nirvana_slash_archive | Entries tagged with media:audio

Smells Like Teen Spirit
by Kurt Cobain

Load up on guns
Bring your friends
It's fun to lose and to pretend
She's over-bored and self-assured
Oh no, I know, a dirty word

Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello

With the lights out
It's less dangerous
Here we are now
Entertain us
I feel stupid
And contagious
Here we are now
Entertain us

A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido

Yeah!

Hey
Yay

I'm worse at what I do best
And for this gift I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end

Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello

With the lights out
It's less dangerous
Here we are now
Entertain us
I feel stupid
And contagious
Here we are now
Entertain us

A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido

Yeah!

Hey
Yay

And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it's hard to find
Oh well, whatever, nevermind

Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello
How low?
Hello, hello, hello

With the lights out
It's less dangerous
Here we are now
Entertain us
I feel stupid
And contagious
Here we are now
Entertain us

A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido

A denial
A denial
A denial
A denial
A denial
A denial
A denial
A denial
A denial

Archivist's note: Has anyone else noticed what Kurt hid in here with his clever play on words? I think it's hilarious that this song got so popular, and I bet Kurt did, too.

"And I forget just why I taste. Oh, yeah, I guess it makes me smile. I found it hard, it's hard to find. Oh, well. Whatever. Nevermind."

I recall Kurt mentioning that one proposed name for what became Nevermind was "Blowjob", and that gives a hint. What did Kurt find that was hard? Any guesses? Tasting it made him smile. :3 And why was it hard for him to find? Maybe because gay and bi men aren't as common as straight men?

Hopefully I don't need to elaborate further on that verse.

I think the poetic "A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido," is also related to this theme. What do these four things have in common? They're all things that have been treated as "unwanted", "unusual", or "outcast" by human society. Kurt feels rejected for his natural desires. The hopeless-sounding end of the song, "A denial," really says it all.

And this next idea is just a good guess, but I think the bored sounding "Hey" and "Yay" following the impassioned chorus might be Kurt's sarcastic imitation of braindead mainstream "music consumers" failing to respond in a human way to real art. Incredibly ironic that this song became the top favourite of those very braindead people, but I guess alienation is highly relatable in current American society regardless of who you are.

Interviewer: If I can ask you a question just about the government and political system in USA. Are you agreeing with what's happened in USA, with government and what they're doing all the time?

Kurt: Oh, absolutely not.

Int: Yeah, I know. [laugh] Just want you to explain your view maybe a little bit.

Kurt: They're just carrying on the traditions of what they started with trying to destroy the Indians. They're totally gluttonous, they don't care about the future, they're raping the land, they're trying to get as much as they can, they don't care about the next generation, and it's completely corrupt.

It's just like most governments, though, you know? The average man gets into power, he doesn't have anything else to look forward to other than getting as much money as he can. You know? It's just a dog-eat-dog world.

-Interview with Viv Morrison and Ann Catherine
Paris, Hotel Royal Fromentin
November 1991

Interviewer: Yeah, [the reservations are] terrible, because they never smile, they have a very sad face. I want to know your opinion about these people and what the government made about with these people. It's terrible for a civilized country. I can't understand.

Kurt: Well, when the colonists came over to America, they took advantage of the Indians. The Indians invited them--I mean, they didn't invite them, but they helped them, they taught them how to live off the land, and [audio missing] ...Indian people, and put them in reservations. And they did all kinds of atrocious things to them.

They tried to wipe out whole races. They gave them blankets that were infected with diseases, and they gave them alcohol, which is something they weren't used to. As a people, as a race, they're 200 years behind of having alcohol in their system, so naturally, the majority of all the Indians are alcoholics now. And they don't have much to look forward to because they're all drunk, and they're put in these little reservations and they don't even fight the white man anymore.

-Interview with Viv Morrison and Ann Catherine
Paris, Hotel Royal Fromentin
November 1991

Jon Savage: Did you have problems in high school?

Kurt Cobain: Yeah. You know I felt so different and so crazy that people just left me alone. I always felt that they would vote me "Most likely to kill everyone at a high school dance." You know?

(22 July 1993)

Archivist's note: Thank god he picked up a guitar instead of a gun!!

"So, about two days ago I got really sick. I got this really bad cold, you know, like a flu...like illness, whatever. And uh, the doctor gave me this stuff to drink and I think it's Chinese herbs, and it has cow sperm in it. And it's got, like, lizard penis scrapings, and I still feel really sick, but it just makes me feel good to know that I've been drinking cow semen."

