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Also one of the only songs i can enjoy cause my nirvana journey was too intense. I ended up in a tribute band, playing their songs over and over, that will kill your love for a band, for sure.
You COMPLETELY FORGOT TO MENTION that Kurt was inspired to write the lyrics when he thought about the world from his pet turtle's perspective! He kept his pet turtle in his laundry room.
This song was on an album called “No Alternative” (came out in 93 I think) as a hidden track and that’s how I first heard it and loved it. It’s one of my favorite songs by them
It was on the cassette as well. I remember reading about the songs existence, and when they said the album, i knew my dad had it already cause the tape itself stuck out like a sore thumb. Big ass No alternative logo and (see inlay for tracklisting). After piracy became a thing, We got the other ones in absolutely abysmal quality lol via bootlegs. The og acoustic version, the same one here, just super degraded sounded so eerie.
I always thought this song was about being in abusive marriage. Kurt may have written the song about his mom’s marriage to Kurt’s unfaithful stepfather. That’s maybe why the song was so important to him.
The song is a metaphor if you look for it to be one. Kurt said himself that he’d hit down a few great lines and just make up the rest. That’s the poetry of it all. Read into it any way you like and take from it what you need. I always thought it was about his turtle though. And how maybe he feels bad for the life he gave it.
Ya i agree. If you're trying to find meaning with anything... you can. The song to me was always just about an insect in a jar. You do it as a child, you catch something, put it in a jar and pop holes in the lid so it can get air. Put some grass and twigs in there. The reference to a laundry room seems like a place you would keep the jar... or like a book I read on Nirvana it was the name of a recording study that Kurt may have grabbed the name from. I don't think the song is really as deep as anyone would like to make it.
It's true that if you want to find meaning in anything, you will. Dylan's lyrics are supposedly intricate and detailed missives against whatever he was negative toward. Personally, I think they're a jumble of intelligent phrases without a real meaning ie: gibberish. But he earned a Nobel Prize for literature, so I guess anyone can be fooled if they're so inclined to be
@@sexobscura a jumble of intelligent phrases is a great way to put it. I mean all Nirvana songs are about something. But yeah, he had a high percentage of “gibberish” It’s almost like he writes down a bunch of cool sounding words and phrases and then fills out a Madlibs. I mean there’s a Cream song with a lyric “ and the rainbow has a beard” so…….
So they didn’t record with Albini until they tracked songs for In Utero. I think maybe you meant the drum sound recorded by Jack Endino. But otherwise stellar video!!
The song always made me think of insect in a jar (hence the grass thrown in, the breathing holes, kept in a laundry room). I don't know if the "save yourself" is a religious thing, or if it's just the insect being "saved". But yeah, always seemed like a metaphor for someone being "kept" like that.
I've always interpreted the "If you save yourself" line as referring to someone preserving themselves for another person, as in "saving myself for marriage." Also, I had always pictured a bored housewife doing laundry while longing for something more in life. I like the insect comparison/analogy.
@@jriamyou8156 Yeah, I'm with you on that kind of "save yourself" too. That makes a lot of sense. And it's funny, when I wrote that, I was also kinda thinking of the laundry room/domestic duties house slave aspect of it. I like it because it can work on different levels like that. And regardless of whatever Kurt was thinking about, the words can seep into your subconscious and it creates an overall feeling/message that people seem to get, even if the interpretations are slightly different. And even if it creates like multiple images in your mind at once, they kind of work together. I dunno... I'm probably talking shit lol. But I like what you said there.
In the original demo, the lyrics of the first verse start "And if you say your prayers, you will make God happy", which is interesting. Either way, whether about God or his pet turtle, there's a similar theme.
Both songs Sappy AND Verse Chorus Verse, are my 2 favorite Nirvana songs. The first time i heard them i was in a state of shock almost, the simplicity they both have meant so much.
I’ve always believed the “him” referred in the song to be God or a divine identity, considering the early version is much clearer on pointing this out, by starting out with “If you say your prayers you will make God happy”. Maybe Kurt changed it to “him” to make it less obvious, or to make it more abstract and open to interpretation. To me this song has always sounded very familiar very close to the heart, indescribable, and something disturbingly off about it. I’ve always interpreted as of discontent on life and the subject lacking on finding a purpose and meaning for it, surrendering to the futileness of his own existence; realizing being happy is illusory. Kurt had a tendency to make this point, like for example on tracks such as Dumb. On Sappy, the individual does things to be happy, naively believing that it may come his way, blinded by the harsh truth that, pessimistically, nothing has sense in one’s life, no meaning to it other than the universe being the way it is, we are born, we live, and we die.
