Status

Nirvana Song

Song Author

Kurt Cobain

 

Writing Period

Spring 1991

Recording Session(s)

March 1991 Converted Barn, Tacoma, WA

May-June 1991 Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA

November 8, 1991 Limehouse Studios, London, UK (The Word)

November 27, 1991 BBC Elstree Centre, Borehamwood, UK (Top of the Pops)

 January 10, 1992 MTV Studios, New York City, NY (120 Minutes)

 January 11, 1992 NBC Studios, New York City, NY (Saturday Night Live)

Notes

Kathleen Hanna (of the band Bikini Kill) once wrote "Kurt smells like teen spirit" on one of Cobain's walls. Kurt mistakenly thought Hanna was referring to the "teen revolution" people used to talk about in Olympia, so he took it as a compliment. She was actually referring to a brand of women's deodorant.

In Come As You Are's introduction, when Michael Azerrad describes a song called "The Hit," he's actually referring to "Smells Like Teen Spirit."  It refers to the stigma that bands are saddled with when they release one song that garners more attention than their entire catalog.

For the music video, Cobain was inspired by a 1979 film about the rebellious adventures of a group of teens called Over The Edge (starring, most notably, a young Matt Dillon). Kurt wanted to use the same theme in the video, but director Samuel Bayer rejected the idea because MTV wouldn't have been able to broadcast it.  Bayer was chosen as the band's director because he had the worst demo reel.  Teen Spirit was his first music video.

Here is the original script Cobain wanted for his clip: it's a party in a school. Everything was as usual, until some young people decided to wreck the area, cars and houses. They then kidnap the headmaster and hold him in the gymnasium. Finally they burn it.

The finished product is a bit tamer.  The band passed out flyers at their 8/15/91 and invited their friends to appear.  The entire shoot took ten hours.  The extras were a little restless near the end, so the destruction that you see isn't exactly scripted.  All the shots you see of Kurt were taken during his last takes.  He was frustrated and didn't want to do any more filming, and Bayer went over his head to force him to continue.  Kurt heavily influenced the video's editing.

Availability

Releases in the Bootography

Alternate/Working Titles

None Documented

Common Mislabels

Teen Spirit

SLTS

Teen Gothic

The Hit

Mislabels in the Bootography

None Documented

Lyrics

Nevermind version

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

Hello, hello, hello, how low? (x4)

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
Yay

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

Hello, hello, hello, how low? (x4)

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
Yay

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

Hello, hello, hello, how low? (x4)

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
Yay


From Kurt Cobain's Journals (page 136+137, transcribed by DN member BleachedBlack)

Come out and play make up the rules
have lots of fun we know we’ll lose
Our little group has always been and always will until the end
To know oh no (next bit scrubbed out) a dirty word
Load up on guns & bring your friends I know I know it’s wrong to offend
We merge ahead this special day this day giving amnesty to sacrilege
Oh no I know a dirty word
Now I forget just why I taste – oh yeah I guess it makes me smile why don’t you cry when I'm away Oh yeah we want what's best for you
repeat is something new
The finest day I've ever had was when tomorrow never came I’m bad at what I do best I'm blessed to know And for this gift I feel blessed that most are tame (this bit may be from above line)
My credit ran away from me.
With the light out its less dangerous Here we are now entertain us I feel stupid and contagious Here we are now segregate us
A mulatto an albino A mosquito My libido YAY
Come hang yourself with umbilical noose
Uh oh oh no a dirt word



From Kurt Cobain's Journals (page 141, transcribed by DN member BleachedBlack)

Come out and play make up the rules
Take off your clothes Ill see you in court
We’ll lose but we wont be bored
Come out and play, make up the rules,
Dyslexic idiot savant with bad hearing
load up on guns & bring your friends The secret handshakes pretend
our little group has always been and always will until the end we cut our hands & made a pact & swore wed never going back
A mulatto an Albino A mosquito my libido
YAY
A deposit for a bottle stuck inside it no role model
A denial
Who will be the King & Queen of the outcasted teens. I hate to use percentages its nice to know there is a choice.



1991.04.17 - Seattle, WA

Come out and play make up the rules
I know I hope to buy the truth
It's not enough to save you
Oh no I'm not afraid of you

Hello, hello, hello, how low? (x3)
Hello, hello, hello

Well I'm lyin' and I'm famous
Here we are now entertain us
I feel stupid and I'm lyin'
Here we are now entertain us
An albino, a mulatto
A mosquito, my libido
Well I'm lyin' and I'm screamin'
Here we are now entertain us, yeah
Hey (x6)

Come out and play make up the rules
I know I hope to buy the truth
It's not enough to save you
Far away run away

Hello, hello, hello, how low? (x3)
Hello, hello, hello

Well I'm lyin' and I'm famous
Here we are now entertain us
I feel stupid and I'm lyin'
Here we are now entertain us
An albino, a mulatto
A mosquito, my libido
Well I'm lyin' and I'm screamin'
Here we are now entertain us, yeah
Hey (x4)

Come out and play make up the rules
I know I hope to buy the truth
It's not enough to wait for you
Oh no I'm not afraid of you

Hello, hello, hello, how low? (x3)
Hello, hello, hello

Well I'm lyin' and I'm famous
Here we are now entertain us
I feel stupid and I'm lyin'
Here we are now entertain us
An albino, a mulatto
A mosquito, my libido
Well I'm lyin' and I'm screamin'
Here we are now entertain us, yeah
???

A denial (x11)