Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit Meaning
Song Released: 1991
Covered By: Malia J (2021)
Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics
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,...
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When I looked up the lyrics of the song I figured that was kind of a sarcastic way of how adults view teenagers.
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Load up on guns, bring your friends
(Get your drugs on, the more the merrier)
It's fun to lose and to pretend
(It's fun to get high, but makes me a loser)
She's overboard and self-assured
(When you are stoned you feel good and invincible)
Oh, no, I know a dirty word
(Don't tell anyone I just took heroin)
Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low
Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low
Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low
Hello, Hello, Hello
(Can you see how stoned I am right now?)
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
(When I'm on drugs, I don't have to think)
Here we are now, entertain us
(I'm stoned now, let the party begin)
I feel stupid and contagious
(I know drugs are not good for me, and I just encourage my friends to get stoned with me)
Here we are now, entertain us
(I'm stoned now, let the party begin)
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
(My friends are so freaky, one of them always mooches from me, I'm horny and libido rhymes with mosquito)
Yeah
(Ain't I clever)
Hey... Yay
I'm worse at what I do best
(I used to be more clever, but now I do the best I can)
And for this gift I feel blessed
(I'm glad I can still write and sing)
Our little group (tribe) has always been
(People wanting to escape reality have always existed)
And always will until the end
(and always will exist)
Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low
Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low
Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low
Hello, Hello, Hello
(Can you see how stoned I am right now?)
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
(see above)
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
Yeah
(see above)
Hey... Yay
(Guitar solo)
And I forget just why I taste
(I can't remember why I turned to drugs)
Oh, yeah, I guess it makes me smile
(I can forget my problems and have fun)
I found it hard, it's hard to find
(Even when I'm stoned, sometimes it's hard to enjoy)
Oh well, whatever, nevermind
(That's OK, because it usually works)
Hello, Hello, Hello, How Low (x3)
Hello, Hello, Hello
(see above)
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
(see above)
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
(see above)
Yeah a denial
A denial! (x9)
(I am deluding myself into thinking drugs are the answer) -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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The meaning of this song is pretty clear.
It about the singer depression ( low self esteem ). Thus the title smell like teen spirt. Because teen have low self esteem.
Load up on guns and 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
When you`re depressed you can get crazy thoughts. Self assured is a "dirty word".
Hello, hello, hello, how low.
Notice the how low, like how low are you feeling?
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
When the light are out sucide is less present because he cant see his current situation. People expect him to perfom on stage even if he feel bad inside. Feeling stupid, contagious all about depression.
I'm worst at what I do best
And for this gift I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end
Again negative thought, but then he remind him self that he has his group that he can alway depend on.
A denial!
Like your in denial -
this song about a clash between kurt and some teen in his teenage memories...that teen must had called him a big name about his mom,,,so that is why kurt says"she's overbored,and self assured"..when,boys,do you say your mother is sexually overbored and self assured?yes,when someone says she's that and will make that with her,so you say she's overbored that to mean who insulted her is castrated,and self assured is that she's sure he won't satisfy her for a castrated and bed impaired...hahaha..then,it's fun to lose and to pretend,,he laughs at that teen and tells him that,,this expression is produced when someone beats you,,so he got ass kicked by that teen,but kurt kept his teen dignity arise that he pretended he did not lose...now,i've given you an idea about what he says...ciao
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what makes these lyrics so great, beyond the catchiness of the song itself, is how he leaves it so wide open to interpret. So yeah maybe the name came from a deoderant but he obviously ran with that idea and created many possible angles for everyone to relate to in some way. So we can all listen to this song how we personally want to. like for example my thoughts on the first verse had to do with the "Bikini Kill" chick he had problems with. "she's over bored"-could means she cheated on him maybe and "self assured"-she might have been hot and knew it "oh no i know a dirty word" could be an underlying way of calling her a slut of some kind. Just my thoughts. like i said thats the beauty of good lyrics. you have your own version of the song.
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I agree with those who think it could be a love song.
"Come as you are" and "I don't have a gun" are expressions to encourage the other person if there is a sympathy between two. I take you just as you are, you don't have to hide anything and don't be afraid, you can come closer to me (if the other person is a shy one). -
Jesus Christ on a tricycle people, it's about the pains and the way teenagers view the world, and the stereotypes. It's also about apathy, just shutting out every thought and feeling.
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this is a religous song . a "denial" is repeated several times. If you hear it carefully it says " Im in Hell". This music video is full of subliminal symbols and words."Hello" is "how low" meaning this place is hell. He refers himself as the devil, and since the teens are in hell he wants them to entertain him. on the left chest side of the cheerleaders they have the gothic A symbol.
The old man with the mop is trying to save these teens, but the "contagious" and "stupid" spiritual disease is too widely and strongly spread.Because teenagers are always in an identity crisis, Kurt is luring them with something that can fill their empty hearts, by his artistic music. Just like the arabs play their flute to make snakes dance.In the last few seconds of the music video his right cheek is on flames and he is smiling at the end for 1 sec, ending it with a straight no emotional face. It almost seems as if hes accomplished his main purpose or goal.