I'm a Nirvana fan since I was 15 and I think I've heard every piece of song, either released or unreleased, that is available on the internet. For some reason Sappy always stood out to me, and it is in fact my favorite song. There's a certain feeling that this song causes me that I can't feel in any other song, by any artist. It hits different, always brings a chill down my spine and I feel my heart beat changing whenever I hear the first riff. When I listen to Sappy, I feel calm. Like I'm submersed in the deep ocean, but without any animals around, just me... In the whole ocean, alone, with all the water pressure upon me. I feel the pressure on my body, but it isn't uncomforting, it's actually the most comfortable feeling ever. I love this song and I'm happy that I got to meet this gem. Thank you Kurt.
Nirvana has been my favorite band since I was a kid, and Kurt inspired me to pick up a guitar and sing. Literally by watching his hands and listening. For years people ask what is your favorite song? I have to say it may be this finally. The simplicity, the melody, the tone, the solo and ever moving basslines underneath are just all encompassing. The fact that Kurt was never really satisfied with it as a songwriter I can completely identify with. I love every version of it ever. I highly recommend the live version in Milan, 1994. Obviously the timing is haunting. When he sits down for the solo it seems as if he has resigned from the whole thing. That being said, dead men don't pull triggers #Justiceforkurt
"Sappy" holds a special place in your heart, and it's easy to see why. The simplicity, melody, and all the elements come together to create something truly captivating.
Or, it could literally be about his turtle. 😊 Think the meaning is more in line with this video though. Love the backing tracks, this was no exception. Appreciate you going to so much effort to make them. Makes a world of difference despite their utility. I'd buy a CD of everything to date!
Haha, you've got a point there! The turtle theory is pretty cool too. 😄 Glad you enjoyed the video and the backing tracks! We put in a lot of effort to make them sound just right, and we're stoked it makes a difference for you. Your support means the world to us!
Yeah, I thought it was about his turtle too. I figured Kurt was looking at the turtle like he was God and the turtle was a human who was thankful to be neglected by him when all the time it was just being kept in a dingy laundry and forgotten about for days on end.
@@Scotttyist Yea, if you listen to the early demo version, with just Kurt and Guitar, the lyrics are different. It makes more sense then. He uses 'I' instead of 'He' in a lot of cases. Think Kurt was pretty direct and truthful when he said his lyrics meant very little. Just patched together fragments of his poems.
Several people have referred to me as "The Biggest Nirvana Fan of All-Time." I began learning guitar in '95 (mainly inspired by Nirvana.) Sappy was the only Nirvana song that I learnt during my six years of study. My teacher, from the word go, said to me, "You will never learn Anything trying to play like Nirvana. Kurt wasn't a musician - he was a poet." Although he was definitely a poet of the grandest form, he damn well was a killer musician too... he was sooo punk rock that he made it all fit tightly together, screwing theory (as he played it by ear, as I often do.) When the solo from Sappy started playing, my teacher declared, "He's playing it in the wrong key!" It didn't matter, it sounds Amaaazing! (Butch Vig 2013 version, on the In Utero Deluxe release.) BTW, the other "Verse Chorus Verse"? I downloaded it from Napster in '99, and it was named on the release, "In His Hands". (A live recording at a gig somewhere.) That was a pretty good song too!
I don’t remember it being in the wrong key. Maybe he’s using notes or a scale that wouldn’t normally be used in (C#? I’m trying to recall), but it’s in key and it sounds good.
Back in the mid 90s my cousin and I used to drive from Baltimore to NYC to visit this underground music store in the Village. I believe it was called Generations. It was the coolest music store I've ever seen. Bootlegs upon bootlegs. This was before Napster and the Internet 1.0 so the only way to get ahold of these records and unreleased songs were these types of record stores, or get lucky with a street vendor. I had so many Nirvana bootlegs, I was proud of myself. My favorite bootleg album was called "Outcesticide" and it had all the unreleased tracks like "In His Hands", "Sappy", "Spank Thru", "Born in a Junkyard", "Opinion", and their brilliant cover of "Here She Comes Now". "In His Hands" was definitely my favorite one of them all. It's a shame I haven't' found a cleaner and full version of the song.
