Songfacts®:

• Written by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, and bass player Van Conner, "Nearly Lost You" is probably the most famous song by Screaming Trees. Some would even call it their signature. Released in 1992, it was certainly perfect timing to ride the crest of the grunge wave.
  
  In fact, Screaming Trees are one of the acts considered part of the "godfathers of grunge" club, alongside Melvins, U-Men, Skin Yard, Soundgarden, Green River, and Malfunkshun. It was also perfect timing for MTV video rotation; MTV had just discovered grunge and was still young enough to get excited about it.
• Barrett Martin, the drummer here, also worked with Stone Temple Pilots and R.E.M. But his latest accomplishments is to be ordained a Zen priest, as of 2000. No word on how that's working out for him, but then, Zen priests are pretty quiet.
• The song's success on the charts was partly because of its appearance on the soundtrack to the 1992 Cameron Crowe film Singles.
• After the break-up of Screaming Trees in 2000, Mark Lanagan released a series of critically acclaimed albums with former Belle & Sebastian vocalist and cello player Isobel Campbell. Their first, Ballad of the Broken Seas, made the shortlist for the UK Mercury Music Prize in 2006. Interested in hearing one of their tunes? Check out "Keep Me in Mind Sweetheart."