Smells Like Teen Spirit
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Look at the commercial
Songwith Guitar Tabs
Smells like Teen Spirit (by Nirvana)
Intro:E, A, G, C (x4)
Verse Intro:
E, A, G, C (x2)
| Verse 1: E A G Load up on guns C E Bring your friends A G It's fun to lose C E And to pretend A G She's overboard C E Myself assured A G C E I know I know a dirty word E A G C Hello, hello, hello, how low (x4) |
Chorus: E With the lights out A G It's less dangerous C E Here we are now A G Entertain us C E I feel stupid A G And contagious C E Here we are now A G Entertain us C E A mulatto A G An albino C E A mosquito A G My libido C Yeah, yeah |
| Verse 2: E A G I'm worse at C E what I do best A G And for this gift And for this gift C E I feel blessed A G Our little group Our little group C E has always been A G C E And always will until the end And always will until the end E A G C Hello, hello, hello, how low (x4) Chorus: ... |
Verse 3: E A G And I forget C E just why I taste A G Oh yeah, I guess Oh yeah, I guess C E it makes me smile A G I found it hard, I found it hard, C E it's hard to find A G C E Oh well, whatever, never mind Oh well, whatever, never mind E A G C Hello, hello, hello, how low (x4) Chorus: ... End: A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial, a denial A denial, a denial, a denial, a denia |
Four Interpretations of the Song
1) Historical background:
This song's a joke.
No really, it is.
One of his ex girlfriend's spraypainted "Kurt smells like teen spirit". Well "Teen Spirit" is
a deodrant. He didn't know that back then (found out after the song was released) and
thought it was a good revolution slogan. Long story short, he used that title to make a joke
song about a "revolution". That's all it is, a joke.
This quote basically says it all
"The entire song is made up of contradictory ideas. It's just making fun of the thought
of having a revolution. But it's a nice thought." - Kurt Cobain
It's like something the Pixies would.
I mean seriously, if you read the lyrics, they're ridiculous, they have no meaning,
"A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido"
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2) Social critiques:
The meaning is simple if you have been there..
"Load up on guns; bring your friends" - Guns= needles friends= encase of fallout
"It's fun to lose and to pretend" - Euphoric feelings
"She's over-bored and self-assured" - there is no going back, and she knows it
"Oh no, I know a dirty word" - Heroin
"With the lights out, it's less dangerous" - feels secure and satisfied after a shot
"Here we are now; entertain us" - to messed up, they can't entertain themselves
"I feel stupid and contagious" - trying it was stupid yet he still introduces it
"Here we are now; entertain us" - " "
"A mulatto" - Black-tar mixed with water, turns it brown
"an albino" - his blue veins seen through light skin
"a mosquito" - the prick of the needle and checking the drawback of blood
"my libido" - Heroin is better than sex..
"Yeah, hey" - thats about all you can say after you've shot enough..
"Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello"
-This about a fallout (overdose) other people trying to wake him up, he is at a very low point,
very near death
"I'm worse at what I do best" - doesn't think hes a good musician
"And for this gift I feel blessed" - he feels blessed to create, though hes on dope
"Our little group has always been" - Always felt like they were over-rated
"And always will until the end" - Hes caught, and will be until death
"And I forget just why I taste" - why did he start?
"Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile" - it made him feel good while depressed
"I found it hard; it's hard to find" - hes hardened and lost inside
"Oh well, whatever, never mind" - no control, no hope, no future
"a denial" - he denies this part of himself though he knows it exists, a complex confusion all
addicts face and nobody else can feel unless they have been where he has.
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3) Literary analysis:
| I
see that many people around say that this song has no meaning. It
is not true! This song is one of the most meaningful songs of
Nirvana. It represents the band so well that it should have the
title "Nirvana", instead of "Smells like teen
spirit". I think it is about the beginnings of the band, when they were at high-school. "Load up on guns; bring your friends it’s fun to lose and to pretend" it gives a picture of the teenage guys in high-school, who usually gather in gangs with guns, fighting each other. "She's over-bored and self-assured Oh no, I know a dirty word" These lines are clearly for the high-school girls, who want to look older by acting like they are bored by life, and want to give the impression that they are self-assured. The dirty word for sure is BITCH! “Hello, hello, hello, how low” Now imagine the high-school gym hall, filled up with the students we described above, that are waiting to listen to a rock band from their school. The first word in the microphone, to salute and also to test the audio system, is “Hello”. It echoes through the loudspeakers “hello, hello, hello, …” “With the lights out, it's less dangerous” It is the title of one of their first songs. Maybe they had practiced it so much that: With the lights out, it’s less dangerous to fail. “Here we are now; entertain us” the crowd seemed to say. “I feel stupid and contagious” how the band leader felt in front of so many people. And “contagious” for the other band members. What the crowd sees: “A mulatto” = Novoselic, with black hair, black beard, big face, who looked like a mulatto “An albino” = Cobain, a blonde guy “A mosquito” = Grohl, or any other light-weight member of early Nirvana “A libido” = Nirvana, our passion, our pleasure “I'm worse at what I do best” how the emotion to perform in front of the public makes one feel. “And for this gift I feel blessed” The fear that you are not going to perform good, makes the artist to practice more and more, which makes him blessed. “Our little group has always been And always will until the end” That is why this song should be simply titled Nirvana. “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, never mind” Cobain, and many other artists, have passed a blocking moment on stage, when they forget a line or any of the chords. There comes improvisation, which makes an artist to taste. Later, when he recalls that moment, it makes him smile. Do not try to remember the forgotten lines or chords, just free yourself, improvise, and nevermind! |
4) Political interpretation:
| i
think this song is about fitting in in school, and what kurt
thought about it, see,where it says "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" he's talking about all the crazy thing's kids do to fit in with the rest of society (which is why i am anti-government and anti-society... and atheist, it's my opinion, rant about it all you please, it's a choice just as Hinduism, Judaism, and christianity to beleive in one's self to be the higher being in their life and to not rely on another being to solve their problems) anyways, and when he say's "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" and "And I forget just why I taste Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile I found it hard, it was to find Oh well, whatever, nevermind" he's saying that he support's the "little groups" that think for themselves and he feels blessed that he is one of those and that he "forgets" just why he is one of them, and then he say's that he is because it makes him happy knowing that he is an individual, kurt was an individual, there was and to this day is no one like him, kurt lives within me forever. a friend told me that he just B.S.ed about 90% of this song while they were recording off the top oh his head, so i dont know, it's just my opinion. |