Sappy's lyrics haunt the consciousness at the existential level. One visualizes a jar with a butterfly in it or maybe even more sadly... a caterpillar. This was a common situation for kids growing up in the 50s through 80s. Placing a caterpillar in a jar. Cutting holes in the top so it has air. Placing grass and plants inside for it to eat and sleep on. The song then resonates a human relationship as allegory for the caterpillar in a jar. The woman believing it is good to be possessed and wanted and saved but ultimately trapped in a jar. Likely to never become a butterfly. The Laundry Room gives us the vision of someone cleaning their clothes. Removing the stains and the bad smells. Hopefully she is realizing how bad the situation really is and escapes the metaphorical jar she has been trapped in. Though, even further, we all feel this same sentiment because being on Earth itself is like being put in a jar, being covered with grass and having nose holes to breathe. Kurt mentions in another song (Downer) "Thank you dear God for putting me on this Earth I feel very privileged in debt for my thirst!". This same dynamic is played out in relation to being given life and being asked to feel thankful for something that involves just as much suffering, if not more, than joy or solace and relief. His ability to illuminate that which even the most gifted poets found unbidden was truly unique and singularly his own authentic kind of expression.
I first heard this song off of the No Alternative album when it first came out. it was uncredited and therefore a hidden track. The lyrics resonated with me instantly as it reminded me of my parents marriage. As time went on, i saw many friends of mine suffer the same fate in their relationships and eventual marriages. This song always comes to mind during those times.
Dude kurt wrote this song very early. Its literally just about his pet frog he put in a jar and gave it holes to breathe and grass to try to recreate its natural habitat. He kept the frog in the laundry room. This video is so far off.
You're not far off! We actually made a video about "Polly" too. Check it out at this link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pktAYAk-q1c.html
I love how much work and analysis was put into this and then Nirvana’s just like… “ yeah, it was literally just a song about Kurt’s turtle that was in a tank in his laundry room” 😂
This song and Even in his youth are both underrated gems that while loved by diehard fans are often overlooked or in some cases of the more casual fans that haven't looked into there unreleased songs aren't even known about, 2 gems that I'm shocked never made it to an official release on an album. I get that they wouldn't of fitted on Never-ending with its more upbeat kind of feel but would of fit perfectly on In Utero or even bleach
I love the song and its very catchy but in my opinion, it feels a bit amateurish and cheesy(hence the name "Sappy", like something Kurt came up with very early in his song writting journey. The lyrics and everything about it.. Thats probably why it was never on a record.
wrong fact about "sappy" first being called "verse chorus verse" . vcv in a total different song. the first name for this song is called "happy" . as for vcv that song is also known as "in his hands" but yeah , vcv & sappy are two different songs
Um, I definately don't think Kurt himself would want anyone to interpret the meaning of this song or any of NIRVANA's. That's the beauty of his works and why they speak to my generation and those after. What was Kurt really dealing with? Well to scream like he did during performances, he must have been addressing some serious pain.. physical and pschological. Lithium is a natural salt and even appears on the periodic table of elements. If he would just have survived long enough for the second generation of Lithium called Depakote, he might have been a more stable bloke.. Anyhow, he blurred the line between punk rock star and punk rock fan to the fault of death. Death to an artist is not being relevant any more to their audience. Did Kurt see that fate? We will never know. He was just one heck of an a sensitive artistic fellow ❤.
I Never understood why it didnt make an album. Nevermind- side 2, after Drain You. It is PERFECT fitting. As much as I love Lounge Act, I lve always thought Sappy was an even better fit there. Or, of not that, the song should have been on Incesticide either. Or, even if he couldnt decide on an album , I think it would have sounded wonderful on "Unplugged".
I was just thinking.. maybe it’s about a fluid blend between himself and his mom and the abusive relationships she reportedly had that he observed … even fishing guns out of the local river that his mom had thrown in of an ex lover who had cheated on her to pawn for his first guitar.. and how he felt trapped and helpless in many of his relationships to others, being that their mercy and them always wanting to exert some undo authority or control as do some people when helping others out in a tough spot..like he could be singing about the mindset and perspective of both him and his mom, hence “SAPPY”..and their relationships from watching his mother be subservient to abusive men in relationships .. and singing about pondering of the realization of one’s stuckness and toxicity .. no matter how normalized the toxic situation…
Interesting point! We made a video about the horrifying story behind Polly, If you would like to see it here is the link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pktAYAk-q1c.html
Im sorry..wayyy too analytical...kurt would probably agree..dont read to much into the lyrics..he was probably penning a memory of a pet or insect he and everyone had as a kid...and reflected on the feeling of that and thought it was a cool sounding story lyrically..thats my take..and its tru meaning is whatever you want it to be...that is all...
