Ongoing History Daily: The original lyrics of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
It’s rare for a song to emerge fully complete. Most of the time, it undergoes innumerable revisions as the composer tries to get it just right. Such was the case when Kurt Cobain was working on a new song in 1990. The lyrics went through probably dozens of revisions. For example, an early draft contained the lines
Come out and play / make up the rules / I know I hope / to buy the truth / who will be the king and queen / of all the outcasted teens.
Then it became
We merge ahead this special day / this day giving amnesty to sacrilege / A denial / and from strangers / a revival / and from favours / here we are now / we’re so famous / here we are now / entertain us
When the song was finally recorded in May 1991, only five of those original lines survived for the final version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
