Hey you you're way ahead of me
You're drunk on apathy
You burned right out
Hey you you're just a cripple now

They sell for millions now
They sold you out
And oh I had to tell them you were gone
I had to tell them they were wrong

And now they're playing your song
Hey you don't take it out on me
You're bored of everything
You burned right out

Hey you so bored and cynical
It's fucking wonderful
They sold you out
And, oh, they've bought and sold it all,

It's gone
They've taken it and built a mall
And now they're playing your song
Ooh, their innocence tastes like candy, yeah

Get so fat on it, it's a tragedy, yeah
Ooh, I can help you come to me, yeah
Just bring your innocence to me, yeah
Hey you, don't you dare blame me

You trusted everything
They sold you out
Hey, you, now when they call it cool
It's just so mean and cruel

They sold you out
And, oh, they bought and sold it all, it's gone
And every note of it is wrong
And now they're playing your song


Lyrics submitted by ShiverForMe

Playing Your Song Lyrics as written by Courtney M. Love Eric T Erlandson

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Playing Your Song song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

29 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    i thought it was about how after kurt died she had to deal with all the rumors he was still alive ("i had to tell them you were gone, i had to tell them they were wrong"), and she just wanted people to leave her alone and meanwhile theyre still playing nirvana nonstop on the radio and shes still hearing kurts voice all over the place. personally i think she had something to do with his death but thats what she wrote the song about. also is every song on celebrity skin about kurt cobain? in my mind theyre all connected to him somehow, probably cause im a huge nirvana fan

    SludgeGarden13on July 26, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I think think she's saying that he killed himself before he could sell out but it didn't matter because the media sold him out.

    mighty_mouseon May 09, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    courtney said she didnt want to make the "widow album" but i honestly think most if not all songs on celebrity skin are tied to kurt in some way. this one seems to be the most obvious. i think shes yelling at kurt in the first chorus for forcing her to go through his death, saying she had to tell the world he was dead and live with all the murder theories (which i actually believe are pretty valid) and nirvana fans criticizing her. then shes talking about how she has to hear kurts songs being played on the radio all the time, and other bands copying his style

    SludgeGarden13on January 03, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yep about nirvana being sold out and kurt not being happy with that?? i guess...

    saraxviciouson July 05, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    dont call him a wimp for killing himself

    Bwoodingon July 13, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love Courtney Love, and i love Kurt Cobain - and altho I think he was incredibly talented, beautiful and had 2 put up with incredible sh**, he shouldn't ever have killed himself. it makes suicide look 2 attractive 2 teenagers. its a great song tho... and blatantly about kurt. Rock In Peace.

    Amylicious69on July 21, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It's about over-commercialisation of music (hence the 'mall' reference) and how greedy record company execs take music and dehumanise what it stands for.

    I mean, you only have to look at how Smells Like Teen Spirit has become an almost corny corporate logo for misguided teens (thanks to the media) to see what Love is talking about here. She's saying that these bands and these songs used to be REAL and actually mean things to people, but the over-use of them has meant they've become empty and meaningless.

    zeroglitteron April 23, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i agree with zeroglitter. thats a cool name, by the way. like the record companies, or whomever, take their innocence and then screw them over, and then they become apathetic, bored, and cynical...and rightfully so.

    drownsodaon September 19, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is a wonderful song, brimming over with bitterness.The meaning I find in it is probably not the meaning most people would, however. I like the anger and strength of this song, along withthe cynicism. I think the song is about appreciation after the fact. When someone is gone and dead, the people who in their lifetime were treated badly are now idolised with false admiration. Yes, they are playing your song but what did they do to you?-''they sold you out''. Of course, you rarely can appreciate something until it is gone. Then you idealise it and call it better than it was, though of course it iprobably was better than whatever you have right now. This song has echoes of Kurt Cobain's life.

    Christiannaon November 06, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is a wonderful song, brimming over with bitterness.The meaning I find in it is probably not the meaning most people would, however. I like the anger and strength of this song, along withthe cynicism. I think the song is about appreciation after the fact. When someone is gone and dead, the people who in their lifetime were treated badly are now idolised with false admiration. Yes, they are playing your song but what did they do to you?-''they sold you out''. Of course, you rarely can appreciate something until it is gone. Then you idealise it and call it better than it was, though of course it iprobably was better than whatever you have right now. This song has echoes of Kurt Cobain's life.

    Christiannaon November 06, 2004   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.