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"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" sometime 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 a Blowtorch by her abductor (Gerald Friend). 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." It was assumed that Cobain narrates the song from the rapist's point of view (he would do the opposite on '' In Utero '''s " Rape Me "). 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:
COVERS "Polly" has been covered by the following artists:
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