Pennyroyal Tea

I think it's a very clever play on words. Its references to his recurring stomach problems are obvious, but there are deeper meanings.

The line "Distill the life that's inside of me" can mean a LOT of different things. If you understand the word distill, it means to purify and strenghten (such as distilled water, or wine distilled into brandy). That line CAN signify that he is becoming more purely and clearly himself - a depressing notion, because he obviously doesn't like who he is becoming.

Then there's the abortion aspect. Personally, I don't take this one literally either. He is referring to suicide, as if foretelling it, a theme occurring in many of his songs and inferred from his contact with the press. He is not aborting a fetus; he is little more than a fetus, and feels helpless to control his environment, emotions, even his actions.

"I'm anemic royalty" probably refers to an insecurity or deep-rooted belief that he is much less than his Holy Icon in the public mind makes him out to be. And the wordplay on the antiquated term "penny royalty" seems to reinforce this - he is a worthless figurehead, more powerful as a symbol than as a man.

This is just my take on the song, and maybe a little over-analyzed, but I can't believe this is simply a song about stomach pains.

I believe it is about Heroin withdrawal...

The pain aches you feel, the lifelessness, and particularly the fact you can't sleep, no matter how tired you are. You also get bad constipation, hence the laxatives and tea. It also makes you skinny by killing your appetite. Not to mention the depression which is compounded by all this.

I'm an ex opiate addict so the song makes a lot of sense to me.

First off Courtney had nothing to do with this song. Kurt wrote this song before he even met Courtney. This is a direct quote from Kurt, "It's a cleansing theme where I'm trying to get all my bad evil spirits outof me and drinking Pennyroyal tea would clense that away." You have to drink gallons of the stuff to give you a abortion. I personally think this song has something to do with his stomach also. Obviously with the pains Kurt experienced he had trouble sleeping hence the lines: I'm so tired I can't sleep I'm anemic royalty I'm a liar and a theif I'm anemic royalty

I'm on warm milk and laxatives Cherry-flavored antacids Just my humble opinion though.

this song is about Kurt Cobains stomach problems, almost positive of it, but i could be wrong

Alright, so I'm going to give my schpeel on this, and I'm surprised no one has come up with this idea about this song before. I also think this song is about his stomach problems, but it’s a lot deeper than that. This song is purely about heroin, not only from a lyrical standpoint, but also a musical standpoint. I had a REALLY great post written up on this before I pressed refresh on accident a couple of days ago, but bear with me…

The verses are him explaining the reasons he feels the need to do heroin,

The chorus is about doing heroin and how he feels on it.

"I'm on my time with everyone, I have very bad posture."

This line representing two of his insecurities leading him to do heroin: The first is about his problems with pressures of being a rock star. Everyone’s expecting great things out of him, done within a time limit. He’s expected to go to concerts and do an amazing job constantly. You’ve got to think where he’s coming from. He started out some 16/18 year old kid who thought being a rock star would be a release from all of his problems and he’d finally be happy, but really there’s even more pressure than there was before.

The second refers to problems he has with self-image.

I also think these first two verses are actually about why he started using heroin in the first place.

So, he picks up his needle…

“Sit and drink Pennyroyal tea” This is a metaphor for him doing heroin.

“Distill the life that’s inside of me” This is him saying how heroin makes him feel alive and rid of his troubles, also relieving his stomach problems.

“I’m anemic royalty” He feels like he’s the ruler of his disease (stomach problems and depression) when he’s on heroin. I don’t know personally, but maybe long-term, heavy heroin use could cause anemia?

“Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld, so I can sigh eternally.” Sadly, this line is about suicide. This line is about why he attempts to overdose on heroin. He’s an extremely depressed person, and he’s hoping that on the other side it’s a lot happier. If you don’t know, Leonard wrote very happy music, and I think this is what Kurt saw “the other side” as.

“I’m so tired, I can’t sleep.” Saying he’s tired, but he can’t sleep because of heroin withdrawal.

“I’m a liar and a thief.” He’s lying to everyone around him and continuing his heroin use because the pain when he’s off of it is unbearable. He’s a thief because he feels like he’s stealing money from Kris and Dave by forcing the record company to give him a bigger percentage of the royalties so he can keep up his expensive habit.

Now the next part is the big part of why I think this is about heroin. Also, this is why you have to listen to the music to know what this song is about. In the acoustic version of the song, he slows down considerably during the third verse, and sounds completely hopeless in his vocals. Then the song picks up into the chorus (which is about him doing and during heroin) on a happier, more hopeful sounding chord.

“I’m on warm milk and laxative, cherry flavored antacids.” These are the things he has to take when he’s off of heroin to help with his stomach problems. However, they just don’t have the same effect and he feels they’re worthless. So he once again picks up his needle…

The second reason I got the idea that this song is about heroin is the outro in the original take on In Utero. I think the outro is about the way him coming down from heroin. It starts out loud, with a heavily distorted guitar, slows down the whole way, and eventually the distortion is turned off, which is also present in the whole song. The verses, while he’s off of it are clean, and the chorus, while he’s on it, has distortion. If you listen to it, it makes a lot of sense.

Sorry for the in-depth post, but I think this is possibly the smartest, deepest, and most emotional song Kurt wrote, besides maybe All Apologies. If you can’t tell, I’m pretty passionate about this song :P.

"Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea" -rewrite for methadon, a strong opioid antagonistic medical agent

"Distill the life that's inside of me"

• opioids & heroin are known for keeping you "young looking" - if it wasnt for the life that often goes hand in hand with most drug users.

Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea "I'm anemic royalty"

• I feel like a king but im really nothing at all, like a man without blood, without life

"I'm on warm milk and laxatives Cherry-flavored antacids"

-a usual diet while in heavy heroin & or methadon use,

• Cherry-flavored a well known flavour that methadon is available in.

This whole song is about methadon use i belive.

I think its about how Cobain was always bothered by his stomach pain, but it can also be interpreted as a song about abortion with the "distill the life thats inside of me" lyric

Jesus christ people. If you think this song has nothing to do with abortion than what the fuck does the line "distill the life that's inside of me" mean?? There's several refrences to stomach pain, there's also several refrences to abortion. You also have to overlook the uteral theme of the whole album. The pregnant woman drawing by Alex Grey. The aborted fetus collage on the back of the cd case. Maybe it wasn't the central idea of the song. But the idea is there.

and by distilling that, and flushing it out of his system, it makes him anemic. his childhood made him who he is, and if he flushes it out of his system, he is plain.

pain sucks, but it is also just how some people are defined. it made him beautiful.

If you have ever suffered heroin addiction as I have for over a decade this song jus seems to be quite clearly referring to The rattle (withdrawal) from it but although everything from the title to the lyrics about laxatives and antacids and anemia are direct references to it the whole song makes reference to its effects on your life whilst maintaining less literal interpretations that can relate to depression and the monotony of life that I think is quite intentional to open up the application of its meaning and relevance to a much wider spectrum of life and observation of life and suffering