Smells Like Teen Spirit

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.