Pennyroyal Tea
Encyclopedia
"Pennyroyal Tea" is a song by the American grunge
band Nirvana
. Featured on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero (1993), it was initially scheduled to be released as the third single
in April 1994. After Nirvana's front-man Kurt Cobain
was found dead that same month, the planned release was abandoned.
, apartment he shared with Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl
. "Dave and I were screwing around on a 4-track," said Cobain, "and I wrote that song in about thirty seconds. And I sat down for like half-an-hour and wrote the lyrics and then we recorded it." The band played the song live many times in 1991 and 1992. However, it didn't receive studio treatment until 1993, when it was recorded by Steve Albini
for In Utero. A remix by Scott Litt
appears on the censored Wal-Mart
and Kmart
versions of In Utero; this remix is also available on the band's 2002 best-of compilation, Nirvana, and is, incidentally, the same mix that was to appear on the single (see below).
pennyroyal
is sometimes used as an abortifacient
. In Cobain's Journals
, which was published posthumously in 2002, there is an entry where he explains the tracks on In Utero. The explanation given for "Pennyroyal Tea" simply reads: "herbal abortive... it doesn't work, you hippie."
In an interview in the October 1993 issue of Impact, Cobain gave greater insight into the song, saying that it was about a person suffering from severe depression:
The third track is not included on the vinyl release of the single.
The book In Utero by Gillian G. Gaar states that Cobain had no input into the artwork for "Pennyroyal Tea", which was scheduled for release in April 1994; the track had been remixed by Scott Litt at Bad Animals on November 22, 1993. Playing off the song's title, the sleeve pictures a cup of tea on a table, next to an ashtray filled with cigarette butts and a rooster-shaped cream pitcher, with a few animal crackers scattered around. "We got it done and I don't know that Kurt was around to approve it or not," says designer Robert Fisher. "I think it might just have been shot to management to approve or something."
was asked to direct the video for "Pennyroyal Tea". He refused, stating that he felt he couldn't make a video better than "Heart-Shaped Box
". Jeffery Plansker then signed on as the new director. With Cobain's death, though, this was ultimately scrapped and no music video was ever released. It would have been the band's second music video off of In Utero as MTV
informed Nirvana they would not air a "Rape Me" video and in protest Nirvana opted not to make an "All Apologies
" video, which was a major hit.
MTV Unplugged in New York
album. This was the only song during the MTV Unplugged
performance that Kurt Cobain played solo. Kurt however does not play the guitar-solo in the "MTV Unplugged" version of Pennyroyal Tea. The full band plays during the rehearsal for Pennyroyal Tea with Pat Smear on backing vocals available on the DVD release.
An acoustic demo
(recorded in 1993) appears on the 2004 Nirvana box set, With the Lights Out
. The box set also includes a live version from a concert at the OK Hotel
on April 17, 1991.
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
band Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
. Featured on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero (1993), it was initially scheduled to be released as the third single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in April 1994. After Nirvana's front-man Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
was found dead that same month, the planned release was abandoned.
History
According to Michael Azerrad's 1993 Nirvana biography, Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, "Pennyroyal Tea" was written by Cobain in 1990 in an Olympia, WashingtonOlympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
, apartment he shared with Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
. "Dave and I were screwing around on a 4-track," said Cobain, "and I wrote that song in about thirty seconds. And I sat down for like half-an-hour and wrote the lyrics and then we recorded it." The band played the song live many times in 1991 and 1992. However, it didn't receive studio treatment until 1993, when it was recorded by Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
for In Utero. A remix by Scott Litt
Scott Litt
Scott Litt is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums.-Biography:...
appears on the censored Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
and Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
versions of In Utero; this remix is also available on the band's 2002 best-of compilation, Nirvana, and is, incidentally, the same mix that was to appear on the single (see below).
Meaning
The herbHerb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
pennyroyal
Pennyroyal
Pennyroyal refers to two plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. For the American species, see American pennyroyal. The European pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium, , is a plant in the mint genus, within the family Lamiaceae. Crushed Pennyroyal leaves exhibit a very strong fragrance similar to spearmint...
is sometimes used as an abortifacient
Abortifacient
An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion. Abortifacients for animals that have mated undesirably are known as mismating shots....
. In Cobain's Journals
Journals (Cobain)
Journals is a collection of writings and drawings by Kurt Cobain, lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana. Though the content is undated, it is arranged in an approximation of chronological order, starting with a letter Cobain wrote to Dale Crover in 1988, and ending with a rant about...
, which was published posthumously in 2002, there is an entry where he explains the tracks on In Utero. The explanation given for "Pennyroyal Tea" simply reads: "herbal abortive... it doesn't work, you hippie."
In an interview in the October 1993 issue of Impact, Cobain gave greater insight into the song, saying that it was about a person suffering from severe depression:
- "When I ask Cobain if 'Penny Royal Tea' is about indigestion, he half-laughs. 'Penny royal tea is a herbal abortive,' he says. 'I threw that in because I have so many friends who have tried to use that, and it never worked. The song is about a person who's beyond depressed; they're in their death bed, pretty much.' Cobain's own bout with serious stomach pain was well documented last year. 'Yeah, it did rub off on the song,' he admits. And I couldn't help noticing the 'Canadian' reference to a Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
afterworld. 'That was my therapy, when I was depressed and sick. I'd read things like Malloy DiesMalone DiesMalone Dies is a novel by Samuel Beckett. It was first published in 1951, in French, as Malone Meurt, and later translated into English by the author....
