I'll start this off
Without any words
I got so high
I scratched 'till I bled

I love myself
Better than you
I know it's wrong
So what should I do?

The finest day
That I've ever had
Was when I learned
To cry on command

I love myself
Better than you
I know it's wrong
So what should I do?

I'm on a plain
I can't complain
I'm on a plain

My mother died
Every night
It's safe to say
Quote me on that

I love myself
Better than you
I know it's wrong
So what should I do?

The black sheep got
Blackmailed again
Forgot to put
On the zip code

I love myself
Better than you
I know it's wrong
So what should I do?

I'm on a plain
I can't complain
I'm on a plain

Somewhere I have heard this before
In a dream my memory has stored
As a defense I'm neutered and spayed
What the hell am I trying to say?

It is now time
To make it unclear
To write off lines
That don't make sense

I love myself
Better than you
I know it's wrong
So what should I do?

And one more special
Message to go
And then I'm done
And I can go home

I love myself
Better than you
I know it's wrong
So what should I do?

I'm on a plain
I can't complain
I'm on a plain
I can't complain
I'm on a plain
I can't complain
I'm on a plain
I can't complain
I'm on a plain


Lyrics submitted by bonj

On a Plain Lyrics as written by Kurt Cobain

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

On a Plain song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

131 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    Here's what it means:

    I'll start this off without any words -he's deciding how to start the song.

    I got so high that I scratched 'til I bled -i don't know, he got wasted.

    I love myself better than you -he didn't really love himself, i thought i'd make a note of that.

    I know it's wrong so what should I do? -he needs help, guidence.

    The finest day that I ever had Was when I learned to cry on command -to get attention, and when he learned to do it whenever he could get more attention

    I love myself better than you I know it's wrong so what should I do?

    I'm on a plain I can't complain I'm on a plain

    My mother died every night -referring to a boyfriend his mom had who beat her

    It's safe to say don't quote me on that I love myself better than you I know it's wrong so what should I do?

    The black sheep got blackmailed again

    • referring to how his parents used him to get back at one another

    Forgot to put on the zip code

    I love myself better than you I know it's wrong so what should I do?

    I'm on a plain I can't complain I'm on a plain

    Somewhere I have heard this before -he knows he heard the bridge somewhere else, but he can't remember where

    In a dream my memory has stored -he guesses he heard it in a dream

    As a defense I'm neutered and spayed

    What the hell am I trying to say -he's just writing whatever comes into mind

    the rest is just more nonsense. its a really great song, with lots of hidden meanings. he wrote it right before they recorded it.

    NoseDragonon August 21, 2002   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
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.