Uploaded February 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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An acoustic cover of "On A Plain" and "Been A Son" by Nirvana from their 1991 album Nevermind and 1992 compilation Incesticide.
Words and music by Kurt Cobain
"On A Plain"
I'll start this off without any words
I got so high that I scratched 'til I bled
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
The finest day that I ever had
Was when I learned to cry on command
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
I'm on a plain, I can't complain, I'm on a plain
My mother died every night
It's safe to say, don't quote me on that
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
The black sheep got blackmailed again
Forgot to put on the zip code
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
I'm on a plain, I can't complain, I'm on a plain
Somewhere I have heard this before
In a dream my memory has stored
In defense I'm neutered and spayed
What the heck am I trying to say?
And now it's time to make it unclear
To write off lines that don't make a sense
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
One more special message to go
And then I'm done and I can go home
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong so what should I do?
I'm on a plain, I can't complain, I'm on a plain
"Been A Son"
She should have stayed away from friends
She should have had more time to spend
She should have died when she was born
She should have worn the crown of thorns
She should have been a son, she should have been a son
She should have been a son, she should have been a son
She should have stood out in the crowd
She should have made her mother proud
She should have fallen on her stance
She should have had another chance
She should have been a son, she should have been a son
She should have been a son, she should have been a son
*Song Facts*
"On a Plain" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the 11th track on their second album Nevermind, released in September 1991. The song was released as a promo single in 1992, peaking at number 25 on Billboard's Alt songs chart.
"On a Plain" was written in 1990. It was first recorded in the studio on January 1, 1991, by Craig Montgomery at Music Source Studios in Seattle, Washington.
The song was recorded for the band's second album, Nevermind, by Butch Vig in May 1991 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California. Vig later called it "a great pop song," remembering it as "a really new one" that "took a few takes" to record properly. The final lyrics were written at Sound City shortly before the vocals were recorded, which led to the line, "What the hell am I trying to say?" The recording features high harmonies by drummer Dave Grohl. Vig had wanted to end the recording with Dave Grohl's harmonies repeated four times a capella, and originally mixed the song that way, but upon hearing the mix, Cobain decided the song should end after only one pass of the harmonies. Cobain's lead vocals were done in one take.
"On a Plain" was debuted live on May 29, 1991 at Jabberjaw in LA, California, the show at which Nirvana also debuted the future Nevermind single, "Come As You Are," before "an astonished audience," said author Charles R. Cross. The show was Nirvana's first since finishing Nevermind.
Cobain ultimately expressed dissatisfaction with the song's recording, telling Flipside, "That song came out way too clean. I'm not happy with the way that came out at all. It should have been a lot rawer; we play it a lot better live I think."
In a 1993 interview with Jon Savage, Cobain said that the song was about "classic alienation, I guess," although he then noted he had to change his explanation every time he was asked about his song meanings, saying that his lyrics were largely taken from "pieces of poetry thrown together," and that his poetry was "not usually thematic at all."
The lyric "Don't quote me on that" was a reference to a running joke at Sound City that week. As Grohl explained to biographer Michael Azerrad, "Someone would say something like, 'Where's the mayonnaise?' And someone else would answer, 'It's in the fridge, but don't quote me on that.'"
In his 1993 book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Azerrad theorized that the lyric "My mother died every night" was a reference to an abusive relationship Cobain's mother was in while Cobain was a teenager. Azerrad also suggested that the "black sheep" in the song was a reference to Cobain himself. The lyric "One more special message to go" referred to the fact that "On a Plain" was the last song on Nevermind that Cobain wrote lyrics for.
In her review of Nevermind for Spin, Lauren Spencer cited the "beautifully harmonic" "On a Plain" as one of the songs "you be humming...for the rest of your life."
Ranked #26 on Rolling Stone's best Nirvana songs list.