[sic] by BeckettSamuel BeckettSamuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
, or listen to Leonard Cohen, which would actually make it worse,' he laughs."
The single
Though most copies of the "Pennyroyal Tea" CD single were withdrawn from the market following Cobain's death, some were sold. Original copies have become collectors items and can sell for thousands of dollars.- "Pennyroyal Tea" (Remix)
- "I Hate Myself and Want to Die"
- "Where Did You Sleep Last NightWhere Did You Sleep Last Night"In the Pines", also known as "Black Girl" and "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", is a traditional American folk song which dates back to at least the 1870s, and is believed to be Southern Appalachian in origin. The identity of the song's author is unknown, but it has been recorded by many artists...
" (MTV Unplugged Version) (Lead Belly)
The third track is not included on the vinyl release of the single.
The book In Utero by Gillian G. Gaar states that Cobain had no input into the artwork for "Pennyroyal Tea", which was scheduled for release in April 1994; the track had been remixed by Scott Litt at Bad Animals on November 22, 1993. Playing off the song's title, the sleeve pictures a cup of tea on a table, next to an ashtray filled with cigarette butts and a rooster-shaped cream pitcher, with a few animal crackers scattered around. "We got it done and I don't know that Kurt was around to approve it or not," says designer Robert Fisher. "I think it might just have been shot to management to approve or something."
Personnel
- Kurt CobainKurt CobainKurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
: lead vocals and guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, backing vocal on "Pennyroyal Tea", acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
on "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" - Krist NovoselicKrist NovoselicKrist Anthony Novoselic II is a Croatian-American rock musician, best known for being the bassist and co-founder of the grunge band Nirvana. After Nirvana ended, Novoselic formed Sweet 75 and then Eyes Adrift, releasing one album with each band...
: bassElectric BassElectric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
, acoustic bassAcoustic bass guitarThe acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar...
on "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" - Dave GrohlDave GrohlDavid Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocal on "I Hate Myself and Want to Die"
- Pat SmearPat SmearPat Smear is a rock musician who has been a guitarist in several well-known bands including The Germs and Nirvana. He is currently a guitarist for the Foo Fighters...
: acoustic guitar on "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"
Music video
Director Anton CorbijnAnton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade...
was asked to direct the video for "Pennyroyal Tea". He refused, stating that he felt he couldn't make a video better than "Heart-Shaped Box
Heart-Shaped Box
"Heart-Shaped Box" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. The song was released as the first single from the group's third and final studio album, In Utero, in 1993. It was one of two songs from the album mixed by Scott Litt in order to augment...
". Jeffery Plansker then signed on as the new director. With Cobain's death, though, this was ultimately scrapped and no music video was ever released. It would have been the band's second music video off of In Utero as MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
informed Nirvana they would not air a "Rape Me" video and in protest Nirvana opted not to make an "All Apologies
All Apologies
"All Apologies" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by frontman Kurt Cobain. It was released as the second single from the band's third album, In Utero, which was released on September 21, 1993...
" video, which was a major hit.
Other versions
A solo, stripped down performance of "Pennyroyal Tea" appears on the acousticAcoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
MTV Unplugged in New York
MTV Unplugged in New York
MTV Unplugged in New York is a live album by the American rock band Nirvana. It features an acoustic performance taped at Sony Music Studios in New York City on November 18, 1993 for the television series MTV Unplugged. The show was directed by Beth McCarthy and first aired on the cable television...
album. This was the only song during the MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
performance that Kurt Cobain played solo. Kurt however does not play the guitar-solo in the "MTV Unplugged" version of Pennyroyal Tea. The full band plays during the rehearsal for Pennyroyal Tea with Pat Smear on backing vocals available on the DVD release.
An acoustic demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
(recorded in 1993) appears on the 2004 Nirvana box set, With the Lights Out
With the Lights Out
With the Lights Out is a box set, containing three CDs and one DVD, of previously rare or unreleased material, including b-sides, demos, rough rehearsal recordings and live recordings, from the American rock band Nirvana. It was released in November 2004...
. The box set also includes a live version from a concert at the OK Hotel
OK Hotel
The OK Hotel was a bar and music venue located under the viaduct in Seattle's Pioneer Square district. The club's 15-year-plus life span came to an end with the Nisqually earthquake of February 28, 2001, which damaged numerous buildings in the historic district.Most widely recognized as a prominent...
on April 17, 1991.
Accolades
- Ranked #8 in NME'sNMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
"Top 20 Nirvana Songs" (2004) - Ranked #2 in Q'sQ (magazine)Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
"10 Album Tracks That Should Have Been Singles, But Weren't" (2004)
Covers
"Pennyroyal Tea" has been covered by the following artists:- American rock band HoleHole (band)Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
(fronted by Cobain's widow, Courtney LoveCourtney LoveCourtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
). - American rock musician Kristin HershKristin HershKristin Hersh is an American singer/songwriter who performs solo acoustic concerts; she also continues to perform as lead singer and guitarist for alternative rock group Throwing Muses and the hardcore punk-influenced power trio 50 Foot Wave...
. - American rock musician Jared LetoJared LetoJared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
. - American alternative rock band The Flaming LipsThe Flaming LipsThe Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
. - WelshWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
rock band the Manic Street PreachersManic Street PreachersManic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
. - Korean rock band JaurimJaurimJaurim is a rock band from Seoul, South Korea. They had performed in the indie scene before 1997, and became major with their first released single 'Hey Hey Hey'...
.