Heart-Shaped Box
Nirvana Lyrics


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She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black

Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice

Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath
Broken hymen of Your Highness, I'm left black
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back

Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice

She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black

Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice




Your advice
Your advice

Overall Meaning

The first two lines of "Heart-Shaped Box" are a puzzle: "She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak. I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks." Kurt Cobain appears to be struggling under the gaze of someone who understands him better than he does himself. The idea of a "heart-shaped box," suggesting a gift or a place to hold cherished items, is tainted by the fact that Cobain is trapped inside one. The lyrics express a sense of loss, longing and loneliness. The next line, "I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap," continues the imagery of being trapped, with an added sense of inevitability.


Line by Line Meaning

She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
When I'm vulnerable, she scrutinizes me like a Pisces star sign.


I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been trapped in your love and can't break free for several weeks now.


I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
I'm helplessly attracted to you, just like how objects are pulled by a magnetic force into a tar pit trap.


I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black
I want to be there to help and comfort you when you're going through a difficult time with the illness. It's a twisted metaphor that implies the desire to take the pain away from a person one loves.


Hey Wait I got a new complaint Forever in debt to your priceless advice
I have a new problem to share with you and constantly need your valuable advice, which I'm endlessly grateful for.


Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath Broken hymen of Your Highness, I'm left black Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back
This set of lyrics is more opaque than the rest. Its interpretation isn't clear, but it could describe a tangle of sexual and sacrificial imagery illustrating a person's yearning to reignite the passion they shared with their partner.


Your advice
The singer is acknowledging, with great gratitude, the influence and guidance their lover had on them. They end the song with three repetitions of their wish to avail themselves of their partner's priceless advice and that it remains a vital resource, perhaps long after the relationship may be over or the partner's is no longer alive.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Kurt Cobain

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@rodan2005

Lyrics:
She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice
Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath
Broken hymen of Your Highness, I'm left black
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice
She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice
Your advice
Your advice



@aestheticaltwat

Director: “So how saturated do you want the music video to be?”

Kurt: “Hold on a minute, what’s that on the TV?”

TV: Playing music video for Black Hole Sun.

Director: “...so you want me too-“

Kurt: “Yes.”

(Yes, I’m aware that this music video was made in ‘93 and Black Hole Sun was made in ‘94, but just pretend it works for the sake of the joke.)



All comments from YouTube:

@mjsnyc83

“Are people still listening to this in...” yes, we are

@don1913

Forever and ever

@lordholzi

of course we are

@youssefrayan460

always

@Paul-gf6kp

Always have been

@Mailenheuberger

always has been

611 More Replies...

@himalia7884

Director: so Kurt,-
Kurt: CRUCIFY SANTA

@avy6153

I'm pretty sure it is Jesus

@himalia7884

The Red Terror I don’t remember Jesus having a Santa hat.. 🤨 but still

@yoda5436

Shook Eth he had a Santa hat cuz Christmas is his birthday, it’s definitely Jesus though.

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