11 Songs With Hidden Meanings

Nirvana’s biggest hit was featured in their 1991 album Nevermind. Many consider it to be one of the greatest songs in the history of rock music. Nevertheless, Kurt Cobain was not fully aware of what the phrase “smells like teen spirit” meant until after it was a huge success.

Lead singer of the band Bikini Kill, Kathleen Hanna, wrote the phrase, “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on Cobain’s apartment wall. Teen Spirit was a brand of deodorant at the time, which Tobi Vail, another member of Bikini Kill and Cobain’s girlfriend at the time, wore and as a result Cobain smelled like.

Cobain was under the impression that the phrase was a type of revolutionary movement slogan. Months after its release, Hanna informed him of the true meaning.

Unfortunately, Nirvana soon stopped liking the song and refused to play it in many of their concerts.