If Kurt was an evangelist, he would have done great -
I think this song is talking about poker , I haven't read the background of the song and haven't read the other interpretations, but I
Load up on guns and
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 going to play poker and so excited and enthusiastic that he didn't matter if he's gonna lose or win, while he's playing there were girls around him so he couldn't focus, then he lost, so he became aware oh his lose and started swearing
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
now he decided to play again so maybe he could win , he wants to stop playing poker but he can't, it became like addicction,though he knows that It's a stupid thing , ( a mulatto ) he's mixed between the black and white , like he's saying to himself what the hell I'm doing ? and inthe same time he says ooh I gotta win now
to be honest I don't know what they mean in ( an albino and a mosquito )
my libido , he can't focus again because of the girls around him .
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 I forget
Just what it takes
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard
its Hard to find
Oh well, whatever, nevermind
talking abt the same thing, he's not playing well but he's not gonna give up
btw this is my first interpretation , and hope this is right :) -
Teen Spirit = The want of popularity. Through sex, drugs, alcohol, you name it.
The Violence (potential) = speaking of the cliques of non acceptance and what they do if they can't handle it.
Teenage life, through the hardest times of finding out who you are, is what this song is about...
Watch the music video... It actually explains a lot douchebags. -
Actually, a lot of Kurt's songs have deeper meaning, and sometimes he just throws pointless words together because he gets lazy. He said this himself in a couple of interviews. But personally, I think he just wrote everything high and sometimes, he got lucky!
Firstly though, the title "Smells like team spirit" came from the deodorant worn by Kurt's ex lover Tobi Vail (of Bikini Kill). One of her friends, Kathleen Hanna, wrote this on Kurt's wall as in "you-smell-like-you-girlfriend! ... Kurt didn't understand the term at the time, but thought it meant that he was rebellious (teenage angst) and stood out. He wrote this song after their breakup.
"Load up on guns, bring your friends" - this opening sentence first talks about loading up on drugs and substances.. taking a 'shot' of vodka, or taking a 'hit' of some Mary-Jane.. it's the perfect metaphor and play on word. Guns are destructible, just like drugs and alcohol are... usually teenagers at this point in time, and still today, were all about drug, sex and rock-and-roll. This was something all the teenagers were doing.
"it's fun to lose and pretend," .. as in the substances have gotten to everyone using, and it's exciting to be someone else, go somewhere else (another world) and to make believe in something that is no existent. As you get old, away from the childhood stage and into your teens, many forget what it feels like to dream. This was something that took them back to that place where they once felt innocence and never ending freedom.
"she's over board, and self assured, oh know I know a dirty word..." ... this generally speaking is about going off the edge and the deep end.. going to the extreme of anything.. drugs, sex, you name it.. the fact that these teens are growing up, knowing these adult words scares their parents, and this is a mock to adults that says: "oh please, it's not like I haven't heard the word sex before, or let alone hope you still think I am a virgin."
"hello, hello, hello, how low?" ... this is a calling out.. as in if anyone can hear the teens.. they want to be heard, but the truth of the matter is that they are sunken to low, to a level that they cannot be heard anymore. Almost that they can't find themselves because of all the 'fake' illusions they have stuffed into their heads through the in-toxications of drugs and vodka, whiskey, etc. After a while, drugs bring you down to a low point. Everything up must come down.
"lights out, less dangerous, here we are now, entertain us.. i feel stupid, i feel contagious." ... this states that having the lights out, there isn't much for people to judge. Teens always feel peer pressured into something... whether it be sex, drugs... with the lights off no one can see anything and darkness consumes. There is no light, and without light what is left to see is hidden. Also, teens are bored. ALWAYS bored. This could have relevance to ADD, as in nothing is fun anymore. There use to be a time when as children they found adventures in boxes, costumes, etc. The kids feel stupid because the choices they are making are dumb ones, they feel contagious because once it's done, it's done. The more people that they infect, the more it spreads around like a disease that's easy to catch.
"a mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido" ... making reference to the different type of people in the world... with the lights off, you can be anything you want to be- on drugs, the same thing. It was all about fulfilling needs, and it didn't matter what or who you were.
"im worst at what I do best.." ... that is loving. kids don't love anything, it was a period of pure lust and satisfaction. Teens were able to fuck so well, say anything to make others believe that they were loved... teens are bad lovers, but are great lovers between the sheets.
"oh well, yeah, nevermind" ... it's the fact that teens are so indecisive. They always change their mind, they are about to agree on something, but it quickly changes.
Overall, this is my intake on the song itself- it could be anything to you, or to Kurt for that matter. We will never really know- take it for what it is, or what it isn't. -
Most of theses are wrong if you played "Tap Tap Nirvana" on the iTouch or iPhone. Kurt said he was hanging out with some friends and a girl kept saying he smelled like teen spirit he was flattered and decided to write a song.Turns out she meant he smelled like "Teen Spirit" the deoderant its a funny story. If you dont believe me play the game yourself.
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most of the songs of of nevermind were inspired by toby vail the lead singer of bikini kill. while i dont know the exact meaning of the lyrics per-say, but i know that one day toby wrote "kurt smells like teen spirit" on his wall. teen spirit was the deoterant that toby was using at the time which leads me to suspect that the song was just about their realationship.
but kurt always said that people try to interpret his song but are completely off the mark. -
Ok, first enough with the deodorant comment! Yes, its true, but that's not the meaning of the song, only the origin of the title. The song is about the angst, broken attention, and general attitude in Generation X. Most of it is picking on how adults saw the teens and the fact that, for the most part, they were horribly wrong. Yes, Kurt Cobain did drugs and other dumb things, but the point is, not everyone did and they really just wanted to have fun.
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