Comments: 65

• Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganThis was the first song I ever learned on my acoustic guitar and I still like to sing and play it to this day.
• Bioseye from HomeIf you take into consideration that the song is - as stated by Kurt Cobain - about Tracy Marander and if you consider what both Wikipedia and some biographies say about their relationship, the song isn't half as negative towards Tracy as half of these comments suggest. To my mind you also have to keep in mind that Cobain isn't the kind of "The world did me wrong, so there! Here's a song" kind of guy. It's not a revenge song or anything. He is the one who did things to her that were wrong and he knows it.
  As I understand it, the first verse is just about his feelings about her, or in other words: "You are the perfect girlfriend, don't you know that". The chorus introducing the thought that he is taking advantage of her. If you check the biographies you will find that he used to live at her place, messing it up doing drugs keeping pets and all that kind of stuff without even bothering to clean up, do any chores or get money. "I can't see you every night - free" is nothing but an admission of guilt. The "take advantage while you hang me out to dry" refers to situations in which she would either kick him out or he himself moved to his car because after that she would tipically stop insisting on him contirbuting to the relationship.
  The second verse is from her perspective. I think I once read that she would typically write him notes saying "I do hope you have the time to do XY...." and kept dates with him by which something needed to be done - but Kurt never did anything but make promises.
• Hrvoje from Zagreb, CroatiaLittle known is that this song is plagiarism, please check Croatian band Parni Valjak with song "Hrast". No wonder when xou consider roots from Chris Novoselic.
• Mike Loopie from SeattlleI learnt to play the intro to about a girl, respect me please :-)
• Anonymousthanks for the documentary link Einstein
• Kim from UsaThis is about his then girlfriend that let him live with her but she kept telling him he needed to get a job and pay some rent there. He was so busy writing and into his music though which was very supported by his girlfriend at the time but they still needed money so she'd complain about it. She was/ is a very sweet girl, listened to him, helped him and she "fit the shoe" because she was a Cinderella (not bitchy Courtney, no!). But he was admitting his guilt about not paying a dime "take advantage while you hang me out to dry but I can't see you every night free" because if he couldn't pay part of the rent he wasn't going to be able to stay with her. You guys need to watch some documentaries, it's all in them...
• Rp from OaklandPete from Portland - That is an incredibly insightful!
  Do you mind connecting with me? Id like to talk to you...no way to send an personal message...don't really want to share my email in a public forum...
• Dane from Green Cove Springs Fla., FlIt sounds a lot like the Beatles/Smithereens.One of the first Nirvana songs I really liked.
• Pete from Portland, OrWith all respect, I think to properly understand this song, and any great work, one has to pull one's self away from the love of the artist and knowledge of their personal trivia. Let the song stand for itself. It is a terrific piece of minimalist poetry with its own meaning that will endure long after Kurt Cobain’s personal history and relationships are forgotten.
  I don’t know anything about “Tracy” and certainly did not know Kurt personally and so would not suggest either was actually involved in prostitution. The greatest artists are not that self-centered and write, instead, of the tragedy they see and feel in the lives of others around them.
  I hear this song as a dark, disturbing “Roxanne”. It is the story of a very lonely man who has fallen in love with a hooker. She treats him as a friend when they are together and listens indulgently just as a good professional should. She probably does have a “clue” of his feelings for her but she does not want to acknowledge that because she does not feel the same.
  “Take advantage while… you hang me out to dry” a bitter complaint that the relationship is one-sided.
  “I’m standing in your line. I hope you have the time. I take a number, too.” BloodAxe definitely nailed the visual on this that Cobain took from everyday life. Like every other customer waiting for his number to be called at the meat market, this man is waiting his turn with the object of his affections. That he has to take a number and wait like everyone else reveals the tragic awareness that he is just another “John” to her.
  And, because of her professional view of him, because she does not love him the way he loves her, he can’t have her every night for free… only when he pays.
  The repeated, plaintive refrain, “I do”, is a sad reference to one half of a wedding vow.
  Damn good music!
  
