Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit Meaning

Song Released: 1991

Covered By: Malia J (2021)

Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics

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

hello, hello, hello, how low?
hello, hello, hello, how low?
hello, hello, hello, how low?
hello,...

1. fenderchik421

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   Apr 26th 2006 !⃝

   Okay, Kurt was dating this girl and he would wear Teen Spirit deoderant and she I think spray painted on his wall "Kurt smells like teen spirit" and that's where he got the name from. And my interpretation of it was about having sex with the lights out...."With the lights out it's less dangerous" And "I feel stupid and contagious" 'cause he was confused about it and he feels contagious I think because she could get pregnant or an STD or maybe she's confused too....Well that's my opinion.
2. Sp4zTiC_j0

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   Apr 20th 2006 !⃝

   Oh My God! Who cares! Kurt was a musical Genius! and it dosnt matter what you think about him because the fact remains that he is better than you even tho he is dead!
   
   Anywho I think that we should stop throwing ideas at each other I think that songs should be interperated differently by different people this makes them more unique and meaningful because if you just go and look up somebody else's meaning then what's that song going to mean to you huh? It will be so much more if you sit and think about it for yourself.
3. anonymous

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   Apr 16th 2006 !⃝

   For christ sake all you people the writing on the wall is just where he got the name for it it has nothing to do with the goddamn song.
4. dudefish

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   Apr 16th 2006 !⃝

   Courtney Love's friend write on a wall at Kurts home "kurt smell like teen spirit" and there you go... but Kurt didn't know that teen spirit is an actual after shave.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
5. themansonchild

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   Mar 8th 2006 !⃝

   I think most of you (not all) are been pathetic. Especially you, "nirvana" if you were actually a true Nirvana fan you would realise that Smells Like Teen Spirit wasn't written just because of Tobi's frend writing it on the wall.
   
   In my opinion I think the song is about many aspects, including Kurt's life, teenage life, and other stuff only Kurt will know. To be true, Kurt is the only one who knows the true meaning, so we can all go on debating this for hours on end. The song might not even have a meaning, Kurt could quite easily of just been stoned or drugged up when he wrote this song, but I definitely think it has a meaning tht only Kurt will understand. By all means Kurt is only probably looking at us from above laughing and saying "you assholes!" . Some of you are being so arrogant and ignorant about this, you're the ones who Kurt would be ashamed of!
6. anonymous

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   Mar 6th 2006 !⃝

   I think most of you (not all) are been pathetic. Especially you, "nirvana" if you were actually a true Nirvana fan you would realise that Smells Like Teen Spirit wasn't written just because of Tobi's frend writing it on the wall.
   
   In my opinion I think the song is about many aspects, including Kurt's life, teenage life, and other stuff only Kurt will know. To be true, Kurt is the only one who knows the true meaning, so we can all go on debating this for hours on end. The song might not even have a meaning, Kurt could quite easily of just been stoned or drugged up when he wrote this song, but I definitely think it has a meaning tht only Kurt will understand. By all means Kurt is only probably looking at us from above laughing and saying "you assholes!" . Some of you are being so arrogant and ignorant about this, you're the ones who Kurt would be ashamed of!
7. anonymous

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   Feb 25th 2006 !⃝

   Good for you, you think what you want. He may be dead but the music isn't. Metal music is dying but you macho metalheads who think you're hard by comming on here saying all that rubbish are denying it. Also, in your opinion he may have been washed up to think, to him you may have been washed up or vice versa. It's opinionated, but nothing is important, him being dead don't make any difference.
   "What matters isn't always matter"
8. anonymous

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   Feb 22nd 2006 !⃝

   I could really not give a crap what this song is about. 1) the band wasn't that great... 2)He is dead... 3) he was washed up anyway...4)Grunge sucked and it killed hair metal. So I think that everything that is going on here is pointless and stupid!

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. anonymous

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   Feb 20th 2006 !⃝

   This song is basically about life as a teenager.
   
   It's chaotic, but teenagers enjoy it. Its a really broad context of being a teenager.
   
   Teens are stupid....lol
10. sk8er1al

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    Feb 14th 2006 !⃝

    I've read in an interview with Kurt that he wrote this song to sort of make fun of some band (L7 or The Pixies I can't remember) and he wrote it to be the most "pop rock" song he could write. yes he got the name from the spray paint on the wall. and its also sort of about how to teens being apathitic, having ADD, and basically being a zombie is "cool" for some reason.
11. Medicate

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    Feb 12th 2006 !⃝

    This song is about Cobain's Then Girlfriend the lead singer for Bikini Kill who had a deoderant called "Teen Spirit" well one of the girls other friends found out they were sleeping with each other spray painted "Kurt Smells like Teen Spirit" Cobain not knowing what the meant liked the phrase "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and used for the name of the first song/video/single on the 1991 hit album
    "Nevermind"
12. anonymous

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    Jan 30th 2006 !⃝

    I think the song may be about playing russian roulette......"load up on guns bring your friends its fun to lose and to pretend"....the people playing It may hate there lifes and want to die...I don't know though
13. grungegurl

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    Jan 22nd 2006 !⃝

    Tell put it plain and simple: GENERATION X
14. cuntagion

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    Jan 17th 2006 !⃝

    Stupid and contagious is right. Any irresponsible m.f. who takes it upon himself to guide a generation, beginning with the lines "load up on guns/and bring your friends" is indeed stupid and -Pearl? Kip Kinkle? Columbine? - maybe contagious in the worst possible way. At any rate, his silly, nonsensical b.s. caught on.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
15. sheep

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    Jan 17th 2006 !⃝

    For the love of God, if this is the new teen spirit - as most of you sound like teenagers - calling one another stupid, positing bizarre exegetic justification for your chosen lifestyles (projecting), for instance with Linkinpark4eva, then we should all tuck it in a gutbucket. The song doesn't promote group sex (or anything else shallow, overdone, and negative). If you read Michael Azzerad's book on Nirvana, you'll learn that some girl ( doesn't matter who) Cobain was hanging with told him jokingly he smelled like Teen Spirit (w/ the deodorant in mind)in response to him talking animatedly and at length about the plight of troubled youth or "whatever." He'd never heard of the deodorant; he'd never used deodorant. High on drugs and full of inspiration, yet little knowledge and sophistication, he penned an incoherent song(with misspellings). It wasn't intended to be a reflection of the ADD of today's youth; was just a result of 1) his aforementioned shortcomings, 2) his own ADHD, 3) his lack of education, and 4) whatever he was on. From his poor choice of (limited) reading, Cobain picked up from William S. Burroughs - another morally comprimised, though much better educated, dopehead - the cut-up and fold-in techniques. If he employed this to crank out his meaningless song, it doesn't really matter: he couldn't make any sense even when he was trying. Who cares what he wanted to tell a generation?

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