Nirvana: "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" was occasionally performed live by the American rock band Nirvana during the early 1990s. Singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain was introduced to the song by Lanegan, and even played guitar on Lanegan's version. Like Lanegan, Cobain usually screamed the song's final verse. Cobain earned critical and commercial acclaim for his acoustic performance of the song during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged appearance in 1993. This version was posthumously released on the band's MTV Unplugged in New York album (and as a B-side on their recalled "Pennyroyal Tea" single) the following year. A solo Cobain home demo of the song, recorded in 1990, appears on the band's 2004 box set, With the Lights Out. It does not feature the final screamed verse of later versions.
Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Nirvana Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through
My girl, my girl, where will you go?
I'm going where the cold wind blows
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through
Her husband was a hard working man
Just about a mile from here
His head was found in a driving wheel
But his body never was found
My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through
My girl, my girl, where will you go?
I'm going where the cold wind blows
In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through
My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
In the pines, in the pines
Where the sun don't ever shine
I would shiver the whole night through
My girl, my girl, where will you go
I'm going where the cold wind blows
In the pines, the pines
The sun don't shine
I'd shiver the whole night through
Thank you
The song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" is an old traditional folk song that dates back to the 1870s. It was popularized by Lead Belly in the 1940s and was later covered by a number of musicians including Nirvana. The song's lyrics describe a man questioning his girlfriend about where she spent the night. She responds that she spent the night in the pines where the sun doesn't shine and the wind is cold. The song is haunting and emotional and many believe that Kurt Cobain's gritty voice brings a certain rawness to the song's already evocative lyrics.
The song's lyrics are open to interpretation, as it is not clear whether the woman is lying about where she spent the night or if she is being truthful about being in the pines. Some believe that the pines refer to a cemetery, while others think it may be a metaphor for loneliness and darkness. The line about her husband's head being found in a driving wheel, but his body never being found, adds an eerie and mysterious element to the lyrics that adds fuel to the imagination.
Overall, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" is a captivating song that tells a story and evokes a deep sense of emotion. It showcases Cobain's ability to portray raw and honest feelings through his music and lyrics, something that made him an icon in the music industry.
Line by Line Meaning
My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
The singer is asking his girlfriend to tell him the truth.
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
The singer is trying to find out where his girlfriend spent the night.
In the pines, in the pines
The girlfriend slept in a dark and ominous place called 'the pines'.
Where the sun don't ever shine
The place where the girlfriend slept is always dark and gloomy.
I would shiver the whole night through
The artist or the artist is feeling cold and lonely throughout the night because there's no one beside him.
My girl, my girl, where will you go?
The singer is asking his girlfriend about her next move.
I'm going where the cold wind blows
The girlfriend is telling the singer that she is leaving to a place where there is only cold winds.
Her husband was a hard working man
The girlfriend's husband was a diligent man.
Just about a mile from here
The girlfriend's husband lived close to them.
His head was found in a driving wheel
The girlfriend's husband had met with an accident and his head was stuck in the driving wheel.
But his body never was found
The husband's body was lost making it impossible to find the cause of his death.
In the pines, in the pines
The girlfriend slept in a dark and ominous place called 'the pines'.
Where the sun don't ever shine
The place where the girlfriend slept is always dark and gloomy.
I would shiver the whole night through
The singer or the singer is feeling cold and lonely throughout the night because there's no one beside him.
My girl, my girl, don't lie to me
The singer is asking his girlfriend to tell him the truth.
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
The artist is trying to find out where his girlfriend spent the night.
In the pines, in the pines
The girlfriend slept in a dark and ominous place called 'the pines'.
Where the sun don't ever shine
The place where the girlfriend slept is always dark and gloomy.
I would shiver the whole night through
The singer or the singer is feeling cold and lonely throughout the night because there's no one beside him.
My girl, my girl, where will you go
The artist is asking his girlfriend about her next move.
I'm going where the cold wind blows
The girlfriend is telling the artist that she is leaving to a place where there is only cold winds.
In the pines, the pines
Repetition is used, perhaps to indicate that the difficult circumstances surround the couple or the artist.
The sun don't shine
The sun doesn't shine and hence, the situation is dire and ominous.
I'd shiver the whole night through
The artist is feeling cold and lonely throughout the night because there's no one beside him.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Huddie Ledbetter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@doesnotexist305
“Fuck you all this is the last song of the evening.”
Love that energy.
@jackrobinson3833
Kurt cobain in a nutshell
@Sofia-gy3mz
Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes kind of energy
@carlneoh5843
Shitposter Kurt
@dontdoit6986
Comedic delivery. Everybody hates saying goodbye. He went around signing autographs after which was totally cool.
@siobhanwalsh6487
I love seeing that humour from him.
@shadiac182
"Leadbelly's guitar for 500,000 dollars"
Kurt, your guitar sold for a record 6 million dollars.
You never know kurt.
We miss you.
@spacematter3645
kurt they killed my friend no please come back
@REZNAP
$6 Million?!
@MisterTwitTwister
We ❤️ u, Kurt, and soon gonna join u too, the Rock Angel! 👼 😇 🤘