Smells Like Teen Spirit
load up on guns and
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
hello hello hello hello…
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
yeah
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 hello hello hello…
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
yeah
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 hello…
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
yeah, a denial
a denial
a denial…
| Improvs
n/a
Musicians
written by Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
covered by Tori Amos
Featured On
US Crucify EP
UK Winter (Part 2) single
Remixes
n/a
Video
n/a
Quotes
Tori has performed this song many times live, in-concert often in conjunction with Don Mcleon’s American Pie.
“I did a tribute to Kurt Cobain with Teen Spirit and American Pie this night in Dublin because American Pie is what I heard over and over in my head the night he killed himself. I played it to 2,500 kids; it started like a whisper, and then in perfect pitch, in perfect rhythm, very softly, they all sang American Pie with me. None of us in the crew had ever experienced anything like it….I felt like I knew him . I miss him as a musician. It’s just painful when you see someone who had so much to give – especially musically – gone. We’ve lost quite a significant voice for this generation.”
– Tori; Illinois Entertainer, Aug 94
In Dublin, two days after the Nirvana front man’s 1994 suicide, her live version of Smells Like Teen Spirit was a choker. “I was just ready to start the chorus, and all of a sudden, in perfect pitch and very quietly, as only the Irish can do, [the audience] started singing it like a hymn. It was like they were sending his spirit off. It was an honor to play his music that night.”
– Tori; Blender Magazine, Nov 2002