Music is open to interpretation, and your take is totally valid. Kurt's lyrics often had personal connections and memories woven into them. It's all about what resonates with you. Thanks for sharing your perspective, and you're right, the true meaning can be whatever feels right. Keep on enjoying the music in your own way!
This one has always struck a chord with me. I view it a little more simply. I always thought it was about someone who finds you intriguing but they treat you like a possession instead of a human, like a “lightening bug”. They love you like a thing they have to have which is not love. You think they care for you but they are smothering you.
@@keithhutchins8803 I was going to say it’s people that love you like a kept bug but then it got a little deeper. I was high, my parents are divorced, give me a break 😃
I dig both versions of "Verse Chorus Verse". The earlier version with Chad Channing, interesting Drum pattern, on Drums which is on the Deluxe Edition of "Nevermind" and of couse the version with Dave Grohl on the "No Alternative" release.
So beautiful. I feel like as a song writer he d name the song just as a generic feeling to remember it to rehearse before it was final. Sappy was it's way of being referred to by him in his line of songs. Just a word the songs feeling had or gave. This song got me into nirvana. Downloading it on Kazaa or morpheus,, lime wire early 2000s. This song changed my life. Great picture to use also. Natural beauty. My favorite rendition was the best of the box version for a while but nothing beats the first version I ever heard which was the albini sesh.
Well do you know that I was Nirvana music junkie before i learne English & before I became drugs junkie.I learn Nirvana drug story years later.Also The doors was my music before I learn about LSD & both of them was junkies like I was,how can you explain that?Years listening both groups without understand lyrics but I was at the same trip.How weird is that???
March '94, and its after school. I hear a version of this on a bootleg CD called "Rough Tapes". The CD was a rough brilliant collection of Nevermind demos and BBC radio sessions. The song was called "Another Rule" onthe CD, as it was a bootleg and it was a made-up name for the song. I found out later that it was the Smart Studio version for the Nevermind demos, that eventually arrives on the Nevermind 30th Box Set. And I will always think it should have been on Nevermind- Side 2, after Drain You. Listen to it in that order- it is PERFECT fitting. The "In Utero" version is great aswell, but "Nevermind's version is bittersweet, has a beautiful solo, and the Nevermind tone/sound just fits the lyrics, tempo, and mood more.
Sometimes, songs are just lyrically abstract with no intent meaning in order for the listener to have their own unique meaning. Those are the best imo.
I like sappy because it's very relatable to me. I was in a toxic relationship with my parents where I couldn't go anywhere and neither could my brothers. We were stuck in the house all the time. We were constantly watched and if we did one little thing my dad would go ballistic and I finally got out of that. But the sad thing is my brothers haven't
Kurt always wanted his lyrics to be interpreted like a crossword puzzle. I can see that too in the one line, "If you save yourself, you will make him happy" meaning God happy.
@@aeon6th Praise Oxiclean and peace be upon him, for he is whiter than white. And let he who is without a clean shirt cast the first stain! Let us fold.
I’m sure cobain said a lot of songs was about random stuff to not really delve into the real meaning. A lot of love song vibes I’ve got through my decades of listening to Nirvana. “You know your right” is clearly about that horrendous b$$$h love. Too bad he couldn’t get away from her before she did him in.
Just check the early sappy lyrics and you will understand what lyrics was about, there was word "god" he ll give you breathing holes, he ll keep you in a jar, you ll make him happy he is talking about god, first words were "And if you say your prayers, you will make God happy". he changed it to if you save yourself, and "make him happy" (instead of god happy). Love to see people finding their own meanings :)
I interpreted it as a metaphor for God. I know there is God but the idea of a jealous God and things you have to do to gain entry to heaven but it states you can’t earn heaven.
Sappy brings me to tears every time I hear it and I don't know why. This would of made a really nice (controversial) single but at least it's a nice Easter egg for anyone getting into Nirvana
Funny enough, the 1 st time I heard this was on the Outcesticed 3 bootleg where it had another title, “Laundry Room”, which I believe was just a mislabeling by the creator of the now infamous bootleg series.
somehow nearly every song about relationships between men and women also fits for the relationship between master and slave (government and citizens) i think kurt had this also in mind . its for sure in my top 3 favourite songs ever.
First: That's not Steve Albini, in Jack Endino. Second: Kurt said they song was simply about "Romantic Entrapment", so you've kinda got that. Third:The "laundry room" represents a woman's expected duties while in obsessive relationship. The breathing wholes are giving her just enough air to appreciate anything the antagonist is willing to give her. Third:The best version is on the "No Alternative",as an unlisted track, which just did fit within the world of In Utero, but is titled, at that point, "Verse Chorus Verse . Fourth: It's my favorite song of all time.
