Something in the Way

Song Origin

Recorded May/June 1991 at Sound City, Van Nuys and Devonshire, North Hollywood Length 3:52 (20:37 with "Endless, Nameless") Producer Butch Vig

Something in the Way was written in 1990 by Kurt Cobain, and it was performed by him for the first time on November 25, 1990 at The Off Ramp Café in Seattle. It is the final song on Nirvana's second album, Nevermind. The song was played on an acoustic guitar and the vocals were done by Kurt outside of the recording room. It was thought that "Something in the Way" was written during a time in which Kurt Cobain, was homeless and slept underneath a bridge in his native town, Aberdeen, Washington.^[1] This myth, propagated by Cobain, was refuted in 2001 with the publication of his biography Heavier than Heaven, written by Charles Cross, who affirmed that if Cobain really had spent nights underneath the bridge mentioned in the song, he would have been in danger of being swept away by the tide of the Wishkah River. In fact, Cobain had passed his time sleeping at the houses of his friends, where he also left his possessions in cardboard boxes during daytime. He also allegedly slept in waiting rooms of hospitals in the town. "Something in the Way" was written in 1990 by Cobain, and it was performed by him for the first time on November 25, 1990 at The Off Ramp Café in Seattle.

Trivia

• A live version of the song, recorded in Osaka, Japan, on February 14, 1992, appears on the 1994 home video Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!, which was re-released on DVD in 2006.

• Another live version of the song appears on the 1994 MTV Unplugged in New York album and was used as a B-side for the "About a Girl" single from that album. This version of "Something in the Way" was re-released on vinyl and Japanese CD editions of the compilation album Nirvana in 2002.

• Another version of the song was recorded on November 8, 1991 for Mark Goodier at the BBC Radio 1 sessions,^[2] and appears on the deluxe version of the Nevermind album released in 2011.

Lyrics

Underneath the bridge  The tarp has sprung a leak  And the animals I've trapped  Have all become my pets  And I'm living off of grass  And the drippings from the ceiling  It's okay to eat fish  'Cause they don't have any feelings 

[x2] Something in the way, mmm  Something in the way, yeah, mmm 

Underneath the bridge  The tarp has sprung a leak  And the animals I've trapped  Have all become my pets  And I'm living off of grass  And the drippings from the ceiling  It's okay to eat fish  'Cause they dont't have any feelings 

[x4] Something in the way, mmm  Something in the way, yeah, mmm

Lyric

Underneath the bridge

Tap has sprung a leak

And the animals I've trapped

All become my pets

And I'm living off of grass

Something in the way, yeah

Something in the way

Something in the way, yeah ...

Links

Something In The Way (Nevermind)

Something In The Way (Unplugged)