Come as You Are

What is the Context?

Come as You Are was written shortly after Seattle’s  AIDS campaign was published. The campaign encouraged heroin addicts to soak needles in bleach to avoid spreading HIV and AIDS. Instead of curing AIDS or helping the infected the government at the time decided it was too late to help the addicts.  The order to soak their needles was offensive because it was perceived that they were not treatable. The government was seen as giving up on a whole group of people. Cobain lived in Aberdeen, Washington but moved to Seattle. Cobain and Nirvana crew were heroin addicts. At the time individuality of Grunge was flourishing. Grunge was an outcry from people that ‘self’ was deteriorating. Nirvana was the effect of feeling as if they were being smashed into one box. Come as You Are is an example of Nirvana’s contrasting songs. Quite verses with loud choruses or the other way around. They drew inspiration from The Pixies for that.

Nirvana is seen as one of the most influential rock bands of all time. Kurt Cobain himself was called the voice of a generation. Cobain’s lyrics  related to Generation X as a whole and had immense commercial success. Their first album produced was Nevermind featuring Come as You Are and Smells Like Teen Spirit. This album was the flagship of the spokesmen, Nirvana.

Why is it beautiful?

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana was the epoch of rock music. Everything changed after them. There was good reason for the influence. Nirvana wrote lyrics that people fifty years from now will be able to listen and relate to. Come as You Are is a clear example of Cobain’s writing ability. The mellow verse is eerie but the loud chorus rejuvenates the audience. The contrast messes with the audience’s emotions. People searching for their self are lost until they find art that expresses what they are feeling. Come as You Are does that.

At the time of conception AIDS patients were being boxed and classified as being dirty. Come as You Are spins a stereotypical degrading campaign against HIV into an acceptance speech. The contrasting tones and lyrics present an acceptance for all.  The bridge relates to all those who feel attacked especially the HIV/AIDs. “No, I don’t have a gun” is repeated four times to create an almost pleading effect to leave them alone. People who feel threatened grasp easily to that idea.

Nirvana has transcended time to become not just voice of Generation X but Generation Y as well. the beauty of timeless themes and lyrics is something few writers are capable of doing.

What is the artist communicating?

Nirvana communicates the themes of human nature, acceptance, and individuality. Human nature is recurring theme in this song. Memoria is Latin for memory. Memoria is repeated as the hook many times. It is human nature to make mistakes so memoria is the reminding of the past. The first verse has dual meanings with dual meanings. One meaning is related to human nature. People change as they grow. Friends can turn into enemies and vice versa. The importance of changing is present in this song to point out how human’s change. “As a trend, as a friend:” means that friends do change just like trends.

Acceptance and individuality are two different themes that relate in the song Come as You Are. The dual meanings of the first verse are different but the other meaning is preaching acceptance of individuality. “Come as you are, as you were” states acceptance to everyone's differences. The meaning is to embrace all as your friend, as whatever they are even if they were an enemy. The song condemns the HIV campaign in the verse: “Come doused in mud, soaked in bleach, As I want you to be, As a trend, as a friend, As an old”. The other meaning of the last two lnes of verse refers to the Seattle government’s view of junkies and AIDS/HIV patients. The government saw them as trends not worth taking care of. Kurt Cobain described the song as “about people, and what they’re expected to act like”