"Rape Me" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by frontman Kurt Cobain. The song was released as the second single from Nirvana's third album In Utero in 1993, packaged as a double A-side along with "All Apologies". "Rape Me" was written by Kurt Cobain on an acoustic guitar around the time the band's second album, Nevermind, was being mixed in 1991. Nirvana first performed the song live that year, although Cobain had not yet written lyrics for the bridge section.
Nirvana first recorded "Rape Me" during two-day demo sessions with producer Jack Endino in Seattle, Washington in October 1992. Two takes of the song were recorded; the first was instrumental, while the second featured lead vocals by Cobain and backing vocals by drummer Dave Grohl. Cobain was holding his then-infant daughter in his lap when he recorded his vocals, and she can be heard crying on the demo. In February 1993, Nirvana travelled to Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, to record its third album In Utero with producer Steve Albini. The band recorded the music for "Rape Me" on February 15. The following day, Cobain completed his vocals for the album during a reported six-hour session.
The guitar in this song is basically "Smells Like Teen Spirit" backwards. Cobain thought that if a song was played backwards it would take on a new character. Kurt Cobain wanted to make a strong statement in support of women and against violence toward them. In his words, the song is a sort of poetic justice. A guy rapes a girl. He ends up in jail and is raped there. It's also believed that the song was in direct relation to his feeling of being raped by the media, in particular Vanity Fair and MTV. "Rape Me" was written from the perspective of a victim replying to a rapist. It's the reverse of Nirvana's "Polly," which is from the perspective of the rapist.
Nirvana had wanted to play "Rape Me" during its performance at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. While MTV initially told the band it could play any song it wanted, it later insisted that the group play "Smells Like Teen Spirit" instead. Hours before the show, Nirvana refused to play. However, due to concerns that the network could boycott other artists on the group's label if they refused to play the show, Nirvana ultimately settled on performing its then-latest single "Lithium". At the start of the performance, Cobain started playing and singing "Rape Me" instead; he said he did so "just to give [MTV] a little heart palpitation". Panicked, MTV was moments away from switching from the live performance to a commercial when the band segued into "Lithium".
In 1996, Wal-Mart adopted a policy of not carrying any objectionable materials in their stores. While they continued to sell guns and cigarettes, they made many musicians alter their albums before they would sell them, resulting in "clean" and "dirty" versions of many albums. Nirvana had to change the title listed on the album to "Waif Me" before Wal-Mart would carry it.
Lyrics:
Rape me
Rape me my friend
Rape me
Rape me again
I'm not the only one (x4)
Hate me
Do it and do it again
Waste me
Rape me my friend
I'm not the only one (x4)
My favorite inside source
I'll kiss your open sores
Appreciate your concern
You'll always stink and burn
Rape me
Rape me my friend
Rape me
Rape me again
I'm not the only one (x4)
Rape me! (x9)
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