Status

Nirvana Song

Song Author

Kurt Cobain

Writing Period

1990

Recording Session(s)

Winter, 1990 Cobain Residence, Olympia, WA

October 26, 1992 Word of Mouth Productions, Seattle, WA

Fall 1992-Early 1993 Cobain Residence, Los Angeles, CA/Seattle, WA

February 12-26, 1993 Pachyderm Studios, Cannon Falls, MN

November 18, 1993 Sony Music Studios, New York, NY (MTV Unplugged)

February 4, 1994 Canal + studios, Paris, FR (Nulle Part Ailleurs)

Notes

Pennyroyal Tea can be used as an abortive substance when taken in large quantities.

There are two released mixes of this song. There is the mix recorded with Steve Albini that is available on the standard In Utero release. There is a second mix by Scott Litt that can be found on the "Waif Me" Wal-Mart In Utero release and the Pennyroyal Tea single.

The Scott Litt remix removed the coughing at the beginning of the song, made the backing vocals a bit louder, and the song sounds a little cleaner. It was mixed from the SAME recording as the Steve Albini mix.

Availability

Releases in the Bootography

Alternate/Working Titles

Penny Royal Tea

Common Mislabels

Household Drugs

China Tea

Mislabels in the Bootography

I'm So Tired

Penny Royal

Penny Royal Tea

Pennyroyal Tea

Stay Away

Tired

Lyrics

1990 demo version

I'm on Percodans and Demerol
I have very bad posture

Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Kill the life that's inside of me

Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld
So I can sigh eternally

I'm so tired I can't sleep
I receive crazy money
Sit and drink pennyroyal Tea
I'm anemic royalty

In Utero version

I'm on my time with everyone
I have very bad posture

Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I'm anemic royalty

Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld
So I can sigh eternally

I'm so tired I can't sleep
I'm a liar and a thief
Sit and drink pennyroyal Tea
I'm anemic royalty

I'm on warm milk and laxatives
Cherry-flavored antacids

Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I'm anemic royalty