• Martin from Rostock, Germany@bloodaxe: the lyrics here on SF and in your other sources are correct as these are the ones from both the original version on Bleach and the one from MTV Unplugged. I don't know the Outcesticide Boxset, but after googling the tracklist there are several versions of the song on it, maybe you compared it to a live version, studio outtake or otherwise special version.
• Paula from Houston, TxI don't know much about Kurt Cobain or the girl he wrote this song about, but I am a grocery store manager and I can't tell you how many times I've seen my cashier's boyfriends wait on line just so they could talk to their girlfriends. So, these lyrics, "I'm standing in your line; I do hope you have the time; I do pick a number to; I do keep a date with you" are very real and visual to me.
• James from Kalamazoo, MiI have a cd that is a live show, and before they played the song, he called Chris a girl, and said, 'this song is About a Queer'. Might changed some opinions im sure. anyone want the cd lemme know
• Bloodaxe from Lincoln, NeANYONE NOTICE THAT EVERY SOURCE ON THE INTERNET, INCLUDING SONGFACTS.COM, DOES NOT SHOW THE CORRECT LYRICS TO THIS SONG?
  
  I'm listening to the song right now, and Kurt clearly says at the start: (From Outcesticide Boxset)
  First VERSE:
  
  "ahhhh -- I do"
  "don't give a note to me
  "I do PROMISE to agree
  "I do live in constant fear"
  "I do wonder why I'm here"
  "but if you say I'm right"
  (unintelligible)
  "But I can't see you every night for free"
  i do
  "Don't wash my face again"
  
  "I do hit up all my friends"
  (the rest I can't figure out)
  
  The 10 "lyric" sites I visited I found on google for the lyrics to "about a girl" came up with words that mostly do NOT match what Kurt sings in this boxset song. Maybe it's different from the original version.
  
  Anyone got any ideas?
  
  thx
  
• Allie from Bellevue, Neluv the song and the unplugged version is way better people.
• Mark from Worcester, MiJason Everman donated/loaned the band the $600 to record Bleach. That's why he was mentioned on the liner notes. He didn't play on Bleach. It has been written that he never got the money back, but I think it's safe to say he was repaid for his part in launching the band.
• Jenna from Clifton, NjTo me the song is about a prostitute..easy friend..i can't see you everynight free..standing in your line...pick a number two... a date with you...why do you guys think?
• Kayla from Hattiesburg, MsTracy was Kurt's longtime girlfriend in his early 20's. She would work all the time while he stayed at home and wrote music and drank all day. Anyway of course she bitched about him never working, and later she asked him why he never wrote her a song since that was supposedly all he did all day long. He responded with this song, and when Chad asked who it was about he just said "about a girl". Anyway they didn't stay together cause she was tired of him not working, they were growing apart, and he was cheating on her with Tobi Vail at the time, even though Tracy didn't know about that until later.
• Derek from Shrewsbury, Mathe first beatles album is please please me not with the beatles
• Goombario from Jacksonville, Fl"i thought kurt cobain had a girlfriend named "Courtney Love"? Not tracy then again, i suck at facts, so i could be wrong"
  
  Courtney Love was his wife, they got married around the time of their third album
• Sara from Union City, TnWhy do people keep trying to guess who or what this song is about? This along with every other Nirvana song is awesome and part of what makes it so is Cobain's lyrical genius.The song takes on a different meaning to everyone right? That is the beauty in songwriting, and Cobain could do it like no other.Enjoy the song for what it is- artistry at its best.
• Tony from Pittsburgh, PaJason Everman never played guitar on "Bleach"
• Chris from Ontario, Canadaalright first of all you all have it wrong sorry :P this song used to be called About a Vibrator because kurt was involved with this one girl who did not give him any so he got mad and made this song becuz she preferred a vibrator over him. You can see it in the lyrics too, I can see your having fun, for freee. Anyways if you dont believe me read heavier than heaven its a great book :)
• Kelsey from Clarendon, TxHe did, in fact he had a wife name Courtney Love, but Tracy came before her.
• Jacob from Rocky Mount, Nci thought kurt cobain had a girlfriend named "Courtney Love"? Not tracy
  then again, i suck at facts, so i could be wrong
• Brian from Cairns, Australiafor mine this is simply that wow I got my first girlfriend/soul mate [which was more impt as he never had "proper" parents to talk to], BUT he did not want to be trapped, hence I cant see you every nite. If it was her that was rejecting him then surely you cant see me every nite
• Bob from From Somewhere, OrFrom what i read, The girlfriend wanted a song about her, and was mad at Kurt for writing a song about masterbation(spank thru) and not one about her. So he decided to listen to the beatles to get in the right mindset to write the song. The chorus is a refence to a fight they had b4 writting the song
• Josh from Melbourne, AustraliaI like the Bleach version but the Unplugged version is haunting i reckon. Brilliant
• Rez from Bierut, Lebanon, OtherNirvana kicks ASS!
  Rock on,
  Reem,
  Lebanon
• Adrianna from Longview, WaKurt named the album Bleach from a sign he saw about to clean your needle with BLEACH and he wrote all the songs from Bleach in one night thats why School has only 15 words
  
