Polly (Nirvana song)

"Polly"
Song by Nirvana
from the album Nevermind
ReleasedSeptember 24, 1991 (1991-09-24)
RecordedApril 1990
StudioSmart Studios (Madison, Wisconsin)
Genre
Length2:57
LabelDGC
Songwriter(s)Kurt Cobain
Producer(s)
Nevermind track listing
13 tracks
  1. "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
  2. "In Bloom"
  3. "Come as You Are"
  4. "Breed"
  5. "Lithium"
  6. "Polly"
  7. "Territorial Pissings"
  8. "Drain You"
  9. "Lounge Act"
  10. "Stay Away"
  11. "On a Plain"
  12. "Something in the Way"
  13. "Endless, Nameless"
"Polly"
Promo CD for the MTV Unplugged in New York album
Promotional single by Nirvana
from the album MTV Unplugged in New York
Released1994
RecordedNovember 18, 1993 at Sony Music Studios in New York City
Length3:16
LabelDGC Records
Songwriter(s)Kurt Cobain
Producer(s)Alex Coletti, Scott Litt, Nirvana
Nirvana singles chronology
"About a Girl"
(1994) 		"Polly"
(1994) 		"The Man Who Sold the World"
(1995)
MTV Unplugged in New York track listing
13 tracks
  1. "About a Girl"
  2. "Come as You Are"
  3. "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam"
  4. "The Man Who Sold the World"
  5. "Pennyroyal Tea"
  6. "Dumb"
  7. "Polly"
  8. "On a Plain"
  9. "Something in the Way"
  10. "Plateau"
  11. "Oh, Me"
  12. "Lake of Fire"
  13. "All Apologies"
  14. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night"

"Polly" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the sixth song on their second album Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991.

The song was written about the abduction, rape, and torture of a 14-year-old girl returning home from a punk rock concert in Tacoma, Washington in 1987[2][3]. The crime was committed by Gerald Friend.[4] Written from the perspective of the perpetrator, "Polly" has retrospectively been cited as evidence of Cobain's support of feminism and women's rights, although there is no evidence of Cobain openly declaring he was making a feminist statement with the lyrics. [5][6][7]

  1. ^ Nevermind (CD liner notes). Nirvana. DGC. 1991.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Azerrad, Michael (1993). Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana. New York City: Doubleday. p. 321. ISBN 0-86369-746-1.
  3. ^ Hobbs, Mary Anne (November 23, 1991). "Nirvana's first NME cover feature from 1991: "I'm not sure how our original fans will cope"". NME. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  4. ^ Tina Benitez-Eves (September 2023). "The Meaning, and Tragic Kidnapping, Behind Nirvana's Darker 'Nevermind' Song "Polly"". americansongwriter.com. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Goldberg, Danny (2019). Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain (First ed.). New York: Ecco Press. p. 174. ISBN 978-0062861504.
  6. ^ Book, Ryan (23 July 2013). "5 Songs That Reveal The Feminist Messages in Nirvana's Music That St. Vincent was Referring To". The Music Times. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  7. ^ Marcotte, Amanda (23 September 2011). "Kurt Cobain's Feminist Legacy and Nirvana's 'Nevermind'". Daily Beast. Retrieved 15 November 2022.