10 Most Controversial Hard Rock Songs Of All Time

10. Polly - Nirvana

It was a miracle for the hard rock world that Nirvana came to fruition in the early ‘90s. After years of getting bogged down in the ridiculousness of hair metal, here was a band taking it back to the same kind of rock and roll we fell in love with. The songs may have sounded great, but it got much more unsettling once they slowed everything down.

While most of Nirvana’s lyrics have been acknowledged as nonsense by Kurt Cobain himself, “Polly” is the one exception to the rule, with the entire song playing out like a captive scenario. Intrigued by a newstory he had read, Cobain strums away on an acoustic guitar while taking on the persona of a rapist trying to torture his victim. As the song progresses though, the girl starts to flirt with him, causing him to let his guard down and letting her escape.

Kurt had always been concerned about the dangers of domestic and sexual abuse and wanted to document this story of bravery, but some of Nirvana’s audience ended up taking on that role themselves and using “Polly” as their calling card. Over the next few years, Cobain became more outspoken as to the “plankton” that tried to come to their shows to assault members of the audience. “Polly” was a nice way to spread awareness, but its life in recent years has shown that the battle against sexual abuse is far from over.