Hmm. You assume this is about a woman doing something to a man, though the lyrics indicate it's a 'him' keeping someone in a jar covering you with grass. A 'romantic entrapment ' doesn't mean his own.
@@brokencandy1797 , I think you took you took my entire post, and reversed it somehow? The song blatantly says "he'll"/"him, as I stated. If you're confused by the*woman's expected duties line", well it's self explanatory. The duties he expects of her, not what she expects. I don't understand what you're trying to do here .
You need to listen to the earliest version of this song to understand who he was talking about. I hope he'd found peace for his soul! You'll only feel that you're in a jar with breather holes and covered in grass if you fall into the lies and seduction. Those who knows know.
For me, it's one of Nirvana's best songs, and I think it's a shame it didn't appear on the Incesticide album, the CD would have been even more wonderful. There are many people who think that the producer of the series "YOU" took the story from this Kurt Cobain song, so much so that the girl in the first season wears a NIRVANA t-shirt. Finally, a super song by Papi Kurt Cobain !!! Abraços direto from Brasil
WT... Verse Chorus Verse is a totally different song. Albini produced In Utero, the last album...!! Are you just pranking everyone so you get some hate comments??
I read in “Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana,” that the inspiration for the song was the crushing relationship between Kurt and his dad. The elder Cobain had berated Kurt into trying out for sports and the original lyric was “locker room” where some jock had offered him a joint and he realized that it was his dad who was in the wrong. Later, the lyric evolved into “laundry room” perhaps to suggest that the subject is getting clean as in sober. Also in this context, “grass” can also mean cannabis and the intoxication can be a self medication for being in a controlling situation. Furthermore the content was always created to be subjective to the listener. If Kurt later had mentioned a pet turtle in an interview then it was just as valid since he had eventually reconciled the relationship with his father and “that legendary divorce is such a bore.”
I personally think sappy is a person in a relationship where they have kids ,and the domestic life. And consequently everything that comes with that. They’re a mom or dad and feel like they have responsibilities that they cannot get out of therefore they feel trapped in a life they may not have signed up for. This person (like everyone else ) has hopes dreams and visions of who and what they wanted to be. Then one day a long time away from the inception of those hopes and dreams. they’re in a laundry room and realize they’ve become the very thing they used to mock. They feel trapped in this life and feel like they are at a crossroads where they realize they no longer have a choice and they’re stuck. So they lie to themselves they’re happy bc everyone else around them in the family is…. And to think about that past life is crazy because you no longer have a choice. Maybe it was Kurt’s look into adults lives growing up because this song was I assume written long before Courtney and Frances were ever a thing. I dunno I’m probably wrong, but I definitely relate to this song a lot. Also the song name verse chorus verse is a homage and maybe Kurt’s attempt to write a PERFECT Beatles song like sir Paul or j Lennon would have. That’s I’m assuming his train and feeling why it must be perfect. If you’re going to emulate or go after the GOATS of pop rock you BETTER SWING AND CRACK THAT BALL so even if you pull it it may not be a HOMERUN but that foul ball will damn sure look like one😂 Hope you guys have a great day!! And thank you Kurt for leaving your legacy and the wonderful Nirvana songs that even my 3 year old daughter will tolerate.🙏🏽
The isolated vocals that you have playing as you're interpreting c u hgd4suuepkr9 the lyrics are awful! Ive never heard Kurt sound that bad before. It's doesnt even sound like a bad performance or poor recording, it just sounds wrong and "soulless". Is that AI?
This song is about a turtle named Sappy that he used to have as a pet when he was a kid.. He kept her in a jar in the laundry room of his house and feed her with grass. All the meanings that you are analize are correct but the song was inspired just by his pet turtle Sappy....
My little opinion: The Partridge Family song. "Come on now and meet everybody, c'mon get happy! We'll make you happy." I'm a generational cohort of Kurts. I know he watched the Partridge Family on TV in the 70's. No escaping it if you liked music.
I often wonder what kurt would think of these types if meaning deep doves to his written words. I feel like your interpretations may be more correct than not, but truthfully I doubt Kurt would even recognize that his words could have such a deep meaning to others or even himself. However he was likely far more calculated than he let on, was he a tortured artist? Perhaps but more than that I feel he was tortured by his own mind. He really struggled with happiness fame, love, relationships, art, his image, his credibility in the punk scene and it seems all aspects if his life.
