What do the lyrics for Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" mean?

Question

Mm-hmm, hmm
And when you're out there, without care
Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much
Hmm
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Does that make me crazy?
Possibly

Here Gnarls Barkely the band says when I was out there without any care I was out of touch. Then he retorts himself. He rebukes himself. He mocks himself. He smirks at himself. By saying "But it wasn't because I didn't know enough, I just knew too much. Does that make me crazy? Does that make me crazy? Does that make me crazy? Possibly."

Why is he saying that? Is he saying that out of anger and hating himself because he knew every dirty little secret of this corrupted and polluted world, the acrid smell of these rat's alleyways, the stench of necropolis that flew in through the window, and how all these caused him to be an insane person? Just because he knew what goes behind the backdrop. Why is that outcry of being crazy by Gnarls Barkley? Is there a continuous loop of broken record suffering and unending agony that he feels around him for being crazy?

Answer 1

In context, I think the lyrics are much more positive than you're painting them. They were penned by the proudly eccentric Cee-Lo Green, and I read them primarily as a defense of his lifelong commitment to living as he sees fit, regardless of whether that puts him out of step with others, or with society as a whole.

The start of the song describes losing his mind as "so pleasant." Being crazy is a negative insult to society at large, but Cee-Lo embraces it. He doesn't mind being called crazy because

My heroes had the heart
to lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember, is thinking
I wanna be like them

In other words, his heroes and role-models were considered crazy as well.

Another theme of the song is the person he's talking to, who lives a much more conventional life, and tries to stay in control at all times. From Cee-Lo's point of view that's "crazy." So, the overall theme of the song is that we're all crazy, when seen through each other's eyes.

(Compare the similar themes of PM Dawn's "Reality")