-Dave telling a random batshit story mid-gig, 19 Feb 1992
(Kurt then updated School's lyrics to reflect Dave's charming tale)

"I'm a fan of rap music, but most of it's so misogynist that I can't even deal with it. I'm really not that much of a fan. I totally respect and love it because it's one of the only original forms of music that's been introduced, but the white man doing rap is just like watching a white man dance. We can't dance. We can't rap."

-Kurt, when asked his opinion on white rap, 20 Sept 1991

Weight of the World
Giants in the Trees

Can you feel it?

Everybody's got their own style
Everybody walks their own mile
Everybody's got their own scene
Come on baby, yeah, let's live off of dreams

And then it comes, yeah!
It's the weight of the world
Oh, you could be drinking up, drinking up
Oh, it always comes in a disguise
Oh, say to lift you up

Here's the van [He's the man]
I load it up
Come to grind
Yeah, burn it up [off]
Don't let go
I lose control
You're the one
Who can make it when it comes, yeah!

It's the weight of the world
I could be drinking life, drinking life
It always comes in a disguise
Oh, say to lift you up

And I know that you're the key
I see you in my dreams
I love the way you are ('cause we're going far)
I see the work of art [world go by]

'Cause everybody's got their only life
Rise in our own time
That's life in the sunshine
It's always the right time

Everybody's got their own fire
Come on baby, take me higher and higher!
When it gets to you
Will you see it through
I don't know, I don't know
If your low is so flow[?]

Let it come, yeah!
It's the weight of the world
Oh I could be drinking life, drinking life[?]
Oh, it always comes in a disguise, yeah
Oh, say to lift you up

Like a flash
I hit the gas
Roll it up
I knew you'd come
I only told ya
Thought I warned ya
Yeah, you're the only one
Who can make it when it comes, yeah!

It's the weight of the world
Oh, you could be drinking life, drinking life[?]
Oh, it always comes in a disguise
Oh, say to lift you up

And I know that you're the key
I see you in my dreams
I love the way you are ('cause we're going far)
I see the work of art

Everybody's got their only life
Rise in your own time
That's life in the sunshine
So, we both can't live some season
Watch for the fireflies
Now it's a sure sign
It's always the right time

Archivist's notes: I isolated the vocal and compared with another fan's transcription. Corrections welcome, especially on the parts in brackets.

I absolutely love the double meaning in the "come to grind/burn it up" line. Weed, sex, or both? Probably both. Krist, king of puns. X)

Star Machine
Giants in the Trees

If you see it coming
When you feel divine
Did you see it coming
I hope you recognize

And I know we've been worlds apart
Can you find your way through the dark
And it's crossed my mind that
You'll never wanna see my face again

Here comes the part
Can you hear the heart
Star machine
I feel it coming down

I remember how it felt when I put you down
And I know you'll be back for me someday

And I know we've been worlds apart
Can you find your way through the dark
And it's crossed my mind that
You'll never wanna see my face again

Here comes the part
Can you hear the heart
Star machine
I feel it coming down

Yes, I've been walking down this road
Yes, I've been walking down this road
Yes, I've been walking down this road
For miles and miles and miles

The in-Between
Giants in the Trees

Dream dream dream dream
Dream dream
Am I still asleep?

Nothing is real here, is it?
The touch of a flower petal
The scent of your skin on my life
Looking for love that makes me forget
I'm blind

'Cause we're all right

So hold me close
Hold me tight

'Cause I'm stuck in the in-between
I'm nothing and everything
And the only thing that gets me through
Knowing that you see me the way I see you

Dream dream dream dream
Dream dream
Am I still asleep?

Inside the dreaming tree
You meet me there just when I'm all alone
Call your name and wait
And how will you save me save me
When I am blind?

We'll be all right

So hold me close
Hold me tight

'Cause I'm stuck in the in-between
I'm nothing and everything
And the only thing that gets me through
Knowing that you'll see me the way I see you

Are you gonna wait til I die?
To take, to take and breathe
To live for the sign
Are you gonna wait, wait til I die?
Yeah
All right

Will you come, too? [When I come to you]
Yeah, yeah, yeah!

'Cause inside the dreaming tree
You'll meet me there just when I'm all alone
Calling your name in me
And how will you save me save me
When I am blind?

