Released: October 10, 1995

Songwriter: Billie Joe Armstrong

Producer: Tré Cool Mike Dirnt Billie Joe Armstrong Rob Cavallo

[Intro]
Fffff...

[Verse 1]
Stranded, lost inside myself
My own worst friend and my own closest enemy
I'm branded, maladjusted
Never trusted anyone, let alone myself

[Chorus]
I must insist on being a pessimist
I'm a loner in a catastrophic mind

[Verse 2]
Elected, the rejected
I perfect the science of the idiot
No meaning and no healing
Self-loathing freak and introverted deviant

[Chorus]
I must insist on being a pessimist
I'm a loner in a catastrophic mind

[Bridge]
Say whatever, oh-oh, woah-oh
Say whatever, oh-oh, woah-oh
Shoot!

[Verse 3]
Stranded, lost inside myself
My own worst friend and my own closest enemy
Elected, the rejected
I perfect the science of the idiot

[Chorus]
I must insist on being the pessimist
I'm a loner in a catastrophic mind
I'm gettin' pissed, I'm a worthless pessimist
I'm a loner in a claustrophobic mind

Green Day

Formed in East Bay, California in 1986 and still going strong today, Green Day is one of the biggest punk rock acts in the world. Along with other punk bands in California such as The Offspring, Sublime, Bad Religion and Rancid, they have been credited with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S. in the 90s.

First starting in 1986 as Sweet Children, longtime friends Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar and lead vocalist) and Mike Dirnt (bass guitar) teamed up with John Kiffmeyer to produce their debut EP 1,000 Hours. They eventually dropped the name Sweet Children and called themselves Green Day due to the band members' fondness for cannabis (it even inspired a song featured on their first album) and for their second studio album Kerplunk they replaced Kiffmeyer with German-born drummer Tré Cool, who had been drumming since the age of 12 in a punk band, The Lookouts.

It was their 1994 record Dookie that sent the band to stardom and gave them mainstream success. Dookie, alongside their following albums Insomniac (1995) and Nimrod (1997) were certified double platinum. Eventually, the band started to fall in popularity with their 2000 record Warning which only reached gold.