Top 10 Nirvana Tracks: 10 Best Nirvana Songs Ever

10. About A Girl: Bleach

“About a Girl”, the jangly minor-key folk-rock anomaly amongst the murk of Bleach, Nirvana’s debut album for Seattle-based indie Sub Pop. Written at the behest of his girlfriend at the time, Cobain pines achingly through this number without relying on his standard quiet verse/loud chorus template.

Lyrics: About A Girl

I need an easy friend
I do with an ear to lend
I don't think you fit this shoe
I do won't you have a clue

I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night 
Free

I do

I'm standing in your line
I do hope you have the time
I do pick a number too
I do keep a date with you

I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night 
Free

I need an easy friend
I do with an ear to lend
I do think you fit this shoe
I do won't you have a clue

I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night
No, I can't see you every night
Free

I do ... [x4]

9. Silver- Silver

“Sliver” was the moment where Nirvana became the Nirvana we all know and love. Having discovered not long before from the Pixies that noise and pop aren’t antithetical concepts, Nirvana laid down this non-album single with Mudhoney drummer Danny Peters that’s as catchy as it is anguished. Inspired by memories of his broken childhood, Cobain sings about being dropped off at his grandfolks’ home by neglectful parents in a sing-song melody that’s betrayed by the full-on rock-out choruses, thick distortion, and the emergence of his own pained howls. When Cobain screams “I woke up in my mother’s arms”, he shatters the twee pop myth of the pristine, innocent youth by revealing it to be a time rife with hurt.

Lyrics: Silver

So close your eyes
Your christ has come
The crippled boy that you once knew
The charmed enigma chosen one
With painted lips
Skin ripped and torn
Come touch and feel and lick and smell
This envy that I've worn so well

Everybody wants
Everybody says
Everybody begs
In time

So drink me in
Like tainted wine
Come bite down on my sharpened cup
And taste the dreams that numb the mind
A simple word
A harmless glare
That binds me with the thinnest thread
And pins me down to pleasure's bed

Everybody wants
Everybody says
Everybody begs
In time

You will be the first to fall
Every feeling will dissolve
We are silver
Morphine baby's final breath
Every breath into my breast
We are silver

So shy and poised
With few regrets
A Judas kill, a complex thrill
A memory I won't soon forget
Been washed out clean
Till all runs dry
Come touch and feel and lick and smell
The hurt that only you could sell

Everybody wants
Everybody says
Everybody begs
In time

You will be the first to fall
Every feeling will dissolve
We are silver
Morphine baby's final breath
Ever smothered to my breast
We are silver

Sister, I will follow you this time
Knowing I will follow you

Everybody wants
Everybody says
Everybody begs
In time

And you will be the first to fall
Every feeling will dissolve
We are silver
Morphine baby's final breath
Ever smothered to your breast
We are silver
Silver
Silver (we are silver)
Silver
Silver (we are silver)

8. Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle - In Utro

Never mind that many details in the Francis Farmer biography Shadowland(Cobain’s source of inspiration and muse for this song from the band’s third and final album) are fictionalized.

Lyrics: Frances Farmer Will Have Its Revenge on Seattle

It's so relieving
To know that you're leaving as soon as you get paid
It's so relaxing
To hear that you're asking wherever you get your way
It's so soothing
To know that you'll sue me, this is starting to sound the same

I miss the comfort in being sad [x3]

In her false witness, we hope you're still with us,
To see if they float or drown
Our favorite patient, a display of patience,
Disease-covered Puget Sound
She'll come back as fire, to burn all the liars,
And leave a blanket of ash on the ground

I miss the comfort in being sad [x3]

It's so relieving
To know that you're leaving as soon as you get paid
It's so relaxing
To know that you're asking wherever you get your way
It's so soothing
To know that you'll sue me, this is starting to sound the same

I miss the comfort in being sad [x3]

7. “Drain You” -Nevermind
“Drain You” is the single fromNevermind that wasn’t. The catchiest song from the album’s second half, this simultaneously gross/sweet tale of a symbiotic relationship was relegated to b-side status on certain versions of the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” single.

Lyrics: Drain You

One baby to another says I'm lucky to have met you
I don't care what you think unless it is about me
It is now my duty to completely drain you
I travel through a tube and end up in your infection

Chew your meat for you, pass it back and forth
In a passionate kiss from my mouth to yours
I like you

With eyes so dilated I've become your pupil
You've taught me everything without a poison apple
The water is so yellow, I'm a healthy student
Indebted and so grateful, vacuum out the fluids

Chew your meat for you, pass it back and forth
In a passionate kiss from my mouth to yours
I like you

You, you, you
You, you

One baby to another says I'm lucky to have met you
I don't care what you think unless it is about me
It is now my duty to completely drain you
I travel through a tube and end up in your infection

Chew your meat for you, pass it back and forth
In a passionate kiss from my mouth to yours
Sloppy lips to lips, you're my vitamins
I like you

6. “Lithium” - Nevermind

Nirvana had a knack for unforgettable intros, and the instantly recognizable muted single notes and occasional unrepressed double-stops that Cobain plucks on his guitar in the first few measures of “Lithium” are no exception. This joyous/desperate ode to finding religion is among the few Nirvana tunes where the quiet section is more compelling than the loud rock-out bits, as it allows the listener to fully savor the clever chord progression.

