The song discussed in the article was the last one that Nirvana recorded while still in full force. Officially, “You Know You Are Right” was first released in 2002, but it has been known to the band’s fans from an illegal live recording, as well as a version performed by Courtney Love since the mid-nineties.
The story of the creation of the song You Know You Are Right
According to Jim DeRogatis, the history of the Nirvana track began with improvisation:
In late January 1994, Cobain, Novoselic and Grohl went to Bob Lang’s Seattle studio to record for the last time. One of the long jams resulted in this powerful melody, which they captured on the first try…
Spin, 2002
Dave Grohl confirms his version:
We had some free time before the tour and Kurt wanted to get together to record some ‘demos’ so I said, ‘Hey, why don’t we do it in the studio down the street where my house is’. We went there and booked three days. Kurt showed up on the last day and we were like, “OK, what do you want to do?” And Kurt said, “Well, why don’t we take on that song that we did at sound check?” And we drove it, probably once, and then recorded it. Kurt sang it three or four times, and everything was ready.
Studio Brussels, 2014
The lyrics to You Know You Are Right were written by Kurt. It is generally believed that he is referring to Courtney, with whom they then had a very tense relationship. However, some believe that the author had in mind the difficulties of being constantly in the public eye.
Widow Cobain, speaking in 1995 on MTV Unplugged with the group Hole, performed her own version of the composition with slightly changed lyrics, calling it You’ve Got No Right. She announced the track like this:
This is a song that Kurt wrote. We’ve been working on it a bit. We can’t sing it as well, but it’s Valentine’s Day, and maybe he’ll hear it and say, “You know, you really ruined my song, Courtney. Don’t even try to sing it.” But if all goes well, it’s dedicated to my mother-in-law.
Release and Achievements You Know You Are Right
After Cobain’s death, Novoselic and Grohl wanted to release You Know You Are Right on the next box set, but Love was against it. The resulting dispute spilled over into copyright litigation that dragged on for several years. As a result, the song was presented only in 2002, when it was included in the Nirvana compilation. True, a few months before the track in mp3 format appeared on the Internet, from where it was picked up by many radio stations.
The song topped the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts, and peaked at number 45 on the Hot 100 main chart.
Later, the composition was also included in the box set With the Lights Out and the album Silver: The Best of the Box.
Video of You Know You Are Right by Nirvana
The video was created on the basis of archival recordings from concerts and rehearsals.
Interesting Facts
- Prior to its official release to fans, the song was known as You’ve Got No Rights, On A Mountain and Autopilot. The first version came from Courtney Love’s version, while the other two came from the poor quality of the bootleg, which made it hard to hear Dave Grohl mistakenly announce a different song.
- Perhaps at the time of Kurt’s death, the composition did not have an exact title at all.
You Know You Are Right Lyrics by Nirvana
I would never bother you
I would never promise to
I will never follow you
I will never bother you
Never say a word again
I will crawl away for good
I will move away from here
You won’t be afraid of fear
No thought was put into this
I always knew it would come to this
Things have never been so swell
And I have never failed to fail
Pain, pain, pain
You know you’re right
You know you’re right
You know you’re right
It’s so warm and calm inside
I no longer have to hide
There’s talk about someone else
Sterling silver begins to melt
Nothin’ really bothers her
She just wants to love herself
I will move away from here
You won’t be afraid of fear
No thought was put into this
I always knew it’d come to this
Things have never been so swell
And I have never failed to fail
Lyrics of You Know You Are Right by Nirvana Alternate
I wouldn’t bother you
I wouldn’t promise anything
I will never follow you
I will never bore you
Say nothing more
I’ll crawl away forever
I will move from here forever
You won’t be afraid of fear
It’s all meaningless
I always knew it would come to this
Things never went so well
And I failed after failure
Pain, pain, pain
You know you’re right
You know you’re right
You know you’re right
Warm and calm inside
I don’t have to hide anymore
Everyone’s talking about someone else
Silver starts to melt
Nothing really bothers her
She just wants to love herself
I will move from here forever
You won’t be afraid of fear
It’s all meaningless
I always knew it would come to this
Things never went so well
And I failed after failure
