Billboard magazine what made this track so special for him. Rice said: "There's an amazing connection between sex and spirituality, and it's something Leonard Cohen hints at in that song. It's almost like a Buddhist master giving you a hint, but not the whole story. You have to take that hint and go sit with it."

On March 4, 2008, American Idol competitor Jason Castro performed this song to rave reviews by the judges. Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell both said that they considered the Jeff Buckley version the best. As a result, Buckley's "Hallelujah" hit #1 on Billboard's Digital Downloads chart the next week. In the UK the renewed interest in this song created by Jason Castro resulted in the song returning to the UK singles chart at #74. It also reached the Top 20 of the World Singles chart. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The Cranberries - Zombie

The Cranberries - Zombie Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: No Need To Argue
Released: 1994

Zombie Lyrics

Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And if violence causes the silence
Who are we mistaking
But you see it's not me
It's not my family
In your head in your head
They are fighting

With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head in your head they are crying

[Chorus]
In your head
In your head
Zombie zombie zombie ei ei
What's in your head
In your head.
Zombie, zombie, zombie ei, ei, ei, oh do,do,do,do,do,do,do,do

Another mother's breaking heart is taking over the violence causes silence
We must be mistaken
It's the same old thing since 1916
In your head in your head
Their still fighting
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head in your head they are dying

[Chorus]

Writer/s: O'RIORDAN, DOLORES MARY
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Zombie

This was inspired by the IRA bombing in Warrington, Cheshire in 1993. Two children, Jonathan Ball and Tim Parry, were killed. The IRA (The Irish Republican Army) is a militant group determined to remove British troops from Northern Ireland.

Lead singer Dolores O'Riordan claimed that "Zombie" speaks about "The Irish fight for independence that seems to last forever." The lyrics even say, "It's the same old theme since 1916." Like the responsive works of Yeats, Heaney and U2, the Cranberries claim they wrote "Zombie" to be a "Song for peace, peace among England and Ireland." (thanks, Andrew - Seattle, WA, for above 2)

On August 31, 1994, just a few weeks after this song was released, the IRA declared a ceasefire after 25 years of conflict, leading some critics of The Cranberries to wonder if the IRA was willing to call a truce to make sure the group didn't release any more songs about them.

The Cranberries performed this on Saturday Night Live on February 25, 1995. (thanks, John - Colorado Springs, CO)

The Rolling Stones - Moon Is Up

The Rolling Stones - Moon Is Up Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Voodoo Lounge
Released: 1994

Moon Is Up Lyrics

Moon Is Up Song Chart

On this song, Charlie Watts played drums using a trash can. Keith Richards explained: "That song had been around since Ireland, and everybody was fascinated with it. The song was suddenly there, you know, and what are we going to do with it? To me, it was all tied in with Charlie. If Charlie Watts is willing to experiment in the studio, then I'm the happiest man in the world. It so happened that as we were trying this track out in different configurations, I put an acoustic guitar through a Leslie cabinet, Ronnie was playing pedal steel through some tiny little amplifier, and Mick was singing through the harp mike. The drums were the only thing that sounded unreal, because they were real. So we fished around for a bit, and I said, 'Well, what about playing on a suitcase outside?' And before I know it, Charlie Watts is out there in the stairwell with a garbage can and brushes, and that's the sound. After that, it was very hard to keep him out of the stairwell." The Rolling Stones drummer added: "It's a 4-flight stairwell, and I started off at the top, which is 'Moon Is Up,' and I ended up at the bottom playing 'You Got Me Rocking and Thru and Thru...'"

Keith Richards, 1994: "Charlie Watts (was) moving his drums, which is unheard of... He would work (in) the staircase, you know. And that's something that Charlie hasn't done, I think, since Beggars Banquet or maybe Exile. It's been that long since I've had that much input from Charlie. That was amazing. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that he's been doing his own thing with Bernard Fowler, you know. He's taken that jazz band around... So he came back with a whole new perspective on what it's like when the buck stops here."

This features Benmont Tench on accordion air whoosh. Tench is best known for his work as one of Tom Petty's group the Heartbreakers, playing on all their albums since 1976. He has also frequently been recruited by other artists, however, especially those hailing from the LA scene. In the 1980s and 90s, he worked with John Hiatt, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Randy Newman, Jackson Browne and ex-Eagles Glenn Frey and Don Henley. He has also done work with luminaries such as Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Rosanne Cash , U2 and Alanis Morissette.

According to Ron Wood, the title of the album comes from the granny flat that he built for his mother. Says Wood: "Immediately Keith moved in. He did this hand-drawn sign, Doc's Office and Voodoo Lounge, and stuck it in the window." Keith Richards explains: "I'm the doc. It's like a ritual, a fetish... We agonized over (the title). And it was staring us in the face. Finally, it was Mick who said, What about Voodoo Lounge? Why not? Kind of like Beggars Banquet. Right number of syllables. I was really pissed with myself, though, after painting the sign and all. I'm usually the one with the cheap ideas, not Mick. His are usually real expensive." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 4)

Black Sabbath - N.I.B.

Black Sabbath - N.I.B. Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Black Sabbath
Released: 1970

N.I.B. Lyrics

Oh yeah!

Some people say my love cannot be true
Please believe me, my love, and I'll show you
I will give you those things you thought unreal
The sun, the moon, the stars all bear my seal

Oh yeah!

