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
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

[Chorus]
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
Yeah, hey

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
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello

[Chorus]

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
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
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, a denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial



Lyrics submitted by

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" as written by Rafael Lopes, Marcelo Peixoto, David Grohl, Chris Novoselic, Kurt Cobain

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., EMI Music Publishing

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Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover) song meanings
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24 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:It reminds me of a day when me and some friends went to a house of another and got drunk and i did some things i regret.Though I always tell people that this day i had a nice day and everything is allright.
    "Bring your friends"
    "She's over-bored,self assured,oh no i know a dirty word"
    This girl was me.And i acted like a real s l u t
    that day.
    "With the lights out it's less dangerous"
    Yea,we turned off the lights too.
    "I feel stupid and contagious"
    Yes,I feel so stupid even now when i recall these memories.
    This song in my heart will always be about that day.
    Flag CinnamonKittenon May 16, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"Every morning when [Courtney and I] woke up we'd turn it up as loud as we could and dance around like a Solid Gold* dancer"

    "It felt really weird because the neighbors were listening. Maybe they thought I was an egomaniac, but I was really just miming the song and dancing around. It's a great breakfast cereal version."

    -kurt cobain in en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…

    * en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
    Flag laurelinwyntreon March 27, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I am a recent nirvana fan and a long time tori fan. Nirvanas blows hers out of the water. No one can do what nirvana did. No one. However, had nirvana never made it and it was her song it would be a lovely song.
    Flag altf4on October 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love Tori's version of this song (not that I don't love Nirvana's, because of course they're both amazing)
    She makes this song so dramatic.

    I'm not sure exactly what this song is supposed to mean, but to me it always seems a little like suburban kids trying to be "ghetto."

    "Load up on guns and bring your friends
    It's fun to lose and to pretend"
    Playing with guys and thinking it's fun to lose your friends to the street.

    "She's overboard and self assured"
    Going to extremes.

    "Oh no, I know a dirty word "
    Thinking they're cool because they can curse.

    "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"
    Trying to get their thrill from it all.

    The whole song sounds like it's a story of a group of friends who tried to be ghetto, played with guns, trying to get thrill, and even thought it doesn't say, it gives the feeling that someone (the girl that was "overboard and self-assured") ended up hurt or dead.

    "Hello, hello, hello, how low? (x3)
    Hello, hello, hello! "
    This is like the person afterwords asking the world to get a clue and asking how low everyone will go.

    "I feel stupid and contagious"
    Is the singer's guilt over the situation. She feels stupid for thinking they were invincible and contagious as if it were her fault.


    Not sure, but I think maybe this is thier group of friends:
    A mulatto - someone who's half-black, half-white
    An albino - not literally, but maybe saying he/she acts really white
    A mosquito - maybe this person's the one in the group who keeps hanging around, unwanted
    My libido - the singer's boyfriend or girlfriend


    No idea if this is what it really means. Kinda depressing to think about it this way, though.
    Flag brown sugar pleaseon July 04, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:no one can do it better than nirvana, but somehow i tori's cover gives the lyrics a bit more meaning
    Flag wildchild628on June 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i thought this song was untouchable but she comes very close to the origonal
    Flag thesimplewayson May 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i definitely like the nirvana version better but the way she sings it is kind of haunting and gives you goosebumps so its still good
    Flag deathcab4cootieson March 01, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the thing people are missing here is the illusion,the nirvana rock version has the dynamics power but it seems without the emotion,the tory amos version has the emotion without the rock power,so its actually impossible to prefer one to the other,when you think of it with poetic license in mind,the song is just powerful wether it be the masculine nirvana quality or the feminine tory amos quality,its a yin and yang question,they are different but very the same on different levels!
    Flag oilyon March 26, 2006   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:I believe this version way outpasses the Nirvana version simply because Tori has managed to actually convey the original meanings in the words.
    I love the way everyone is flipping out, blatantly because they are Nirvana lovers and don't want to admit that someone did better than Kurt.
    I agree with nightowl3, it sends shivers down my spine.
    Flag queenoftartanon October 24, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Wow Tori's version nearly outdoes the original i think the piano makes the lyrics sound more meaningful
    Flag parabola 17on September 17, 2005   Link

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