Nirvana's Great Story
Nirvana's story begins in the rural logging town of Aberdeen, Washington where vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain (1967 - 1994) had grown up. After a tumultuous childhood he dropped out of high school and moved to Olympia with long time friend and bass player, Krist Novoselic (1965). There, Cobain and Novoselic first formed a band called the Stiff Woodies, then changed the name to Skid Row. Inspired by Black Sabbath, and punk rock bands like Black Flag, by 1986 they had formed Nirvana and two years later moved to Seattle to record their first single with Sub Pop. Drummers came and left the group seemingly through a revolving door, but by 1988 they had managed to complete recording of their first full-length album "Bleach."
- Lithium
- That’s not to say that Kurt Cobain did not invest himself in the lyrics – there is much to be deduced from the words within – but he did repeatedly indicate that the story of “Lithium” was a fictional one. “The story is about a guy who lost his girlfriend,” he once explained. “I can’t decide what caused her to die – let’s say she died of AIDS or a car accident or something – and he’s going around brooding and he turned to religion as a last resort to keep himself alive, to keep him from suicide.”
- Come As You Are
- Lyrically, the song – like much of Nevermind – reflects Cobain’s diametric tendencies, with deliberate contrasts throughout. He implores the listener to “Come as you are,” before acquiescing to “as you were,” while the command to “take your time” is countered by “hurry up,” though ultimately “the choice is yours.”