What does All Apologies mean?

Nirvana: All Apologies Meaning

Album cover for All Apologies album cover

Song Released: 1993


All Apologies Lyrics

What else should I be
All apologies
What else could I say
Everyone is gay
What else could I write
I don't have the RIGHT
What else should I be
All apologies

In the sun
In the sun I feel as one
In the sun
In the...

  1. anonymous
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    Jun 24th 2008 !⃝

    This song was written long before Kurt had even met Courtney, sometime around 1990. Its hard to believe that it is about her. As for Kurt having no meanings to his songs, that is and is not true. Kurt wrote most of his songs using bits and pieces of random poetry. Some songs, for example "On A Plain" were written minutes before recording had begun. That being said, Kurt purposely left his songs open to personal interpretation and because of this his songs are that much better because you can relate to them in your own way.

  2. anonymous
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    Feb 7th 2008 !⃝

    See Primus and Les Claypool, "Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People."

    What else should I be? All apologies.

    BE AS YOU ARE, it's a favorite hat I wear. Animals should not try to act like people...but that's what we are. We're animals trying to act like people.

    It's about the human condition and Jung's concept of the shadow, IMO. We are born whole, we must become civilized, but during the civilization process, we lose some of the best parts of our selves...we unconsciously reject some of our best qualities and the purpose of life is to reclaim those qualities that society destroyed.

    Kurt killed himself, IMO, because society didn't understand him and wanted to use him in ways that were impure and dishonest. Claypool, on the other hand, has a sense of humor and mental stability that allows him to live on, giving the middle finger to those who deserve it...but creatively.

  3. Chesh
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    Jan 24th 2008 !⃝

    It's not about him getting Courtney hooked on drugs because the whore was on them when they met.

  4. anonymous
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    Sep 12th 2007 !⃝

    Before you guys jump on the guy who said Kurt's song has no meaning he's partly true whether he meant to be a jackass or not. Kurt says throughout his career that the vast majority of his songs are "about nothing basically" . The point is even Kurt left his lyrics up to interpretation to him and all of us, and he did so very intentionally. granted the guy said it in a disrespectful manner its partly true, it's about whatever we want it to be about. There's not one single nirvana song you can pinpoint and say that's exactly what it's about, hell there's barely any lines in any songs you can be too sure of.

  5. xxxxxxx
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    Jun 17th 2007 !⃝

    People, this song was written out of his guilt, and the love he still felt for his ex-girlfriend, singer, Mary Lou Lord!

    Courtney was pissed that he wrote this song - it had NOTHING to do with her!
    Respectfully!

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  6. anonymous
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    Jun 12th 2007 !⃝

    It's a song that is about Courtney.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  7. anonymous
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    May 11th 2007 !⃝

    lol I saw this documentary by Kurt when he said HIMSELF so you can oppose this, that.. all apologies was well written by curt for his daughter and wife and for all his fans cause he was doubting suicide

    and I TAKE ALL THE BLAME says it all straight. He felt guilty for everything he did which took a big part on he's suicide.

  8. anonymous
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    May 6th 2007 !⃝

    Kurt Cobain never really said the true meanings of his song. People have come up with many different opinions about its meaning and all of them can be true, but the truth is no one will ever know the true meaning of this song unless he told them. My opinion which I think is also a very good opinion is that Kurt Cobain never wanted to become a mainstream band. He just wanted to be a little garage band having fun, singing, playing guitar with his friends… He obviously eventually did and I think that’s why he wrote it. He wrote this song right before he died and I think he wrote because of his lost in interest with the band. In the song I think he expresses a lot sorrow and pain for Courtney Love and all his fans such as the lyrics “aqua seafoam shame, and sunburn with frezerburn”. I think this song means that he’s sorry for letting everyone down, that he’s sorry for ruining Courtney Love’s life and he doesn’t know a better way of telling the world how he feels then by doing what he does best, writing music.

  9. anonymous
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    Apr 12th 2007 !⃝

    AGREED... Kurt actually NEVER once wrote a song without a meaning... How he wrote was he started with what he wanted to say, and the made it a song... Therefore, no meaning, no song...

    and yes a lot of these interpretations are correct...

    BURN IN HELL COURTNEY!!

  10. anonymous
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    Mar 28th 2007 !⃝

    I think it's about how the media attacked his lyrics and song. "what else could I write/ I don't have the right" the mass media was giving him real shit for his ways of expression.

  11. anonymous
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    Feb 13th 2007 !⃝

    it's known that one of the first times this song was played, was at the 92 reading festival.. before Kurt started singin' he said that the song was dedicated to her wife and continued to say that there are lots of bad thing written about them..and afterwards he told the people present there to scream "courtney we love you"
    that explains a lot I think..aguante arg! jeje

  12. anonymous
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    Jan 9th 2007 !⃝

    This song seems to be definitely about his probable divorce and his mixed up feelings over mortality the whole music thing. However a telling line concludes that married and buried was prophetically sad.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  13. anonymous
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    Dec 27th 2006 !⃝

    To whatever cockbag who posted that Kurt had no relations to his lyrics with his own life and his interpretations on life itself should take a second look. The fact that one can even come into that conclusion is just out of the question. Kill yourself you idiot.

    Thanks.

  14. anonymous
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    Oct 19th 2006 !⃝

    That's amazing I had no idea it was about his loss of intrest in music, although the lyric makes sense

    what else should I be
    all apologies
    what else could I say
    everyone is gay
    what else could I write
    i don't have the right


    I just thought he wrote the song, for Courtney love and his daughter. No rael meaning, only because it sounded sad.

  15. Cobainfan420
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    Aug 29th 2006 !⃝

    I believe that this song is about him being sorry for his loss of the love of music. He never wanted to be mainstream, and whoever said nirvana's lyrics have no meaning should be ran over




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