Polly (song)

Song infobox
Name = Polly


Caption = Promo CD for the MTV Unplugged in New York album
Artist = Nirvana
Album = Nevermind
Released = September 24, 1991
track_no = 6
Recorded = April 1990 at Smart Studios, Madison, Wisconsin
Genre = Grunge
Length = 2:57
Writer =
Label = DGC Records
Producer = Butch Vig
prev = "Lithium"
prev_no = 5
next = "Territorial Pissings"
next_no = 7Extra tracklisting
Album = From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
Type = live
prev_track = "Negative Creep"
prev_no = 13
this_track = "Polly"
track_no = 14
next_track = "Breed"
next_no = 15Extra tracklisting
Album = MTV Unplugged in New York
Type = live
prev_track = "Dumb"
prev_no = 6
this_track = "Polly"
track_no = 7
next_track = "On a Plain"
next_no = 8

"Polly" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the sixth song on their 1991 album, "Nevermind".

History

Dating back to at least 1988, "Polly" stands alongside "About a Girl" and "Been a Son" as one of singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain's earliest forays into unfiltered pop songwriting. It was originally titled "Hitchhiker", and later "Cracker", but was renamed to "Polly" some time in 1989. It was left off Nirvana's 1989 debut album "Bleach" because Cobain believed it was not consistent with the band's heavy grunge sound of the time. However, it found its way onto the band's second album "Nevermind" two years later, and remained a part of the band's regular setlist until Cobain's death (and Nirvana's dissolution) in April 1994.

Meaning

According to Michael Azerrad's 1993 Nirvana biography "Come as You Are", "Polly" is based on the true story of a female rape victim from Tacoma, Washington. The girl, 14, was abducted in 1987 while returning from a punk rock show, and was raped and tortured with razors and a blowtorch by her abductor. Cobain's only narrative flourish is that the victim manages to escape by flirting with her captor, convincing him to let her go.

In the liner notes to Nirvana's 1992 compilation "Incesticide", Cobain expressed disdain for an incident which occurred after the song's release on "Nevermind". "Last year, a girl was raped by two wastes of sperm and eggs while they sang the lyrics to our song 'Polly,'" he wrote. "I have a hard time carrying on knowing there are plankton like that in our audience."

Many versions

The stark, acoustic rendition which appears on "Nevermind" is perhaps the most familiar reading of the song. However, no less than eight other versions have been commercially released. These are:
*A live, electric version from late 1991, which appears as a B-side on import versions of the band's 1992 "In Bloom" single.
*An electric studio version recorded for the BBC's Evening Session in late 1991, which appears on "Incesticide". This version is dubbed "(New Wave) Polly," perhaps because of its faster tempo. This "New Wave" version was played live in Manchester, England, about a month later.
*A live, acoustic version recorded during the band's "MTV Unplugged" performance in late 1993, which was subsequently released the following year on the band's posthumous "MTV Unplugged in New York" album. This version features Pat Smear on rhythm guitar, and Lori Goldston on cello.
*A live, electric performance from late 1991, which appears on the 1994 home video "Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!".
*A live, electric rendition from mid 1991, which appears on the documentary "".
*A live, electric version from late 1989, which appears on the band's 1996 live compilation, "From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah".
*A solo, acoustic home demo which appears on the 2004 Nirvana box set, "With the Lights Out".
*An electric studio take from 1989, which also appears on "With the Lights Out".

Covers

"Polly" has been covered by the following artists:
* American experimental rock band Animal Collective as a B-side on their Purple Bottle single.
* American musician Kirsten Krush.
* New Zealand rock band The Mint Chicks
* A faster tempo, acoustic cover by American rock band Dead Confederates on their 2007 album of covers "The Cover Story".
* A darker, heavy metal version was covered by Utah underground band 420 Proof
* Singer/songwriter Jay Brannan.
* Polly Moller & Co., an experimental electroacoustic group from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Accolades

*Ranked #18 in "NME's" "Top 20 Nirvana Songs" (2004)

References

*Azerrad, Michael. "Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana", Doubleday, New York: 1993, ISBN 0-86369-746-1