#Nirvana #OnAPlain #BeenASon
🎤 plaidonflannel.com
🎸 plaidonflannelshop.com
An acoustic cover of "On A Plain" and "Been A Son" by Nirvana from their 1991 album Nevermind and 1992 compilation Incesticide.
Words and music by Kurt Cobain
"On A Plain"
I'll start this off without any words
I got so high that I scratched 'til I bled
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
The finest day that I ever had
Was when I learned to cry on command
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
I'm on a plain, I can't complain, I'm on a plain
My mother died every night
It's safe to say, don't quote me on that
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
The black sheep got blackmailed again
Forgot to put on the zip code
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
I'm on a plain, I can't complain, I'm on a plain
Somewhere I have heard this before
In a dream my memory has stored
In defense I'm neutered and spayed
What the heck am I trying to say?
And now it's time to make it unclear
To write off lines that don't make a sense
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong, so what should I do?
One more special message to go
And then I'm done and I can go home
Love myself better than you
I know it's wrong so what should I do?
I'm on a plain, I can't complain, I'm on a plain
"Been A Son"
She should have stayed away from friends
She should have had more time to spend
She should have died when she was born
She should have worn the crown of thorns
She should have been a son, she should have been a son
She should have been a son, she should have been a son
She should have stood out in the crowd
She should have made her mother proud
She should have fallen on her stance
She should have had another chance
She should have been a son, she should have been a son
She should have been a son, she should have been a son
*Song Facts*
"On a Plain" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the 11th track on their second album Nevermind, released in September 1991. The song was released as a promo single in 1992, peaking at number 25 on Billboard's Alt songs chart.
"On a Plain" was written in 1990. It was first recorded in the studio on January 1, 1991, by Craig Montgomery at Music Source Studios in Seattle, Washington.
The song was recorded for the band's second album, Nevermind, by Butch Vig in May 1991 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California. Vig later called it "a great pop song," remembering it as "a really new one" that "took a few takes" to record properly. The final lyrics were written at Sound City shortly before the vocals were recorded, which led to the line, "What the hell am I trying to say?" The recording features high harmonies by drummer Dave Grohl. Vig had wanted to end the recording with Dave Grohl's harmonies repeated four times a capella, and originally mixed the song that way, but upon hearing the mix, Cobain decided the song should end after only one pass of the harmonies. Cobain's lead vocals were done in one take.
"On a Plain" was debuted live on May 29, 1991 at Jabberjaw in LA, California, the show at which Nirvana also debuted the future Nevermind single, "Come As You Are," before "an astonished audience," said author Charles R. Cross. The show was Nirvana's first since finishing Nevermind.
Cobain ultimately expressed dissatisfaction with the song's recording, telling Flipside, "That song came out way too clean. I'm not happy with the way that came out at all. It should have been a lot rawer; we play it a lot better live I think."
In a 1993 interview with Jon Savage, Cobain said that the song was about "classic alienation, I guess," although he then noted he had to change his explanation every time he was asked about his song meanings, saying that his lyrics were largely taken from "pieces of poetry thrown together," and that his poetry was "not usually thematic at all."
The lyric "Don't quote me on that" was a reference to a running joke at Sound City that week. As Grohl explained to biographer Michael Azerrad, "Someone would say something like, 'Where's the mayonnaise?' And someone else would answer, 'It's in the fridge, but don't quote me on that.'"
In his 1993 book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Azerrad theorized that the lyric "My mother died every night" was a reference to an abusive relationship Cobain's mother was in while Cobain was a teenager. Azerrad also suggested that the "black sheep" in the song was a reference to Cobain himself. The lyric "One more special message to go" referred to the fact that "On a Plain" was the last song on Nevermind that Cobain wrote lyrics for.
In her review of Nevermind for Spin, Lauren Spencer cited the "beautifully harmonic" "On a Plain" as one of the songs "you be humming...for the rest of your life."
Ranked #26 on Rolling Stone's best Nirvana songs list.
#Nirvana #OnAPlain #BeenASon