  RIP Kurt Donald Cobain
  from the girl who looks like Kurt
• Truth from Mississauga, Canada"i cant see you every night free" i think means that Tracy did all the work and that he couldnt see her for free every night
• Mary from Minneapolis/bemidji, MnMaybe it is about someone else. Perhaps it could have been a girl with bleached short messy blond hair and grey blue eyes that he met at the Weir Ladder who was standing in line to get in and they talked for an hour about their common interest in painting, the lyrics to Stairway to Heaven and music. Maybe it is about when she stood him up unintentionally when she couldn't find the place that his band was playing at even though she tried. Just a thought.
• Defri from Samarinda, Indonesiaat first,i thought this song about a stripper...
• Rudy from Vancouver, CanadaKurt was living with Tracy Marander, his girlfriend at the time and he'd just be with her and play music all day. She told him to go get a job which he eventually did, but he felt like that was her telling him that he couldn't see her every night for free.
• Garrett from Rapid City, SdEveryone is missing the most important lyric of this song, "I think you fit this shoe".
  A clear Reference to Cinderella. That shows how great of a lyricist Kurt was.
• Sanitarium from Sharon, KsThey need to correct their lyrics.
• Nicky from Southampton, EnglandLove this song.
  One of the best, tbh.
  ;D!
  Kurt - R.I.P
  X
• Seeds13 from Madison, WiThis isn't about Tracy, its about a stripper. It's too simple. Going to the strip club, talking. She has a "clue" because being friendly is her job that makes her more money. The chorus: he takes advantage of her stripping but he has to pay for the service and then leave her be. He's standing in her line because she has other customers. He offers a number (money?) to continue his time with her. There is just nothing here to indicate a real relationship.
• Steve from London, EnglandWonderful, wonderful song Nirvana Unplugged is one of my all time favourite albums of all time
• Kaycee from Houston, TxDerek, Bowling Green, KY, he probly could drive a truck through it, knowing her and how she has sex every day.
• Kaycee from Houston, Txlol sorry, i meant Tom, Hell, CA
• Echo from Normalville, MaThis is a great song-i played it solo on the bass (really bad sounding washburn) for a talent show
• Derek from Bowling Green, KyThis song is about being lonely. Kurt was just lonely at the time. He was willing to pay to see his girl. Even if she was working.
• Tom from Hell, CaThis song is about Courtney Love's vagina and Kurt's desire to drive a truck through it so he could reenter the womb of his mother. It's also about heroin.
• Kane from Vancouver, WaI think this song is about how it feels to be alone all your life and when someone barges in your lif eand tells you what to do you freak out. "I can't see you every night" kind of hints at that. A women trying to tell you to do things all the time can get pretty annoying at times!LOL
• Steven from West Carrollton, OhThis is my most favorite song on the "Bleach" album- I also like the demo version on their greatest hits C.D., "Sliver-The Best Of The Box."
  For those fans of Nirvana, you gotta go out and get it. It's really cool!
• Sam from Portsmouth, United Statesgood song but great riff
• Tom from National City, CoIn the song he says " i need an easy friend , with an ear to lend" meaning he just wants a girl who would listen to what he has to say ,.........In other words he wants a girlfriend who is going to be his best friend at the same time....
• Danielle from West Chester, OhOkay, it may have been said that the girl in question was his girlfriend at the time but maybe just maybe its not her at all! Read the lyrics again its a 2 sided view between a guy and the stripper hes so called in love with! Maybe thats why he never wrote about his girlfriend she wasnt the one he was focused on! He ended up not with her aftr all!!!
• Zac from Olive Bridge, Nyi love this song and i think it kinda reminds me of something the beatles would do
• Mike from St.catharines, CanadaThis song caught my attention as a young kid when played unplugged on TV suprisingly. The whole way the songs worded with constant "I do"'s shows the song from a perspective of Kurt speaking to Tracy in person.
  
