My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

My girl, my girl, where will you go
I'm going where the cold wind blows

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

Her husband, was a hard working man
Just about a mile from here
His head was found in a driving wheel
But his body never was found

My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

My girl, my girl, where will you go
I'm going where the cold wind blows

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through

My girl, my girl, where will you go
I'm going where the cold wind blows

In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through



Lyrics submitted by bonj, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Track duration: 05:08

"Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" as written by Huddie Ledbetter

Lyrics © T.R.O. INC.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Lead Belly cover) song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:To me, what this song means, the way kurt sings it, this is the way i interpret it... very dark and disturbing... sounds like this is his girlfriend living a double life. she chose to end her married life so she murdered her husband. when word got out that his head was found he heard that she was in fact married to that man. so he confronts her on her murdering her husband. to me, its like hes saying dont lie to me, i know you were out killing this guy...
    Flag lilibanditon February 20, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:The moment of realisation and frank honesty from a partner informing you that it's over, hence the loss of a love that once was.
    See, a heart is empty when a love abandons it, ergo the winds.
    It also has lost its warmth, ergo said winds being cold.
    As for the pines, coffins are oft made of pine which is where the death of a relationship comes into it.
    Flag BrokenOneon January 07, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's a guy singing about his girl cheating on him.
    The 1st verse is him accusing her of the cheating "last night" when she didn't come home.
    The 2nd verse is him leaving her, which is lonely, cold and dark. Like being alone in a forest is how he feels. Maybe it's a "pine" forest because he'll be pining (adj. for yearning, suffering)?
    And the 3rd verse that's only said once is the guy's obituary from third person. A "hard working man," we are sympathetic with him when he's cheated on, and he apparently drives off and kills himself in a wreck. This is probably a sarcastic remark you might make after breaking up with someone, like "bye, screw you, I'm gonna go drive off a bridge!".
    To me, this song has a different meaning than the original folk version, having different lyrics. Probably why Kurt chose it as it must have spoken to him more.
    Flag cwzaggeron December 17, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song was originally titled "Black Girl" or "In the Pines", it's an Appalachian folk song from the 1800's. I always thought the black girl was the victim of a lynching, as was her husband, and she's hanging from a pine tree.

    I remember listening to this song alone at night on the dock behind my grandparent's house in Florida. Talk about chilling... similar to Pearl Jam's cover of Crazy Mary.
    Flag Tig45on November 25, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song isn't written by Nirvana. It dates back to the late 1800s originally called "In The Pines"
    Flag SammyRHCP9175on September 30, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song was written before he was even born....and for the record its called In The Pines....dumbass. just enjoy the music and the meaning should be our own ....thats what music is about anyway
    Flagged junkhead45on February 12, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:well ..at first i thought that this song is about his girl who cheated him and he was wondering where did she sleep the night before. i wouldn't agree with that opinion becouse here is mentioned a murder of a housband.
    this song is obviously about a girl but not his girlfrend
    maybe he is asking himself,the feminine part of him or the weaker part of him or just some girl where she was the night before ..the last night ..where night would represent the part of 24 hours when we suposed to sleep an we suposed to be calm ..where was she...what she was dreaming of
    she said in the pines in the pines where sun don't ever shine ...she said that she was somewher in the place that never met the sun which means that in that place nothing was problem ,nothing was bad becouse that place never had any good. that place was dead as she was at that time and she wasnt sad becouse nothing remainded her of good days
    she said she would shiver the whole night through becouse she was in crises and that place was the best place for going through that phase of her life .

    he is asking her one more time where will you go now? she said that she was going where the cold wind was blowing .... cold wind as life now when she is good and she went through her crises she is going back in real life to face up with her problems and reality ..after that she said in the pines where the sun dont ever shin which this time means that life is not so perfect but she was there one before when she was sleeping in the pines probably alone ...her hausband was a hardworking man without any time for her and she was sad becouse of that she was depressed and depression is " in the pine s where the sun don't ever shine "

    his head was found in a driving wheel ..he wanted to go back to her but time and his life run over him his head was there body never found ... part of him was missing but she still looked at him as her housband. if there was found body she wouldnt call him housband anymore she would call him body
    this song is about lost and time and depression i would say
    Flag orbitblueon March 22, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Withdrawals. Spending the night in the pines, no drugs, trying to kick the shit, shivering the whole night through...

    If it's about slavery, it's about slavery to the needle.
    Flag joiningthegameon January 15, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:IN THE PINES BY BILLY MONROE ..

    Black girl, black girl, don't lie to me
    Where did you stay last night?
    I stayed in the pines where the sun never shines
    And shivered when the cold wind blows"
    Flag darksideofmymoonon December 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:The bass in this song is perfect. That dark, menacing, almost suggestive tone to go with the mysterious lyrics. Perfect.
    Flag Corxyon November 17, 2010   Link

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