29 Best Nirvana Songs

“Something in the Way”

Song year: 1991

“Something in the Way” is a sparse and dirge-y song about living under a bridge, and being stuck in a low place in your life. The song’s speaker can’t escape this situation because there is something in the way, an obstacle he can’t name or overcome.

This song appears twice in the 2022 movie The Batman. Due to the popularity of the movie, the song’s streams went crazy, earning “Something in the Way” a spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the very first time.

“Dumb”

Song year: 1993

Another excellent and complex song from In Utero, “Dumb,” could be seen as just another self-loathing song from the mop-haired prince of self-loathing. But that would be too simple, and though fans and media acted like they could see through Kurt, it was only because they thought he was transparent.

Cobain was not dumb, but he wrote “Dumb” as a creative examination of people who are ignorant, not smart, not critical thinkers or self-reflectors, and how it seems that these people are the happy ones. A life of “Dumb” happiness is a life of shrugging off consequences and not caring to do better.

“Aneurysm”

Song year: 1992

While this song was released on 1992’s compilation album, Incesticide, it first appeared as the B-Side to the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” single.

“Aneurysm” begins with palpitating drums and effects-heavy guitar noise. It’s not the most lyric-heavy Nirvana song, but the vocals betray the feelings of betrayal with crackling energy.

This song is clearly about a relationship with an uneven power dynamic. Cobain wrote this after a troubling and failed relationship with Bikini Kill’s Tobi Vail.

“Lake of Fire”

Song year: 1994

Kurt Cobain was known for many things in his time, one of which was for putting his money where his mouth was when it came to supporting other bands. MTV’s Unplugged was for the creme de la creme of rockstars and money-making musicians. Most bands were never going to get that invitation in the mail.

Because Nirvana were fans of the band, The Meat Puppets, they had them as guests during the performance, covering three of their songs.

The lyrics of “Lake of Fire” read like a dark children’s story and are packed with biblical imagery. It is a catchy song about being influenced by religion but challenging it at the same time.

“You Know You’re Right”

Song year: 2002

Nirvana recorded “You Know You’re Right” in January 1994 without any specific plans for it. It ended up being the last thing they recorded together. Cobain died a few months later, and the song was shelved until it was released as a single and part of a “best of” album in 2002.

It made quite a splash, as fans were hungry for any Nirvana they hadn’t heard. Cobain wrote this song about his feelings and frustrations with love. The lyrics capture a falling apart relationship. The speaker is tired of fighting and is giving in, giving up, and moving on.

“On a Plain”

Song year: 1991

From Nevermind, at its fundamental level, “On a Plain” is a song about writing a song. Deeper than that, it’s about writing, creating for an audience, and the relationship between the artist and the audience.

Even if you don’t have fans yet, if you want to do this thing for a living, you have to create something that will appeal to people, and that necessity gets in the way of an artist’s actual voice, vision, and perspective.

In “On a Plain,” however, Cobain is also saying that he’s doing ok, that it’s working for him, so maybe he should shut up and not worry about it.

“Love Buzz”

Song year: 1989

Recorded for Bleach, “Love Buzz” was Nirvana’s first released single. The song is a cover of a 1967 song by the Dutch band Shocking Blue.

With a come hither intro riff and Cobain’s slurred crooning, this seems like a raucous yet sweet love song. Although the lyrics certainly seem to say that this is a song about a toxic relationship with some gaslighting going on. It’s still full of energy and incredibly fun to sing along to.

“Breed”

Song year: 1991

Cobain wrote “Breed” in 1989. Initially, it was titled “Immodium” after the anti-diarrheal medication tourmate Tad Doyle of TAD took while they were on the road together.

The repetition in this song has a trance-inducing effect, which is appropriate since it’s about the middle-class American life, the cookie-cutter dream of finding an ok job, getting married, and having kids. This one says maybe we could do things differently. We could do whatever we want.

“Polly”

Song year: 1991

Written earlier, recorded with Chad Channing on drums, but released on Nevermind, “Polly” is musically sparse but starkly beautiful. The song is based on a real-life 1987 kidnapping of a 14-year-old girl. The lyrics allude to the abuse and assault she suffered.

Here, Cobain is singing from the point of view of the kidnapper, seeming to empathize with him in an attempt to understand his mindset and how a person like that must be thinking to cause terrible pain to another person.

“Plateau”

Song year: 1994

“Plateau” is a Meat Puppets song, originally released on their 1984 album, Meat Puppets II. Nirvana invited Meat Puppets brothers Curt and Kris Kirkwood to perform a few songs with them for Unplugged, and this was one of the most popular.

With an incredibly evocative and pleasurable chorus, “Plateau” is about the tedious toil of life and what it all amounts to in the end.