We'll be all right

It's knowing that you see me
Knowing that you'll see me the way I see you

Archivist's notes: Loaded this into vocalremover.org to hear the words better, as well as comparing with another fan's transcription.

To see another song that explores the concept of "the in-between", click here.

Feel You Now
Giants in the Trees

One more time [Long, long time]
In our [Made of] time and space
Far away, [For always] not inside
Is when my thoughts and my memories
Fly

And baby I can feel you now
And baby I can feel you now
I knew we'd get through somehow
And baby I can feel you now

In the place of the in-between
Futures dance in my tense eyes [archivist: cryingforeverplz.gif]
We said we'd show the world, they'll see
Tonight

And baby I can feel you now
And baby I can feel you now
I knew we'd get through somehow
And baby I can feel you

Ahhhh!

It's all I can say now
And the connection, connection
The only direction
Now

And baby I can feel you now
And baby I can feel you now
I knew we'd get through somehow
And baby I can feel you
And baby I can feel you now

Archivist's Notes: The vocals have heavy effects and are hard to understand in the first verse, so suggested corrections are more than welcome! I loaded this into Audacity and isolated the vocals, used vocalremover.org, and compared with another fan's transcription, so I'm pretty confident about the rest of the song.

To see another song that explores the concept of "the in-between", click here.

Territorial Pissings
by Kurt Cobain

Intro sung by Krist:
"Come on people now
smile on your brother
everybody get together
try to love one another
right now"

When I was an alien
Cultures weren't opinions

[Chorus:]
Gotta find a way
to find a way
when I'm there
Gotta find a way
a better way
I had better wait

Never met a wise man
If so it's a woman

[chorus x2]

Just because you're paranoid
Don't mean they're not after you

[chorus x4]

Archivist's note: To read a feminist meaning Kurt gave to these lyrics, click here.

Marigold
By Dave Grohl

He's there in case I want it all
He's scared 'cause I want
He's scared in case I want it all
He's scared 'cause I want

All in all the clock is slow
Six color pictures all in row
Of a marigold

He's there in case I want it all
He's scared 'cause I want
He's there in case I want it all
He's scared 'cause I want

All in all the clock is slow
Six color pictures all in row
Of a marigold

He's there in case I want it all
He's scared 'cause I want
He's there in case I want it all
He's there 'cause I want

All in all the clock is slow
Six color pictures all in row
Of a marigold

Archivist's note: Compare the above lyrics of the Nirvana release with Dave's original solo demo lyrics recorded in 1990:

( Read more... )

Even In His Youth
By Kurt Cobain

Even in his youth [x3]
He was nothing
Kept his body clean [x3]
Going nowhere
Daddy was ashamed [x2]
He was something
Disgrace the family name [x2]
The family name, he was something

He was born for your crew
I've got nothing left to prove
If I die before I wake
Hope I don't come back a slave

Even in his youth [x3]
He was nothing
Kept his body clean [x3]
Going nowhere
Daddy was ashamed [x2]
He was the same, he was nothing
Disgrace the family name [x2]
Family name, going nowhere

Leave this one, for your brew
I've got nothing left to prove
If I die before I wake
Hope I don't come back a slave
Aye-Yeah!

Leave this one, for your brew
I've got nothing left to prove
If I die before I wake
Hope I don't come back again
I'm dying!

Even in his youth [x2]
Yeah, yeah

Archivist's note: For another song that uses the line, "kept his body clean" and features a dysfunctional father/son relationship, click here.

( Read more... )

Son Of A Gun
Written by The Vaselines

Up, up, up and down
Turn, turn, turn around
Round, round, round about
And over again

Gun, gun, son-of-a-gun
You are the only one
Who makes any difference
What I say

The sun shines in the bedroom
When we play
The rain it always starts
When you go away

Archivist's note: Notice the difference between Kurt's lyrics and the original song.

( Read more... )

Laminated Effect
(Fecal Matter tape, 1986)
By Kurt Cobain

Johnny was a homo
Kept his body clean
Moved to San Francisco
Caught a big disease
Raped by his Daddy
Told he was at fault
Living life unhappy
Covered up his soul

We're living in a time of change
Too many things you feel afraid
Doing things against the will of God
Maybe someday soon they'll realize they're wrong

Lucy was a lesbian
No, no fun in the sack
Moved to Acapulco
Nothing goes in her hole
Then she met Johnny
They dated, went to formal
He and she got naughty
Found out that it's normal

We're living in a time of change
Too many things you feel afraid
Doing many things against the will of God
Maybe someday soon they'll realize they're wrong

Made not born
Made not born
Made not born
Made not born

Archivist's note: For another song featuring the lyrics, "kept his body clean", click here.

