10 Song Meanings Everyone Gets Wrong

Throughout every single Nirvana press junket, Kurt Cobain always liked to play into the idea that he was a bit of a misfit amongst the rock elite. While he never really enjoyed the kind of sudden fame that Nirvana had, he would always be willing to play into it, talking about the kind of creative eccentric that he was and how dire his life was before he became famous. Something in the Way might show how bad it got, but those who knew Kurt understood that he never experienced what happened in this song.

Since Nevermind was released, many have been led to assume that Something in the Way is an autobiographical song about Kurt living under a bridge and fending for food however he could before going into record. If you were to ask almost any of his friends though, this is a complete fabrication of what actually happened, with Mark Arm of Mudhoney saying that it wasn't true and the producers mentioning that the band crashed in hotels when making Nevermind. As Krist Novoselic tells it, the worst that it actually got was a spell during the Bleach era where Kurt lived in a car for a little while, but even then he still could have access to shelter whenever he wanted.

It's all about selling your aesthetic though, and millions of fans took Kurt at his word on this song, with one bridge in Seattle becoming a shrine to Kurt's memory, with fans leaving different tributes to him underneath it. If anything, this song is basically just the image that most people had of grunge in the early days: grimy, heavy, and emotionally in shambles.