Pennyroyal Tea is a song by Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the ninth track on the band’s third and final studio album, In Utero, released in 1993.
The song was due to be released as the third single from In Utero in April 1994, but the single was recalled following Cobain‘s death the same month. The single was re-released, on limited edition 7 inch vinyl, for Record Store Day in April 2014, and charted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart.
The final studio version of Pennyroyal Tea was recorded by Steve Albini at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, in February, 1993, and officially released on In Utero in September 1993.
The song was first attempted on February 14, with the first take being an instrumental.
In a 2013 interview for the audio series Spotify Landmark, Albini revealed that Pennyroyal Tea and the album’s eventual first single, Heart Shaped Box, were the only two songs recorded during the sessions that required “more than a couple of takes”, saying that both were “recorded several times in several aerations.
Albini also explained that Grohl‘s bass drum was replaced on Pennyroyal Tea, as well as Dumb, with a small one with a full-front head on it, so that it had a very sort of bouncy, jazzy sound, as opposed to the sort of more percussive, more hard rock sound on the rest of the record.
Tracklist:
- Pennyroyal Tea (Litt remix)
- I Hate Myself and Want to Die
- Where Did You Sleep Last Night (In the Pines) (live)
Pennyroyal Tea
Song by Nirvana
Lyrics
I’m on my time with everyone
I have very bad posture
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that’s inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I’m anemic royalty
Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld
So I can sigh eternally
I’m so tired I can’t sleep
I’m a liar and a thief
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I’m anemic royalty
I’m on warm milk and laxatives
Cherry-flavored antacids
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that’s inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I’m anemic royalty
Songwriters: Kurt Cobain
Nirvana
Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar
Krist Novoselic: bass
Dave Grohl: drums
Production personnel
Steve Albini: producer, engineer
Adam Kasper: engineer
Scott Litt: mixing
Bob Ludwig: mastering
Design personnel
Robert Fisher: art direction, design
Greg Stata: art direction, design
John Skalicky: photography
Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994).