  Kurt seems to feel as though he's a last priority in her life. The Line "Im standing In your line/hope you have the time" references that he's waiting in line obviously and that Tracy does'nt seem to find any time for him in her life anymore to point out the obvious. He's not her Number 1 priority in her life when he should be hence the "Number 2" part.
  
  Then theres the part about finding someone to listen to his grief "Easy friend" who can help understand his misery.
  
  He just wants to see her with no interuptions and to be emotionally attatched at all times. From his perspective he seems to care a whole lot more and be madly in love with her while she could care less. Kurt wants to see her "free" meaning nothing in the world bothering them as they spend time together.
  
  Definately a beautiful song and my favorite of all time.
• Mike from Worcecester, EnglandThe Unplugged version was released from the "MTV Unplugged In New York Album" as a single in 1994:
  
  Year Chart Position
  1994 Mainstream Rock Tracks (US) No. 3
  1994 Modern Rock Tracks (US) No. 3
  1994 Official Italian Singles Charts No. 21
  1994 Official Sweeden Singles Charts No. 20
  1994 Official Holland Singles Charts No. 26
• J from Sb, Nykurt wrote 'about a girl' after tracy complaint that he makes songs on every topic but her. 'i cant see you every night for free' comes from the fact that tracy was earning for both and kurt stayed at home only. so tracy used to write down household work for kurt to do before she returns home night, and kurt used to hate that chores.
• Cool Guy from Compton, CaKurt Cobain was a huge Beatles fan.
• Tanya from Rotterdam, NetherlandsI totally agree with Matt. The funny thing is that it kind of surprised me at first that I appeared to be a Beatles-fan and also admire a lot of Nirvana-songs very much. Till I found out that this totally makes sense. I'm afraid Nirvana is underestimated by a lot of people that only hear the heavy gitars and the darkness and agression in the songs. In the meanwhile my children, 8 and 5 years old, sing along those songs, especially About A Girl. I know this must sound dreadful to other people, but there you have it. To me it only proves how strong those songs and melody's are.
• Matt from Millbrae, CaWhen my dad first heard this song he thought it was a Beatles cover. You could replace Kurt's voice with Paul McCartney's and you could put it on a Beatles album. I've always said that Nirvana is heavy metal and the Beatles combined. Fantastic song.
• Mark from Chicago, IlCobain: "I was listening to the Beatles over and over again and I got this song."
• Dave from Brisbane, AustraliaIt's about a girl.
• Gilliann from Dublin, Ireland"I can't see you every night for free" Its about Tracy, telling him to get a job and start making money
  Kurt was aparently listening to the Beatles all day while writing this song, thats why it has such an upbeat pop style beat.
• Abby from Melbourne, Australia"I can't see you every night for free" refers to the fact that Tracey worked at the local cinema, and Kurt would often go to the movies just to see her. "I'm standing in your line" (the ticket booth) "I do hope you have the time" (to talk) "I do pick a number too" (to wait and see her) "I do keep a date with you" (this was the date with her)
• Kelly from Houston, TxYes, this song is about Tracy Marander , correct spelling. She is on the Kurt&COurtney movie. She worked at a cafeteria and supported Kurt in everything that he did and he refused to work, then they broke up. But he wrote the song for her while they were living together. Courtney does not like for him to do songs about other ladies, but supposedly she gets along with Tracy, as she was present in 1996 when Frances poured the ashes into the creek
• Cary from New York City, NyPatti Smith wrote and recorded a tribute song, "About a Boy," after Kurt died.
• Kristian from Asker, Norway"Bleach" was originaly named "To many humans" but Kurt changed it before the record was released!
• Mark from Hudson, MaThe title of the song came last. After trying to figure out a name for the song, Chad Channing (the drummer at that point) asked Cobain what the song was about...it's "About A Girl," replied Kurt. And there you have it.
• Francesfarmer from Seattle, InIt is about when Kurt dated Tracy Marauder. She wanted him to get a job, and he said hed rather sleep in his car then get a job. Anyway its about his relationship with Tracy, "I cant see you every night for free."
• Kyle from Long Beach, CaKurt Cobains girlfriend "tracy" asked kurt why he never made a song about her and he responded by making this song

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