Nirvana - Come As You Are

Here is some background information on “Come As You Are“ from : This could be about not being judgmental when someone changes after you haven’t seen them for a long time. In hindsight, it can be seen as a song about suicide, since lead singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide less than three years after this was released. The chords in this song are a slowed down replica of Killing Joke’s 1985 song “Eighties.“ The songs were so similar that Nirvana considered holding off releasing this as a single. Killing Joke decided not to sue Nirvana, and in 1992, Dave Grohl helped them out by playing drums for them on an album. Cobain sings over and over, “And I swear that I don’t have a gun.“ He committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The lyrics, “Come doused in mud, soaked in bleach“ were taken from a campaign in Seattle that encouraged heroin users to soak their needles in bleach after injecting to reduce the risk of spreading HIV. The phrase for the campaign was actually “If doused in mud, soak in bleach.“ The lyrics as used by Cobain could be about tolerating everyone no matter what they look like - black people being the “mud“ and white people being the “bleach.“ This was one of the songs the group chose to adapt for their MTV Unplugged in New York album, recorded months before Cobain’s death. Nirvana almost named the album “Sheep,“ a reference to people who follow the herd. The line, “Take your time, hurry up, the choice is yours, don’t be late“ is referenced in blink-182’s “Adam’s Song“ when they sing, “I took my time, I hurried up, the choice was mine I didn’t think enough.“ The cover of Nevermind shows a baby underwater reaching for a dollar bill. It symbolizes that you’re taught to go after money from the moment you’re born. It was underwater because underwater birth fascinated Kurt. One interpretation of this song is that it’s about heroin: “Come doused in mud, served in bleach, as I want you to be“ - Drugs are cut with all kinds of rubbish. “As a friend, as a trend, as a known enemy“ - Drugs can make you feel good, like a friend. There’s a trend with them, but they are bad (thus, “as a known enemy.“) “Well I swear that I don’t have a gun“ - A gun could mean a syringe. Cobain also mentions a gun in ’Smells Like Teen Spirit.“ “Load up on guns, bring your friends its fun to lose and to pretend“ - Losing could mean giving in to drugs, and feeling high is to pretend. In Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, they put up a road sign after his death that read “Come As You Are.“ (C) Geffen / UMG Recordings #Nirvana #ComeAsYouAre