"" is a song by the
Grunge band
Nirvana . It originally appeared on their breakthrough album ''
Nevermind ''. It would later appear on their live album ''
From The Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah '' and their greatest hits album ''
Nirvana ''. An acoustic version appears on the 2004 box set ''
With The Lights Out ''. The lyrics were written by Nirvana frontman
Kurt Cobain . A cover was done by the 60s British rock group
Nirvana .
The name of the song is often attributed to the metal
Lithium 's tendency to be found in
Mood Stabilisers such as
Lithium Carbonate and
Lithium Orotate ; because of this the lyrics are often interpreted as describing
Bipolar Disorder . Nonetheless, there is much disagreement about the exact meaning and interpretation of it.
One possible interpretation involves an individual who uses religion as a way of overcoming depression (though it is possible that the character in the song has other mental problems as well): The character claims to be happy because he has found religion to stabilize his life. According to this view, the bridge (through the repetition of "I'm not gonna crack" every other line) gives a clue that the character is not actually that stable, and is instead merely forcing himself to believe that his religion has cured his problems.
Others argue that the lyrics are not at all associated with
Religion , and the mention of
God in it is
Metaphor ical (perhaps referring to the medication itself),
Ironic or otherwise insignificant. The chorus line previously mentioned is sometimes thought to indicate that the illness the character is actually suffering is a bipolar disorder, as opposed to
Unipolar .
A third interpretation of the lyrics associates the narrator's finding of God to be a reference to the sensation of
Euphoria from use of
Heroin or other drugs. It was well-known that Cobain was a heroin addict.
One memorable performance of "Lithium" was at the Reading Festival 1992 in the UK. This performance can be found on the official Nirvana home video ''
Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! ''.
Another memorable performance of the song was when Nirvana performed at the 1992
MTV Video Music Awards .
MTV had wanted the band to play "
Smells Like Teen Spirit ", but the band wanted to play a new song called "
Rape Me ". MTV was appalled at the idea of a song called "Rape Me", and eventually agreed that the band could play "Lithium", which was their latest hit single. When the band began their performance, Kurt strummed and sang the first few bars of "Rape Me", giving the MTV execs a solid shock before jumping into "Lithium".
In a live performance of lithium, Kris Novoselic threw his bass into the air for dramatic effect. Probably because he was high, he misjudged the catch and the bass smacked him in the forehead and he staggered offstage.
The following songs appeared on the single:
#"Lithium"
Version (Cobain) - 4:19
#"
Been A Son "
Paramount Theatre (Seattle, Washington) 1991.10.31 (Cobain) - 2:33
#"
Curmudgeon " (Cobain, Nirvana) - 3:00
- Kerrang! magazine "100 Greatest Rock Tracks Ever" #20 (1999)
- Kerrang magazine "100 Greatest Singles of All Time" #42 (2002)
