Sliver
Nirvana Lyrics

Nirvana's "Sliver" is a nostalgic song about a young child's experience being left at his grandparent's house while his parents went to a show. The child expresses his frustration and longing to be taken back home by his grandmother who he calls out to repeatedly throughout the song. The child talks about how he had to eat dinner which consisted of mashed potatoes, things he couldn't chew, and how his grandmother encouraged him to go outside and ride his bike. However, the child ends up injuring his toe and continues to cry out for his grandmother to take him home. The song ends with the child waking up in his mother's arms and exclaiming that he wants to be alone.

The song's lyrics seem to be a representation of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's own childhood experiences. Cobain was known to have a difficult and traumatic childhood, including his parents' divorce, moving back and forth between his mother and father's homes, and living with several relatives. He mentioned in interviews that much of his music was influenced by these experiences, and "Sliver" seems to be a vivid depiction of a moment from Cobain's childhood.

Additionally, there are several motifs and symbols present in the song that are characteristic of Nirvana's music. The sense of confusion and longing for escape is represented in the repeated refrain of "Grandma take me home," which becomes darker and more desperate as the song goes on. The child's injury to his toe is also reminiscent of Cobain's recurring theme of physical pain and self-harm. The line "I wanna be alone!" at the end of the song speaks to Cobain's fierce independence and desire to escape from the chaos and trauma of his life.