Follow me now and you will not regret
Leaving the life you led before we met
You are the first to have this love of mine
Forever with me 'till the end of time

Your love for me has just got to be real
Before you know the way I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel

Oh yeah!

Now I have you with me, under my power
Our love grows stronger now with every hour
Look into my eyes, you'll see who I am
My name is Lucifer, please take my hand

Oh yeah!

Follow me now and you will not regret
Leaving the life you led before we met
You are the first to have this love of mine
Forever with me 'till the end of time

Your love for me has just got to be real
Before you know the way I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel

Oh yeah!

Now I have you with me, under my power
Our love grows stronger now with every hour
Look into my eyes, you'll see who I am
My name is Lucifer, please take my hand

Writer/s: F. IOMMI, W. WARD, T. BUTLER, J. OSBOURNE
Publisher: T.R.O. INC.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

N.I.B. Song Chart

In this song, Satan falls in love with a human woman and tries to seduce her. He turns out to be very charming and the early lyrics are quite poetic. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)

The title refers to drummer Bill Ward's beard. The band called him "Nibby" because they thought it looked like the nib on the end of a pen (Ozzy came up with the nickname when he on acid and thought Geezer Butler was turning into a fountain pen). Says Butler: Originally it was Nib, which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to Nativity In Black. (thanks, Greg - Triad, NC)

Many fans thought the title stood for "Nativity In Black" or "Name In Blood."

The bass intro is called "Bassically." It is listed as a separate song on US versions of the album.

"Nativity In Black" is the name of two Black Sabbath tribute albums released in 1994 and 2000. Groups contributing to the albums include Megadeth, Godsmack, Biohazzard, and Faith No More.

The first Nativity In Black album, released in 1994, contains a cover of this by Ugly Kid Joe. The second, from 2000, contains a version from Primus with Ozzy Osbourne.

In November of 1969, Black Sabbath appeared on John Peel's Top Gear radio show, where they played this song along with "Black Sabbath," "Behind the Wall of Sleep," and "Sleeping Village." It was some great early exposure for the band.

Green Day - Basket Case

Green Day - Basket Case Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Dookie
Released: 1994

Basket Case Lyrics

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 cracking 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 cracking up
Am I just paranoid?
A ya-ya-ya

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 cracking up
Am I just paranoid?
Or am I just stoned?

Writer/s: ARMSTRONG, BILLIE JOE / COOL, TRE / DIRNT, MIKE
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Basket Case

This song is about anxiety attacks and a feeling that you are going crazy. Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong suffered from various panic disorders while he was growing up - he would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with a panic attack and walk around his neighborhood to settle down. "Basket Case" was a cathartic song and personal song for him. "The only way I knew how to deal with it was to write a song about it," he explained.

This song stereotypes the whole condition of paranoia and compares it to being stoned.

By the time this came out, Green Day had already released two albums on an independent label. They had a small but ardent following that led to a bidding war for the band, which was won by Reprise Records. "Basket Case" was the third single from the album, following "Longview" and "Welcome To Paradise," and it was their breakout hit, getting airplay on Rock, Top 40, and Alternative radio stations.

The singles from Dookie were not available for sale (an effort to spur sales of the album), but were released to radio, making them ineligible for the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Basket Case" peaked at #26 on the Airplay chart of October 8, 1994, which was around the time of peak frenzy during Green Day concerts. The song also got a nice push from MTV, which put the Mark Kohr directed video in hot rotation.

In their early years, the band was constantly on tour and eating some real bad food. This food didn't always digest well, and the album title is what they called the result when it didn't.

A basket case is slang for an emotionally unstable, dysfunctional or completely useless person. Originally, the word referred to an amputee, especially a soldier, who had lost all four limbs; it was coined during World War I. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

Blasting right into the verse at the beginning of this song is something that set it apart. Simplicity was a hallmark of the Dookie album, and while omitting an intro made little marketing sense (DJs couldn't talk up the song), it got right into the meat of the track. Tre Cool of Green Day cites the first Beatles album, Please Please Me, as an influence on Dookie, since those early Beatles songs also got right to the point.

When Billie Joe Armstrong spoke with Rolling Stone in 2014, he explained that this song will always be a part of the band's setlist, but that its meaning has changed for him. "It's about other people now," he said. "When I look at people as we play that song, they're having their own moment. At that point, I'm the audience."

The band played a raucous version of this song when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Green Day - She

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Green Day - She Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Dookie
Released: 1994

She Lyrics

She

This song is about a girl who doesn't know what to do with her life. Everyone is trying to tell her what to do, but she wants to take her own path.

It was inspired by Adrienne Nesser, who Billie Joe Armstrong was dating. They met at a Green Day show in 1990 and carried on a long-distance relationship until 1994, when they got married shortly after the band released their Dookie album and rose to fame. The couple stayed together and had two children.

The Dookie album cover contains images of many Green Day inspirations and characters from their life. Says Armstrong: "There's one guy with his camera up in the air taking a picture with a beard. He's this guy Murray that's been around the scene for a long time. He took pictures of bands every weekend at Gilman's. The robed character that looks like Ozzy Osbourne is the woman on the cover of the first Ozzy album. Angus Young is in there somewhere too. The graffiti reading 'Twisted Dog Sisters' refers to these 2 girls from Berkeley. They're punk rock girls that have been around for years."

This is one of Billie Joe Armstrong's favorite songs, and one he makes sure is included in every Green Day show. "I will play 'She' for the rest of my life," he told Rolling Stone in 2014. "It has aged well with me."