Cobain and Nirvana were highly influential, popularizing what came to be known as "grunge music". In 1991, the arrival of Cobain's best known song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", marked the beginning of a dramatic shift of popular music away from the dominant genres of the 1980s: glam metal, arena rock, and dance-pop. The music media eventually awarded "Smells Like Teen Spirit" "anthem-of-a-generation" status, and, with it, Cobain ascended as the reluctant "spokesman" for Generation X. Kurt Cobain changed the course of music forever even though it was never his intention.
Do Re Mi
Kurt Cobain Lyrics
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Wish me twice
She's re-flamed beside you
You
You
You
You
You
Forced me high
She's made graves for she and me
Won't come live
And wants me gone
Right now I know that I'm dreaming
Dreaming
Dream
Dreaming
Dreaming
Looks inside and find me dazed
She's come past and freed me
There's no man
Like a man
I can paint the ceiling
Mhm, mhm
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah-yeah
Yeah
Fumbling sun
Cheats me pains
Finally out to see me
And judging God
And what I've known
I wish I could see me he is
Yeah, he is
Yeah, he is
Yeah, he is
He is
Find the party 'fore you know me
Sunken back until your dream
Sits me down
And fuck me up
I wish I was grieving
Let me lie
I wish I might
I wish I could be screaming
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Oh oh
Breathe, inhale
Breathe, inhale
And breathe, inhale
And breathe, inhale
And breathe, inhale
And breathe, inhale
Kiss me good
Piss me love
And grease me (?) and preen me
Some day and I will fall
And I will call
And greet thee
And greet
And greet
And greet
And greet
And greet
And greet
Greet thee
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
And finally, I will drain you down
And draw things up and find me gone
And finally I'm gone
I'm tired of everyone
And finally I will drown the sun
And die at my side
I'll paint me good
And frame me mother
And dream another me
And go away
And go away
Do re mi
Do re mi
And paint me mountains
Inside a fire
And throw me on board
And the dreams discarded
And she's inside of you
Well praise God
And praise God
And drown me slow
And the giant who told me who we
Don't rain heat
Do re mi
And do re mi
Do re mi
Do re mi
Do re mi
And do re mi
Do re mi
Do re mi
Do re mi
Do re mi
Do re mi
Finally on
And I'm not gone
But trying hard
With the rain and all
And praise god
Praise God
Praise god and then you'll fall
Your wings grow
Do re mi
And do re mi, ah
Do re mi
Do re mi
Do re mi
And do re mi
Do re mi
The lyrics of Kurt Cobain's song Do Re Mi are famously cryptic and open to interpretation. One possible interpretation is that the song is about his struggles with addiction, specifically heroin. The repeated lines "Wish me once, Wish me twice" and "Breathe, Inhale" suggest a struggle with addiction and a desire to stop using. The line "She's re-flamed beside you" could refer to the temptation or presence of drugs. The line "Find the party 'fore you know me / Sunken back until your dream" could suggest a desire to numb pain and escape reality through drug use.
The refrain of the song, "Do Re Mi," may be a nod to the Sound of Music song of the same name, which is about the solfège scale. Cobain may have chosen the title as a reference to his own musical roots and influences. The line "I can paint the ceiling" could also be interpreted as a reference to a famous line from The Sound of Music in which the character Rolf says, "I'd like to stay and taste my first champagne. Yes, no?" with the word "no" famously rhyming with "ceiling".
Interestingly, Do Re Mi was never officially released as a single, but it has become one of Cobain's most famous songs in the years since his death. It has been covered by a number of artists, including Tori Amos and Ryan Adams. Additionally, fragments of the song appear in Montage of Heck, a documentary about Cobain's life.
Line by Line Meaning
Wish me once
I'm asking for a wish, just the one
Wish me twice
Actually, could you make it two wishes?
She's re-flamed beside you
My girl, she's still with me
You You You You You
An exaggerated way of expressing her presence
The sun
Life, the world, or something just as important
Forced me high
It lifted me up, made me feel something greater than myself
She's made graves for she and me
We, as a couple, have already been buried
Won't come live
She doesn't have to be with me in this moment
And wants me gone
But she doesn't want me around either
Right now I know that I'm dreaming Dreaming Dream Dreaming Dreaming
I've accepted that this is all just a dream
Looks inside and find me dazed
I'm confused and don't know what to do anymore
She's come past and freed me
But my girl, she's saved me before
There's no man Like a man
No one can understand me like she can
I can paint the ceiling
I can do all sorts of things
Mhm, mhm Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah-yeah Yeah
An affirmation of everything I'm saying
Fumbling sun Cheats me pains
It's easier to ignore the problems in the world
Finally out to see me And judging God And what I've known
But now that everything's out in the open, it's all clear
I wish I could see me he is Yeah, he is Yeah, he is Yeah, he is He is
I'm questioning my own identity and existence
Find the party 'fore you know me Sunken back until your dream
I don't want to get to know anyone unless they're part of the same crowd as me
Sits me down And fuck me up
When I stop to think, everything goes wrong
I wish I was grieving Let me lie I wish I might
Maybe it would be easier if I were sad
I wish I could be screaming Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
But my emotions are too jumbled to even articulate
Oh oh Breathe, inhale Breathe, inhale And breathe, inhale And breathe, inhale And breathe, inhale
I'm trying to calm myself down, take deep breaths
Kiss me good Piss me love And grease me (?) and preen me
I want to be loved in whatever way possible
Some day and I will fall And I will call And greet thee And greet And greet And greet And greet And greet And greet Greet thee Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
We'll be reunited someday when I fall; I can't wait
And finally, I will drain you down And draw things up and find me gone And finally I'm gone
I'm exhausted and want to disappear
I'm tired of everyone
I'm fed up with the world
And finally I will drown the sun And die at my side I'll paint me good And frame me mother And dream another me And go away And go away Do re mi Do re mi
I'm ending it all and painting a good picture of myself to be remembered by
And paint me mountains Inside a fire And throw me on board And the dreams discarded And she's inside of you
But maybe people will remember the beauty of the world I tried to create
Well praise God And praise God And drown me slow And the giant who told me who we Don't rain heat
It's easy to give up and abandon everything, but we shouldn't
Do re mi And do re mi Do re mi Do re mi Do re mi And do re mi Do re mi Do re mi Do re mi Do re mi
These are just letters, meaningless without the life behind them
Finally on And I'm not gone But trying hard With the rain and all And praise god Praise God
But maybe there's still time to fix things, to try hard despite the struggles
Praise god and then you'll fall Your wings grow
And when you're down, you can only look up and keep going
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Kurt Cobain
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind