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Dough, Ray, and Me

Status
Nirvana Song


Song Author
Kurt Cobain


Writing Period
1994


Recording Session(s)
March 1994 - Kurt's Basement, Seattle. (~ 2 weeks before Kurt's death)


Notes
The song was supposedly going to be released on an EP that coincided with Nirvana's appearance at Lollapalooza '94, but the project was scrapped when Cobain backed out of the tour. There is no known information about if this song was even recorded in a studio.

It is said that Cobain once described this as the "perfect Alice in Chains song." And it's been reported that Courtney Love found a napkin with some lyrics and the title "Me and My IV," which is believed to be another title for this song.

" 'You Know You're Right' is by far the strongest song that fans have yet to hear, but a second tune that I listen to in Love's living room comes close. 'Dough, Ray, and Me' is often discussed on the Web, but few fans have ever heard it. Cobain recorded two versions shortly before the end of his life. One was a four-track rendition on which he drummed and sang while Erlandson played bass and Smear played guitar. The other was a solo acoustic demo taped in his bedroom, and that's the version I hear.

"The sound quality is sketchy, to say the least, but as soon as that famously gruff voice kicks in, it's vital, entrancing, and impossible to ignore. The song boasts a beautiful, Beatlesesque melody in the tradition of 'About a Girl,' the standout track from 'Bleach.' In addition to an endearingly rough guitar solo, its other outstanding feature is the moaned/whined/chanted repetition of 'Dough/Ray/Me, Do/Re/Mi' over and over during a long and climactic finale.

"Deciphering Cobain's cryptic lyrics during a first listen is difficult at best, but I manage to scribble several lines in my notebook: 'If I may/If I might/Wake me up/See me... If I may/Cold as ice/I only have/Sue me.' Sue me? Sue me? I swear I heard him sing, 'Sue me.' "
Jim DeRogatis
Chicago Sun Times, 2002.03.10



DeRogatis wrote another article for Spin. The bulk of the story is the same, but his description of the lyrics is slightly different.

" 'Dough, Ray, and Me' is often discussed on the Web, but only a handful of people have ever heard the acoustic demo that (Jim) Barber plays on his Discman. The sound quality is sketchy, to say the least, but when that gravelly voice wraps itself around a typically enchanting melody, the effect is compelling. The tune builds to a powerful climax as Cobain repeats the mantra, "Do / Re / Mi," making it seem as if those three syllables contain a universe of meanings. Deciphering the rest of the lyrics is no easy task in two listens, but I'm pretty sure I catch the lines "If I may / If I might / Wake me up / See me....If I may / I'm as cold as ice / I'm willing to sacrifice our love / I only have / Sue me."
Jim DeRogatis
Spin, June 2002, page 72



 
Availability


Alternate/Working Titles
None Documented


Common Mislabels
Me and my IV
Doctor and Me


Mislabels in the Bootography
None Documented


Lyrics

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