10 Greatest Ever Story Songs

In Nirvana's alt rock catalog, "Polly" stands out as one of the group's most sobering listens. Throughout their career, the members of Nirvana had been adamant about their support for women's rights and condemning the horrors of sexual abuse. About midway through the band's foundational record Nevermind, "Polly" is a slow acoustic song about one woman's fight against a sexual predator.

Frontman Kurt Cobain plays the role of the torturer as he ties up Polly and attempts to make sexual advances. As the man makes blase remarks about the woman wanting more food and asking to be released, he has a truly apathetic tone to his despicable actions.

Once the final verse arrives, we see the silver lining as Polly decides to make advances towards the attacker. At that point, the man lets his guard down, giving her the chance to escape from his clutches. The man is only left to say how he is dumbfounded by "the will of instinct."

This song was a fantastic tune that marked an important change in rock's lyrical approach. The lyrical norm of most rock songwriters tended to favor more derogatory references to women, but Nirvana stepped up with a song that knocked down that machismo pretentiousness in one fell swoop.