Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle

Frances Farmer was an actress in the '30s and '40s but she was also an extremely "rebellious" girl and since that didn't fit what society thought women should be like, she was sent to an insane asylum. She was not insane, or even mentally ill. She was raped, starved, tortured in unimaginable ways, and eventually lobotomized. Her story is magnificently sad, a perfect portrait of the inhumanity of humans, and she paid the most horrendous price, simply for not fitting in. Hm, I wonder why Kurt felt an affinity towards her...

This is quite possibly my favorite Nirvana song.

I think Kurt could probably relate to Farmer in many ways. She felt disenfranchised and cast out from "normal" society because her eccentricities were too much for most to handle, which lead to mental illness in the form of deep depression - much like Kurt. The similarities end here, I think. Frances Farmer died of cancer much later in life than at 27, which was the age Cobain ultimately ended his pain.

I think this song and many others on the album ("In Utero", their third and last studio album which Kurt initially wanted to call "I Hate Myself and Want to Die") dripped of Kurt's confusion and discontent and showcased his sadness through both the music and lyrics. So many things he wrote - and even pictures he took - foreshadowed his suicide that I don't understand how anyone could have been shocked when he pulled the trigger.

It's about Frances Farmer, an actress in the 40's who was commited to a mental hospital for being a manic depressive.

This is a great song. I think the inspirations brilliant. I bet kurt thought he and frances and lots in common. "I miss the confort of being sad" I think hes saying hes so use to being sad being happy doesn’t feel right.

i love the lines "she'll come back as fire to burn all the liars/and leave a blanket of ash on the ground." that's some scathing stuff, man.

I believe Frances Farmer was actually driven to insanity by all those around her. This is a great song.

In my opinion this song is at least mainly about Frances Farmer like most people have said, the title is "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle" because she was born and raised in Seattle and was hospitalized at Western State hospital in Steilacoom, WA and allegedly had a lobotomy performed on her there. This part in particular makes me think of her (also my favorite part):

In her false witness, we hope you're still with us, To see if they float or drown Our favorite patient, a display of patience, Disease-covered Puget Sound She'll come back as fire, to burn all the liars, And leave a blanket of ash on the ground

Someone asked what the Puget Sound was, it's a large fjord (system of flooded glacial valleys) but the area of land around the sound (which isn't just Seattle but includes it as well as my podunk town =P) is often called the Puget Sound too. Look at a map of WA and the water that cuts thorough the middle of Western Washington is it.

The meaning of this song is fairly straighfoward. It was basically Kurt just saying that he wanted to be left alone. Just a plea that, "Okay, so I've had some problems, but don't we all? Don't make a big deal about it. Let me be miserable and move on." What's wrong with being sad? We all are, at some point, and usually, if you can just be left alone with it, without being subjegated, without the constant, "are you okays?", you'll feel better rather quickly. But if anybody gets any sort of inkling that you're upset over anything at all, even if it's nothing, it's just constant pestering.

I can relate to this, honestly. I hate that question, "are you okay?" It makes it so that I cannot simply ignore the problem, or it brings it up when I'm starting to get over it. "are you okay?" What's wrong with being sad? It's natural, and healthy. Leave me alone. I'll cope on my own. That's what I think this song is saying.

I miss the confert in being sad. That says it all, rite there.

I've mostly felt that this song is about the personal drama around Kurt, from being with Courtney. Before he was with her, he was a very smart, approachable, amicable, self-deprecating stoner type. Once they were together, she turned him on to heroin, she conjured lots of drama, picked many ugly battles with so many parties and pulled Kurt into it. His life was transformed by fame, yes, but she brought a lot of conflict to his life.

Add to it his increasing conflict with his bandmates who wanted equal pay/credit, despite not writing nearly as much material as he was or facing the pressure of being the frontman to field all press as well as maintain the band's image and credibility. Evidently, he was on the brink of disbanding Nirvana in 1993.

I think he was missing feeling the familiar sadness and the comfort zone of the usual loneliness or depression instead of the anger that replaced it.

You can really feel Kurt through this song. My favorite line is" I miss the comfort in being sad."