This song appears to be written from at least two different points of view: the narrator, who simply tells the story of Johnny and Lucy in the verses, and a moralising, judgemental voice that condemns the protagonists of the song in the chorus.

When teenage Kurt was homeless and living at a classmate's house (sleeping on their sofa as the father of the family recalls), he attended church with them, and was briefly enthusiastic about the experience until he realised they were preaching hate.

This song is likely repeating some of the things he heard at that church in the chorus. As for the verses, they seem to illustrate Kurt's confused understanding of bisexuality: he describes both characters, male and female, as homosexual, but then depicts them discovering an attraction to each other by the end of the story.

The first verse is interesting in that some of the themes in it are repeated in Even In His Youth, a song that reads as more autobiographical than Laminated Effect. In both songs we see a father and son pair with a highly dysfunctional relationship, and in this song the relationship is much more vividly abusive than in the other.

This is typical of Kurt's lyrics; in a number of cases he wrote demos with much more painful lyrics than the finished songs ended up being (Something In The Way and Sliver being two other examples which were toned down for the final recording). In each of these mentioned cases, the lyrics Kurt changed had to do with child abuse or neglect, both of which he experienced in his own family.

The topic of incest is also repeated very blatantly in the album title, Incesticide.

Lithium (early electric version)
Lyrics: Kurt Cobain

I'm so happy
I can't wait to find my friends
They're in my head
I'm so lonely
That's ok 'cause will is good
And I've got wood
I'm so horny
That's ok 'cause I've got God
And he's got you
I'm so happy
That's ok, you broke my bed

Hey, hey, yeah!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Hey, hey, yeah!

Sunday morning
Is the day I think of you
And I'm not blue
I'm so ugly
That's ok 'cause so are you
We broke our mirrors
I'm so ugly
I can't wait to find my friends
They're in my head
Sunday morning
Is the day I think of you!

Hey, hey, hey!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Yeah, yeah, hey, yeah!

I like it
I'm not gonna cry
I miss you
I'm not gonna cry
I love you
I'm not gonna crack
I killed you
I'm not gonna crack

I need you
I'm not gonna crack
I miss you
I'm not gonna crack
I love you
I'm not gonna cry
I made you
I'm not gonna cry

I'm not 'baby'
I'm to blame for all I've heard
And I'm a turd
Sunday morning
Is the day I think of you
And I'm not blue
Light my candles
Keep my friends[?]
From going too[?]
And I love you
I'm so happy
'Cause today I think of you!

Hey! Hey! Yeah!
Yeah, hey, yeah!
Hey, hey, yeah!

I like it
I'm not gonna cry
I need you
I'm not gonna cry
I love you
I'm not gonna crack
I need you
I'm not gonna crack

I need you
I'm not gonna crack
I miss you
I'm not gonna crack
I love you
I'm not gonna crack
I killed you
I'm not gonna crack

Archivist's note: To hear another set of alternate lyrics for Lithium that reveal who the song is addressed to click here.

Lithium (early acoustic version)
Lyrics: Kurt Cobain

I'm so happy
Cause today I found my friends
They're in my head
I'm so ugly
That's ok, cause so are you
We broke our mirrors
Sunday morning
Is everyday for all I care
And I'm not scared
Light my candles
In a daze, cause I found God

Hey hey hey, hey!
Yeah hey!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!

I'm so lonely
That's ok, you shaved your head
And I'm not sad
And just maybe
I'm to blame for all I've heard
And I'm not sure
I'm so excited
I can't wait to meet you there
And I don't care
I'm so horny
That's ok, my will is good

Hey hey hey, hey!
Yeah hey!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Archivist's note: In this early acoustic version of Lithium, recorded in 1990, we learn who the "you" is that Kurt is addressing in the song:

Here's a picture from 1989. Kurt was not happy with Krist's new look, comparing it to a "Nazi".

For another alternate set of lyrics for Lithium, click here.

