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Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics

Load up on guns, 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, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
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, hey

Yay

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, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
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, hey

Yay

And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, was hard to find
Oh well, whatever, never mind

Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
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
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Bmg Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Writer
David Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain
Duration
5:01
Submitted by
spitfirek7 On May 05, 2001
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1383 Meanings

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Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

This song's a joke.

No really, it is.

One of his ex girlfriend's spraypainted "Kurt smells like teen spirit". Well "Teen Spirit" is a deodrant. He didn't know that back then (found out after the song was released) and thought it was a good revolution slogan. Long story short, he used that title to make a joke song about a "revolution". That's all it is, a joke.

This quote basically says it all "The entire song is made up of contradictory ideas. It's just making fun of the thought of having a revolution. But it's a nice thought." - Kurt Cobain

It's like something the Pixies would.

I mean seriously, if you read the lyrics, they're ridiculous, they have no meaning, "A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido"

"Oh well, whatever, never mind"

Well I'm done.

While this is correct, I fear most people posting on this site are too god damn stupid to know any better, and will still try and decipher this inherently meaningless song.

Also, much of this album was written with disgust for the band's record label at the time, because they were forcing them to release more radio-friendly content. Kurt's response was to write some gibberish that meant nothing, and to insult them at every turn.

I disagree that this song means nothing. There's a lot of reference to social issues of the time the song was written. The 90's was during the worst of the AIDS epidemic the lines: "I fell stupid and contagious" are a reference to AIDS. Also the words "A mosquito, my libido" make sense in this context too. A mosquito is an insect that can spread disease. In the context of AIDS, peoples libidos are what spreads it. Many other things can be pointed out, but that's just my biggest argument.

My Opinion

I'm pretty sure that it was the 80's but this is an opinion, not fact.

My Opinion
Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

The meaning is simple if you have been there..

"Load up on guns; bring your friends" - Guns= needles friends= encase of fallout "It's fun to lose and to pretend" - Euphoric feelings "She's over-bored and self-assured" - there is no going back, and she knows it "Oh no, I know a dirty word" - Heroin

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous" - feels secure and satisfied after a shot "Here we are now; entertain us" - to messed up, they can't entertain themselves "I feel stupid and contagious" - trying it was stupid yet he still introduces it "Here we are now; entertain us" - " " "A mulatto" - Black-tar mixed with water, turns it brown "an albino" - his blue veins seen through light skin "a mosquito" - the prick of the needle and checking the drawback of blood "my libido" - Heroin is better than sex.. "Yeah, hey" - thats about all you can say after you've shot enough..

"Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello" -This about a fallout (overdose) other people trying to wake him up, he is at a very low point, very near death

"I'm worse at what I do best" - doesn't think hes a good musician "And for this gift I feel blessed" - he feels blessed to create, though hes on dope "Our little group has always been" - Always felt like they were over-rated "And always will until the end" - Hes caught, and will be until death

"And I forget just why I taste" - why did he start? "Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile" - it made him feel good while depressed "I found it hard; it's hard to find" - hes hardened and lost inside "Oh well, whatever, never mind" - no control, no hope, no future

"a denial" - he denies this part of himself though he knows it exists, a complex confusion all addicts face and nobody else can feel unless they have been where he has.

Translation

I think this is the best "translation" of the song as its meaning. You really made the song sound more logical.

My Opinion

Yeah kinda what BiPolarBear said, you obviously have a bigger brain than the rest of these idiots who can't decipher lyrics from a heroine addict. Think outside the box dumb asses.

My Opinion

Except he didn't even start heroin until he was RECORDING Nevermind, meaning this song was written before he started heroin. (several post-death interviews wiil say this, as far as sources go).

Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

I see that many people around say that this song has no meaning. It is not true! This song is one of the most meaningful songs of Nirvana. It represents the band so well that it should have the title "Nirvana", instead of "Smells like teen spirit". I think it is about the beginnings of the band, when they were at high-school. "Load up on guns; bring your friends it’s fun to lose and to pretend" it gives a picture of the teenage guys in high-school, who usually gather in gangs with guns, fighting each other. "She's over-bored and self-assured Oh no, I know a dirty word" These lines are clearly for the high-school girls, who want to look older by acting like they are bored by life, and want to give the impression that they are self-assured. The dirty word for sure is BITCH! “Hello, hello, hello, how low” Now imagine the high-school gym hall, filled up with the students we described above, that are waiting to listen to a rock band from their school. The first word in the microphone, to salute and also to test the audio system, is “Hello”. It echoes through the loudspeakers “hello, hello, hello, …” “With the lights out, it's less dangerous” It is the title of one of their first songs. Maybe they had practiced it so much that: With the lights out, it’s less dangerous to fail. “Here we are now; entertain us” the crowd seemed to say. “I feel stupid and contagious” how the band leader felt in front of so many people. And “contagious” for the other band members. What the crowd sees: “A mulatto” = Novoselic, with black hair, black beard, big face, who looked like a mulatto “An albino” = Cobain, a blonde guy “A mosquito” = Grohl, or any other light-weight member of early Nirvana “A libido” = Nirvana, our passion, our pleasure “I'm worse at what I do best” how the emotion to perform in front of the public makes one feel. “And for this gift I feel blessed” The fear that you are not going to perform good, makes the artist to practice more and more, which makes him blessed. “Our little group has always been And always will until the end” That is why this song should be simply titled Nirvana. “And I forget just why I taste Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile I found it hard; it's hard to find Oh well, whatever, never mind” Cobain, and many other artists, have passed a blocking moment on stage, when they forget a line or any of the chords. There comes improvisation, which makes an artist to taste. Later, when he recalls that moment, it makes him smile. Do not try to remember the forgotten lines or chords, just free yourself, improvise, and nevermind!

My Interpretation
Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

Nirvana will never be dead!

@rinz Ya man ur totally right music makes you immortal and if your good enough at music youll never die

@rinz wow, you wrote this when i was 5 yrs old...

@rinz wrote this 6 years before I was born, that’s insane

Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

The greatest and most influencial song ever written. The song was aimed at the people the band didn't want to listen to their music (jocks/preps) who wound up listening to the music anyways.

Let me first say, before I get bashed. That I am a HUGE Nirvana fan. I own every CD/DVD/Book.

Smells Like Teen Spirit is Nirvana's sell out song. Yeah, here it comes. I know right. Smells Like Teen Spirit is in fact probably one of Nirvana's worst songs. Yet, people who hear this song on the radio, and then download Nevermind think it's the best thing since sliced bread. It's not. It's a fucking joke. Dont get me wrong. I love Nirvana, and I love Kurt. But this is a shit song. There are so many better songs by...

Not Valid

Yeah, look at you being a cunt. This is the comments section, I can express whatever I feel here, aslong as it's related to the song. And that is related to the song. And yes, People do care, obviously if there's 1314 comments on this song alone. How's about you shut the fuck up.

Not Valid

Wow, look at you being cool using your cuss words. I see where this argument will lead to and I don't feel like dealing with it.

Not Valid
Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

ok, teen spirit was a good song, but the greatist....no. nirvana had songs the were way better than that and it pisses me off that when ever anyone thinks of nirvana they think of that song, and when ever some one plays a nirvana song the play that one. it was a good song, but personaly i think about a girl, pennyroyal tea, all apologies, something in the way, drain you, siver, heart shapd box, rape me, tourette's, ect ect, are better songs. anywho its "the denial" not "a denial"

I second the notion i like about a girl better and other good songs are deppressed,polly,and come as you are.

Not Valid

Excatly MAN!!!!

(LOVE all apoligies and Drain You)

Not Valid

yeah you are so right, this is the most famous, not the greatest. i agree with kurt. the song thats about people who listen to music they dont understand became just one of those songs. ironic.

i love the fact that kurt sometimes changed the lyrics when he sang this live to prove that no one really bothered to really listen to it.

Not Valid
Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

i think this song is about fitting in in school, and what kurt thought about it, see,where it says "Load up on guns 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"

he's talking about all the crazy thing's kids do to fit in with the rest of society (which is why i am anti-government and anti-society... and atheist, it's my opinion, rant about it all you please, it's a choice just as Hinduism, Judaism, and christianity to beleive in one's self to be the higher being in their life and to not rely on another being to solve their problems) anyways, and when he say's

"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"

and

"And I forget just why I taste Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile I found it hard, it was to find Oh well, whatever, nevermind"

he's saying that he support's the "little groups" that think for themselves and he feels blessed that he is one of those and that he "forgets" just why he is one of them, and then he say's that he is because it makes him happy knowing that he is an individual, kurt was an individual, there was and to this day is no one like him, kurt lives within me forever. a friend told me that he just B.S.ed about 90% of this song while they were recording off the top oh his head, so i dont know, it's just my opinion.

Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

I don't understand why some of you argue over whether this is the best or the worst song. The great thing about this SongMeanings website is that people have the chance to speak intelligently and emotionally about music, but its hard to understand that the people who post comments don't realize that what is important isn't how great a song is in general, but what it means to you.

