Smells Like Teen Spirit
Patti Smith Lyrics

of the traditional notions of masculinity is at the heart of the lyrics of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The song reflects the angst of youth, their apathy and their desire for something different from the stale, corporate culture that was engulfing America at the time. The first verse starts off with the line "Load up on guns and bring your friends," which is a tongue-in-cheek reference to how society often glorifies violent behavior. Kurt Cobain, the writer of the song, himself later clarified that this line was a sarcastic comment on the state of American youth culture.

The next line, "It's fun to lose and to pretend," is a reference to the nihilistic attitude that was prevalent among American youth in the early 90s. Cobain is suggesting that a lot of young people are disenchanted with society and don't feel like there is much of anything left to lose. The phrase "over bored and self-assured" suggests that these same young people are also a little bit arrogant in their belief that they're somehow superior to the generation that came before them.

The most compelling line of the song, however, is probably the one that goes "Here we are now, entertain us." This line speaks volumes about the state of American society in the early 1990s, and how young people were feeling about their place in it. The line suggests a certain level of boredom and exhaustion with all of the entertainment that was being thrown at them from every angle, and how little of it seemed to speak to them or reflect their experiences. Overall, the lyrics seem to reflect the disillusionment and nihilism that were so common among young people at the time and continue to resonate with people today.