Nirvana – Lithium

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  General Comment:Manic Depression ..the great feeling of the Up side ..

  Flag jennabkon January 22, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:Now, I do not really care what originally influenced this song's lyrics- I think the great thing about Nirvana in general is that everyone can read them from their own angle and relate to a part of them. For me, it speaks out of my past and present. The dialogue could be with someone I love, or it could be with myself (and I DID break a mirror with my fist one time when I was very depressed). And I've HAD that experience of sudden spiritual connection with God, and hearing little voices in my head telling me its all going to be alright. Then in the second stanza it says: "I'm so happy but that's ok i shaved my head" like it is something to bring one from a manic state, and I can relate to that since I would do erratic things both in a manic and depressed states, as an attempt to balance myself out. And just maybe I'm to blame for all I've heard, but I'm not sure- yeah, yeah, you know when you hear people talk negative stuff not even about you but in general, yet you take it too close to heart and start to feel guilty? But then you're not sure why you even feel that way. Then the last stanza really highlights mood swings, "excited, but don't care", "horny but the will is good" (to me, meaning that its feeling horny for a special reason, like dealing with extreme loneliness); and then in the end it is the pain of dealing with abandonment or separation; "I killed you" should not be taken literally, it is more of "I wiped you out of my memory"

  Flagged raisinflameson October 04, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:It's about his experiences living in a devout fundamentalist Christian home after his parents' divorce and his father's subsequent disowning of him. [Source: Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross]

  Flag ndolan943on September 25, 2012   Link

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    basically he' s saying that religion is bullshit, and that people who believe in god need to take lithium because they have something in their head that isn't real.. sorta like the voice of god.

    Flag PTCGAZon December 31, 2012  
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  My Interpretation:I think its about a mental breakdown after battling depression for so long. I believe i suffer from depression although i havent gone to a doctor to be diagnosed, so the words may mean something differently to me than to most. "im so happy... friends in my head." this refers to being lonely, entertaining yourself, being your own friend. "Im so ugly" Low self esteem, with a cynical response "so are you". "sunday morning....for all i care.. im not scared." After feeling horrible for so long, you could care less about responsibilities hence sunday morning(when most have their day off). fuck it sunday morning everyday.."i found god" in a drug of choice.
  
  "im so lonely thats ok ill shave my head, and im not sad." sometimes, to cope with lonliness and sadness some resort to doing thinkgs that seem to not help like shaving your head, or self harm but to the person in the song, its makes him not sad anymore.. "im to blame for all ive heard" often feel like everything is my fault. "but im not sure" low self esteem leads to self doubt and you really begin to believe everything is your fault. im so excited, i cant wait to meet you there, but i dont care" this line to me relates to how i would like to hurry up and meet those close to me who ive lost wherever they may be, but i dont care if its today or later in my years. The last line of this verse i always sing as "im so retarded i cant take a sedative"(a line kurt sang in a live show). sometimes i react badly to "self-medicating" drugs. but im so retarded i still do them.. "i like/miss/love/kill" this describes how you feel when youre at your breaking point. not a place you want to be. Sorry for the paragraph, just had to put my interpretation out there.

  Flag Guitarist3on August 14, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:It is about using drugs. Apparently snorting/using Lithium might bring him "closer to god." The mirror and breaking mirrors has to do with using drugs to snort like cocaine. His friends are his drugs which make him happy but only while the drugs are working and when he is off drugs recreationally or perhaps dealing with the manic depression he feels like shit. He goes has a new way to see things and it is not a happy scene or a cracked mirror. The velvet underground sunday morning/herione point I agree with. Good pick up! Some drugs you need to light up to inject perhaps a candle or reference to the line "doesn't hold a candle to" ie everything is crap compared to this. So Lithium is amazing it brings me closer to god and nothing compares to it!
  But without the drug and when it leaves the system he wake up to find that he has done stupid druggie things. Lithium sort of deadens things and without it he is unbalanced. He might have the highs/mania but it causes him to shave his head which is unbalanced. He is not okay. But he is looking in a different mirror lying to himself that he is okay probably then does more drugs. Here comes the depression. First part of the song is mania and the next one is depression. He has bad thoughts which might be killing of himself and others. HE cannot wait for his next drug fix so that is why he says I cannot wait to see you there. I will not crack meaning perhaps the drug crack to help him get until he can get high again or he has two personalities and lithium kind of helps but then does not help him.

  Flagged freshmegamixon August 02, 2012   Link

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    This whole interpretation is based off of the idea of "snorting/using" Lithium, except Lithium is a metal....can't be used as a drug

    Flag theinsideron October 23, 2012  

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    Lithium is used to help treat bipolar disorder.
    

    Flag ups410on November 05, 2012  
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  General Comment:As someone who is bipolar, I can honestly say that this is one of the few songs, that I have ever heard, which I can relate to in a big way. And I'm not even a huge fan of Nirvana. Don't get me wrong though. I feel that Nirvana was one of the most talented mainstream bands of the entire 1990's.

  Flagged Music4Realon July 24, 2012   Link

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  Song Meaning:Cobain said the song is about a man who, after the death of his girlfriend, turns to religion "as a last resort to keep himself alive. To keep him from suicide". While Cobain said the narrative of "Lithium" was fictional, he said, "I did infuse some of my personal experiences, like breaking up with girlfriends and having bad relationships". Cobain acknowledged that the song was possibly inspired in part by the time he spent living with his friend Jesse Reed and his born-again Christian parents. He explained to Azerrad, "I've always felt that some people should have religion in their lives [. . .] That's fine. If it's going to save someone, it's okay. And the person in ['Lithium'] needed it."

  Flag overdoitandhaveafiton March 11, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:Fond of how Kurt preempts any smart-ass responses after each set up in each verse. He always got the last laugh.

  Flagged kingspredon February 21, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:Yeah, clearly the mind of someone who's bi-polar: constantly going back and forth, but mostly down, not up (as is usually the case with bi-polar) Some of Cobain's best lyrics here.

  Flagged bernlin2000on February 06, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:I'm not too sure about this one, but Lithium could also refer to his sanity dissolving (like Lithium in water). Lithium fizzles out quite slowly, and this could link to how comfortable he seems with his madness, e.g. "i like it im not gonna crack", "that's okay i shaved my head", etc. This song seems to alternate between the positives and negatives of losing one's mind.
  
  Also, "i found my friends in my head" could have a double meaning. On a surface level, it refers to imaginary friends/hallucinations and comfort from within. It also made me think of people almost trying to get inside his head, poking through his problems and interfering, when he just wants to be left to deal with it himself.
  
  Im not sure, I didn't write this track, but these are just some other thoughts I had :)

  Flag LotusEater95on December 30, 2011   Link

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    its about god, being imaginary. the Im not gonna crack, and I'll kill you lines are about taking the lithium to kill god, basically.

    Flag PTCGAZon December 31, 2012  

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