Personally, I find the sex interpretation to be a stretch. Yes, "how low" might refer to a blow job, and alternatively it could refer to a low between taking heroin. But it has so many possible meanings -- depression, for example. And since "hello" comes before it, you could even take it to mean the depression, emptiness and ugliness inherent in a teen world where teens are forced to be polite to the older generation, even though they don't want to -- when teens are forced to be something they're not.

I think, in general, this song is just about teen life. MrSkaPunk is probably right; Kurt didn't put much effort into the meaning of the lyrics, but what he wrote down can nonetheless be analyzed. And I think that its best taken as a multitude of emotions, actions, diversity (mulatto, albino), acceptance, rejection, and the ups and downs of teen life.

@vibe19 Well written comment, I think. By the way, I was the writer of the lyric to "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Wrote it in Olympia, at the collective where Kurt lived. The "Bikini Kill" girls were there too, at least 1 or 2 of them I think. Think it was in the summer of 1991.

Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

Load up on guns, 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

(Guns are a metaphor for defense mechanisms. He is saying bring your shields, bring your armor, come with your friends. Think of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Dylan. For him it was fun to be the opposite of what he felt to be oppressive: jocks, school, authority, conformity. There was a satisfaction in being a "loser," and "pretending." A great lyricist knows the value of puns. Overboard, over-bored, selfish, self-assured. I feel shame, and also exileration, but it's still a dirty word.)

Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello

(building the charge, building the charge).

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, hey

(with the lights out...so true, great line, it really is less dangerous. Then comes the resentment..entertain us. I feel stupid and.." how he felt in high school, which is very, very relevant. Those feelings and experiences in high school. You remember them? They are a stamp on the narrative/script of our life. If you don't believe me, think back to your high school life. How much of who you took yourself to be are you reenacting today? Mulatto/Albino/Mosquito/Libido. Great imagery. A mixed raced person, a mixed gene person, a metaphor for sucking/draining, and sexual power. Together they empower someone who is different, someone who doesn't fit in).

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

(For someone who never had a family/tribe, his group would embody this for him, until death do us part. What he does best is nonconformity, which is worse in the eyes who want him to conform. This is a blessing, of a kind, for your opinion of me is evidence of my authenticity).

And I forget just why I taste Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile I found it hard, it's hard to find Oh well, whatever, never mind

(Taste indicates feeling, a numbness forgotten. But when it comes, though it's hard to find, it makes me smile none the less).

Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello, how low Hello, hello, hello

(building the charge, building the charge).

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 A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial, a denial A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial

(Please, for the love of God, validate my experience).

Everything that Kurt ever wrote was about shame, rejection, mood swings, abandonment and self hatred. He suffered immensely, which is why he chose heroin over life. But there is another way, though it may not feel like it now. You may justify it now. Your life may feel awful now, like Kurt felt his life was. But this is an illusion. How you feel now, what is meaningful today, may be completely different from how you fee tomorrow. Don't throw your life away for a transient feeling.

My Interpretation

God Bless you man! Thanks for the song meaning! I love that the meaning could have its own little meaning to everyone, so even though this song has a specific meaning to it, any one can put there experiences into the meaning and make it there own. This is one of the reasons why I love music! This may be a sad/hopeless feeling, angry, rejecting, high intensity song, but it still covers someones feelings RIGHT NOW!!! I listen to this song, if I feel this way. I really like songs written like this, and songs that relate to how I...

@solaris2013 God bless you. Thank you for recogizing and appreciating the puns. They are his genius signature.

My Opinion
Cover art for Smells Like Teen Spirit lyrics by Nirvana

That was the greatest song ever written, or at least since the Beatles. The song name comes from the deodorant. Kurt was partying with one of the chicks from Bikini Kill and she kept on saying he smelt like teen spirit. Kurt didn't even know what teen spirit was when he wrote the song. He just thought it sounded good. At least that is the story about the title of the song that I have read about in several differnet places.

yes, this is true. She also wrote 'Kurt smells like teen spirit' on his wall, and he thought that would be a good song title

Not Valid

even if it was the song that got me hooked up n nirvana when i was 9, i wouldnt exactly call it the greatest song. kurt didnt even like playing it.

Not Valid

No, it wasn't the chicks from Bikini Kill. The story goes. Krist's girlfriend came over to Kurt and Krist's apartment. She hugged kurt, and shortly after used the bathroom. While in there, she wrote in lipstick on the mirror "Kurt smells like teen spirit" and yes, he did know what it was when he wrote the song, because seeing as Kurt and Krist were basically poor at the time. He was using his girlfriend, Tracy's deodorant, which happened to Teen Spirit. Hence, Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Good day.

Not Valid