Smells Like Teen Spirit

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a lead single and opening track from the RIAA certified diamond album Nevermind by the American grunge/alternative rock band Nirvana. This song was Nirvana’s first and biggest hit that reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and was called as the "anthem for the apathetic kids of Generation X." After years since the group was disbanded, many critics and fans continue to honour "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

The song’s title was based on a spray painted writings on the wall by Kathleen Luna, which was the lead singer of punk the band Bikini Kill during those times and a friend of Nirvana’s guitarist/front man Kurt Cobain. The writings, which read "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit", happened when they had been talking about anarchism, punk rock, and similar topics. The catchphrase on the wall was interpreted by Cobain as containing a revolutionary meaning. However, Hanna explained that what she actually meant was that Cobain smelled like the deodorant Teen Spirit, which Cobain’s then-girlfriend and Hanna’s band mate Tobi Vail wore. Based on the book Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana by Michael Azarrad, Cobain maintained that he was not aware that Teen Spirit is a brand of deodorant by Mennen (now acquired by Colgate-Palmolive) until months after the release of the song.

The song’s lyrics were frequently hard for listeners to decipher, both because to being nonsense and Cobain’s rough singing voice. Dave Marsh, an American critic, sited comments by disc jockeys during those times that the song is like "Louie Louie" (a rock and roll song from the 1950s by Richard Berry) of the 1990s, which hesitantly disclose secrets and often unintelligibly.

It widely acknowledged that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a teen revolution anthem as supported by the music video of the song. Cobain explained in the book by Azarrad that he felt a duty "to describe what I felt about my surroundings and my generation and people my age." In the book Teen Spirit: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song describes this song as "a typically murky Cobain exploration of meaning and meaninglessness." Azerrad looks at the union of Cobain's opposing lyrics (such as "It's fun to lose and to pretend") and declares "the point that emerges isn't just the conflict of two opposing ideas, but the confusion and anger that the conflict produces in the narrator—he's angry that he's confused." Azerrad concludes that the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is "alternately a sarcastic reaction to the idea of actually having a revolution, yet it also embraces the idea."

There are numerous cover versions for this song, which includes Tori Amos version on her 1992 Crucify EP, Patti Smith's rendition on her album Twelve and Paul Anka's swing version. Aside from covers, a parody version by Weird "Al" Yankovic was recorded in 1992 entitled "Smells Like Nirvana," a song about the difficulty of comprehending Nirvana's lyrics and Cobain's singing style. Yankovic sought for Cobain permission to parody the song to which Cobain asked: "It's not going to be about food, is it?" Yankovic promised that it will not be about food.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Load up on guns
Bring your friends
It's fun to lose
And to pretend
She's overboard
Myself assured
I know I know
A dirty word

Hello (x 16)

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
Yea

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 (x 16)

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
Yea

And I forget
Just what it takes
And yet I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard
It’s hard to find
Oh well, whatever, nevermind

Hello (x 16)

With the lights out its 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
Yea