9 Popular Songs You Didn't Know Were Based On Real News Stories

9. Nirvana - "Polly"

"Polly" went through several iterations before it found its way onto Nirvana's masterpiece, Nevermind. It was originally written for their debut, Bleach, under the title "Hitchhiker," but was ultimately left off that album because Kurt Cobain felt it wasn't heavy enough to fit with the rest of the songs. Bassist Krist Novoselic says the inspiration behind the song that would eventually become "Polly" came from a newspaper article about Gerald Arthur Friend, a serial rapist and kidnapper who abducted a 14-year-old girl while on parole for a previous abduction.

According to the article, the girl accepted a ride from Friend after a rock concert (hence the original title, "Hitchhiker") before being taken, at knifepoint, back to his mobile home where he repeatedly raped and tortured her with a propane torch. She was finally able to escape when Friend left her unattended in his truck while at a gas station. The opening lines directly refer to the manner in which she was tortured:

Polly wants a crackerI think I should get off her firstI think she wants some waterTo put out the blow torch