Spank Thru
Lyrics: Kurt Cobain

And as the soft pretentious mountains
Glisten in the light of the trees
All the flowers have gingivitis
And the birds die happily

We'll be together once again my love
Need you back, oh baby, baby

I can't explain just why
We lost it from the start
Living without you, girl
You only break my heart

I can feel it, I can hold it
I can bend it, shave it, mold it

He can cut it, he can taste it
Spank it, beat it, ejaculate it

I've been lookin' for Day Glo
Always hearing the same ol'
Sticky boredom with a book
I can make it do things you wouldn't think it ever could

I can feel it, I can hold it
I can bend it, shave it, mold it

He can cut it, he can taste it
Spank it, beat it, emasculate it

I've been lookin' for Day Glo
Always hearing the same ol'
Sticky boredom with a book
I can make it do things you wouldn't think it ever could

-22 Nov 1989 (live recording)

Archivist's note: An older working title (around 1987) for this song was "Breaking The Law", which gives us a strong hint as to what the song is about. Both gay sex and LSD were illegal in the USA at the time the song was written, and both were of interest to Kurt and Krist at this time. The song appears to be about both.

It should be noted that Kurt frequently changed the lyrics of this song to use different pronouns for the other person he sings about, sometimes "he", sometimes "she", and sometimes both.

Pay to Play
Lyrics: Kurt Cobain

Monkey see, monkey do
I don't know why I
Walk around, follow you
I don't know why I
Pull it out, keep it in
I don't know why I
Have to have poison skin
I don't know why I

Pay
Pay to play
Pay to play
pay to play

Move an inch, take a mile
I don't know why I
Never faded, never smiled
I don't know why I
Nevermind, eat and run
I don't know why I
Fuck your ass for the fun
I don't know why I

Pay
Pay to play
Pay to play
Pay to play

-6 Apr 1990 (recording date)

Archivist's comments: These lyrics were eventually sanitised and published as "Stay Away" on Nevermind. The original lyrics are pretty obviously about Kurt's experiences with male street prostitutes. Seattle has long been infamous for rampant street prostitution in certain districts, and one of these areas, Aurora Avenue, has been documented as a favourite hang-out for Kurt.

( Read more... )
Edit Sept. 2021: I found a quote from Kurt that confirms that these lyrics are indeed gay.

For two other songs that use the word "faded", click here and here. Kurt and Krist seem to have had their own special meaning for the term, which appears to be used as slang for orgasm.

Moist Vagina
Lyrics: Kurt Cobain

She had a moist vagina
I particularly enjoy the circumference
I've been sucking the walls of her anus
Analingus
I prefer her to any other

Marijuana
Marijuana
Marijuana

She had a moist vagina
I prefer her to any other

Marijuana
Marijuana
Marijuana
Marijuana

quote of the day

"God is gay and so am I."
-Kurt
Journals (hardcover ed.), pg. 123
.

page summary

rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)
rocknroll1968 - Quote: US Gov't Corruption (1991)
rocknroll1968 - Quote: Kurt on Native Americans (1991)
rocknroll1968 - Quote: Kurt the School Shooter (1993)
rocknroll1968 - Quote: Drinking cow sperm again (1992)
rocknroll1968 - Quote: Kurt has mixed feelings about rap (1991)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Weight of the World (2019)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Star Machine (2019)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: The in-Between (2017)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Feel You Now (2019)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Territorial Pissings
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Marigold (1993)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Even In His Youth (1991)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Son Of A Gun (1992)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Laminated Effect (1986)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Lithium - early electric version (1990)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Lithium - early acoustic version (1990)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Spank Thru (1989)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Pay To Play (1990)
rocknroll1968 - Lyrics: Moist Vagina (1993)

January 2024

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NIRVANA SLASH ARCHIVE

homo sex rules

Entries tagged with media:audio

Lyrics: Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)

Quote: US Gov't Corruption (1991)

Quote: Kurt on Native Americans (1991)

Quote: Kurt the School Shooter (1993)

Quote: Drinking cow sperm again (1992)

Quote: Kurt has mixed feelings about rap (1991)

Lyrics: Weight of the World (2019)

Lyrics: Star Machine (2019)

Lyrics: The in-Between (2017)

Lyrics: Feel You Now (2019)

Lyrics: Territorial Pissings

Lyrics: Marigold (1993)

Lyrics: Even In His Youth (1991)

Lyrics: Son Of A Gun (1992)

Lyrics: Laminated Effect (1986)

Lyrics: Lithium - early electric version (1990)

Lyrics: Lithium - early acoustic version (1990)

Lyrics: Spank Thru (1989)

Lyrics: Pay To Play (1990)

Lyrics: Moist Vagina (1993)

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January 2024