Lyrics: "Lithium"

I'm so happy 'cause today
I've found my friends ...
They're in my head
I'm so ugly, but that's okay, 'cause so are you ...
We've broken our mirrors [Alt: We broke our mirrors]
Sunday morning is everyday for all I care ...
And I'm not scared
Light my candles, in a daze
'Cause I've found god

Yeah, yeah, yeah [6x]

I'm so lonely, but that's okay, I shaved my head ...
And I'm not sad
And just maybe I'm to blame for all I've heard ...
But I'm not sure
I'm so excited, I can't wait to meet you there ...
But I don't care
I'm so horny, but that's okay ...
My will is good

Yeah, yeah, yeah [6x]

[2x]
I like it - I'm not gonna crack
I miss you - I'm not gonna crack
I love you - I'm not gonna crack
I killed you - I'm not gonna crack

I'm so happy 'cause today
I've found my friends ...
They're in my head
I'm so ugly, but that's okay, 'cause so are you ...
We've broken our mirrors [Alt: We broke our mirrors]
Sunday morning is everyday for all I care ...
And I'm not scared
Light my candles in a daze ...
'Cause I've found god

Yeah, yeah, yeah [6x]

[2x]
I like it - I'm not gonna crack
I miss you - I'm not gonna crack
I love you - I'm not gonna crack
I killed you - I'm not gonna crack

5. All Apologesis

Forget the underwhelming posthumous single “You Know You’re Right”: as the closing track on In Utero, “All Apologies” is the real final Nirvana song. Based around a sublime droning riff in drop-D tuning, “All Apologies” forgoes tumult and aggression for calm and resignation.

Lyrics: All Apologises
What else should I be
All apologies
What else should 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 feed as one
In the sun
In the sun
I'm married
buried
I wish I was like you
Easily amused
Find my nest of salt
Everything is my fault
I'll take all the blame
Aqur scafoam shame
Sunburn with freezeburn
Choking on the ashes of her enemy
All in all we all are

4. In Bloom: NeverMind

The fourth single from Nevermind is its most metallic, lurching through gnarly chord changes that are augmented by Dave Grohl’s explosive drum fills. When Cobain says “Spring is here again”, the song begins to brighten, soon unveiling a sing-along chorus that pointedly calls out people who join in but “knows not what it means”

Lyrics: In Bloom

Sell the kids for food
weather changes moods
Spring is here again
reproductive glands

Hey - He's the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he knows not what it means
Don't know what it means, when I say:

He's the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he knows not what it means
Knows not what it means when I say aahh ...

We can have some more - nature is a whore
Bruises on the fruit - tender age in bloom

Hey - He's the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he knows not what it means
Don't know what it means, when I say:

He's the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he knows not what it means
Knows not what it means when I say aahh ...

He's the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he knows not what it means
Knows not what it mean's when I say:

He's the one
Who likes all our pretty songs
And he likes to sing along
And he likes to shoot his gun
But he knows not what it means

Knows not what it means [x2]
Knows not what it means when I say aahh ...

3. “Aneurysm” – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” single /Incesticide

Listening to this song, the immediate question is: is it about heroin? Whether it’s about love as a drug or the love of drugs, “Aneurysm” is a powerful encapsulation of all-consuming emotional sickness. Reckless yet controlled, “Aneurysm” moves between extremes of restraint and abandon in the verses as it tries to hold its baser impulses in check, only to give in to temptation during the grinding choruses.

Lyrics: Aneurysm

Come on over and do the twist
Over-do it and have a fit
Love you so much it makes me sick
Come on over and do the twist

Beat me outta me - Beat it! beat it! [x7]
Beat me outta me

Come on over and do the twist
Over-do it and have a fit
Love you so much it makes me sick
Come on over and shoot the shit

Beat me outta me - Beat it! beat it! [x7]
Beat me outta me

She keeps it pumpin' straight to my heart [x8]

2. Heart-Shaped Box” - In Utero

In the months prior to its September 1993 release, rumors circulated that In Utero was Nirvana’s career killer, a calculated anti-Nevermind full of noisy, unlistenable music. The lead single “Heart-Shaped Box” put all concerns to rest. Yes, the rough edges of producer Steve Albini’s production are still discernible through Scott Litt’s mix, and Cobain does slip in a concise anti-solo halfway through, but this remains another verse-chorus-verse Nirvana classic, through and through (those abrasive elements do give the track an fascinatingly unnerving edge, though).

Lyrics; Heart Shaped Box

She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar-pit trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black

Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice

Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on angel's hair and baby's breath
Broken hymen of your highness I'm left back
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back

Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice

She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar-pit trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black

Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey! Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice

Your advice [x3]

1. Smells Like A Teen Spirit

“More Than a Feeling” (they don’t even use the same chord progression). And get over the fact that this is the most overly-recognizable rock song from the last 20 years. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” deserves its hallowed place in the canon of popular music because it’s got great hooks, fantastic dynamics, and a two-bar riff so infectious no one was able to ignore alternative rock ever again. From the first chord scratch to Cobain’s very last “a denial”, it’s the definitive encapsulation of teen angst: often duplicated, yet to be surpassed. And let’s not forget one final fact: no matter the historical and cultural weight we can justifiably affix to it, a large part of the appeal of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is that it absolutely, unequivocally, undeniably rocks.

Lyrics: SmellsLike A Teen Spirit

Load up on guns, 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? [x3]
Hello, hello, hello!

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
Yay! [x3]

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

Hello, hello, hello, how low? [x3]
Hello, hello, hello!

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
Yay! [x3]

And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it's hard to find
Oh well, whatever, never mind

Hello, hello, hello, how low? [x3]
Hello, hello, hello!

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

A denial !! [x9]