The song that launched Venice, California punk legends Suicidal Tendencies onto the national scene, “Institutionalized” was the lead single of their self-titled debut.
The song talks about the everyday problems teenagers face and how friends and family can often believe they are going insane or have become substance abusers. Muir recalled seeing ads on TV at the time for camps that kids could be shipped off to if parents were concerned about their child’s behavior.
The original recording of “Institutionalized” was very popular locally in southern California. KROQ FM named it their #23 song of 1983.
https://genius.com/Suicidal-tendencies-institutionalized-lyrics