Nirvana's 10th single (including split singles) and first single released off of their fourth album, In Utero. Heart Shaped Box is a classic Nirvana song displaying. Stream Heart-Shaped Box by Nirvana from desktop or your mobile device.

'Heart-Shaped Box' is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. The song was released as the first single from the group's third and final studio album, In Utero, in 1993. It was one of two songs from the album mixed by Scott Litt in order to augment the original production by producer Steve Albini. While Nirvana's label DGC Records did not release a physical single for sale in the United States over fears that it might affect album sales, 'Heart-Shaped Box' received much American radio airplay, reaching number one on the BillboardModern Rock Tracks chart.^[2][3] The international release of the single made the Top 10 in several countries, including number four in Portugal, number five in the United Kingdom,^[4][5] number six in Ireland, number nine in Finland and number nine in New Zealand. It also made the Top 40 in numerous other countries. The song's music video, directed by Anton Corbijn, garnered critical plaudits, and won two awards, including Best Alternative Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1994. 'Heart-Shaped Box' was the last song Kurt Cobain performed live in public with Nirvana, on March 1, 1994 in Munich, Germany.^[6]

• 6Charts

Origin and recording[edit]

Kurt Cobain wrote 'Heart-Shaped Box' in early 1992.^[7] Cobain forgot about the song for a while, but began working on it again when he and his wife, Courtney Love, moved to a house in the Hollywood Hills.^[8] In a 1994 Rolling Stone interview, Love said she overheard him working on the song's riff in a closet. She said she asked him if she could use the riff for one of her songs, to which he replied, 'Fuck you!' and closed the closet door. 'He was trying to be so sneaky', said Love. 'I could hear that one from downstairs.'^[9] The couple shared a journal in which they would write lyrics; Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross noted that Love's songwriting sensibility informed Cobain's on the song.^[10] The song's name came from a heart-shaped box Love had given Cobain. However, Cobain had originally titled the song 'Heart-Shaped Coffin'.^[10]

Nirvana had difficulty completing the song. Cobain attempted to have the rest of the band complete the song during jam sessions. He said, 'During those practices, I was trying to wait for Krist and Dave to come up with something but it just turned into noise all the time.' One day Cobain made one last attempt at completing the song. Cobain was able to come up with a vocal melody and the band finally finished writing the song. Cobain said that when they completed 'Heart-Shaped Box', 'We finally realized that it was a good song.'^[11]

In January 1993, the band recorded a demo of 'Heart-Shaped Box' during sessions with Craig Montgomery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; it was the first song recorded.^[12] The In Utero version was recorded in February 1993 by Steve Albini in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. Prior to the album's release, the track was remixed by Scott Litt. Cobain was unapologetic about the band's decision to remix it, and maintained that the vocals and bass were not prominent enough in the original mixes. Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic was also unhappy with the original mix of 'Heart-Shaped Box'. In a 1993 Chicago Sun-Times interview, he said the original effect used on the song's guitar solo sounded 'like a fucking abortion hitting the floor.' When the song was remixed by Litt, Cobain took the opportunity to add acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies.^[13]

Composition and lyrics[edit]

'Heart-Shaped Box' is an alternative rock song that lasts for a duration of four minutes and fifty-nine seconds.^[14] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by BMG Rights Management, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 100 beats per minute.^[15] 'Heart-Shaped Box' is composed in the key of G# minor, while Kurt Cobain's vocal range spans one octave, from the low note of G#₄ to the high note of G#₅.^[16] The song has a basic sequence of G#₅–E₅–C#₅–G#–E₅–C#₇ in the verses and G#₅–E₅–C#₇ during the chorus as its chord progression.^[17] Journalist Gillian Gaar described 'Heart-Shaped Box' as 'the Nirvana formula personified, with a restrained, descending riff played through the verse, building in intensity to the cascading passion of the chorus'.^[7]

Cobain said the song was inspired by documentaries about children with cancer. He told biographer Michael Azerrad, 'Anytime I think about it, it makes me sadder than anything I can think of.'^[18] Azerrad asserted in his biography Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana that despite Cobain's explanation, the song actually appeared to be about Courtney Love.^[11] Charles Cross wrote in his Kurt Cobain biography Heavier Than Heaven that with the lyric 'I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black', the frontman 'sang in what has to be the most convoluted route any songwriter undertook in pop history to say 'I love you'.^[19] After a performance of the song by singer Lana Del Rey in 2012, Courtney Love asserted on Twitter that the song is about her vagina. The tweets were deleted shortly after.^[20] Cobain said that the song's chorus of 'Hey/Wait/I've got a new complaint' was him giving an example of how he was perceived by the media.^[21]

Release[edit]

In the United States, DGC issued 'Heart-Shaped Box' to college, modern rock, and album-oriented rock radio stations in early September 1993. There were no plans to release a single for the song domestically. At the time, Geffen Records' head of marketing told Billboard that the label was not actively courting Top 40 radio, explaining 'Nirvana didn't sell nearly 5 million [records] because of a hit single. They sold that many albums because of who they are.' The song entered the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart at number seven,^[22] and eventually peaked at number one on the chart.^[2][3] The song also reached number four on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.^[23][3] A single of the song was released in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart.^[4][5] Issued in August 1993, the 7-inch vinyl and cassette formats featured 'Marigold' as a B-side, while the 12-inch vinyl and CD editions added the In Utero track 'Milk It'.^[24] In 1999 the song was voted in at number 10 in Kerrang! magazine's '100 Greatest Rock Tracks Ever!'.^[25]

Music video[edit]

Nirvana originally wanted Kevin Kerslake, who had directed the videos for the band's singles 'Come as You Are', 'Lithium', 'In Bloom', and 'Sliver', to direct the 'Heart-Shaped Box' music video. Kerslake prepared five treatments during July and August 1993, but no shoot arrangements were made and by the end of the month, the group decided to work with Dutch photographer and video directorAnton Corbijn.^[26] Corbijn, who typically created his own ideas for videos, was initially unsure of directing the video since Cobain's treatment was so detailed. Corbijn said, 'But then I looked at it and I thought that actually it was pretty good. I was very amazed by somebody writing a song and having those ideas as precise as he did.'^[27]

The video begins and ends with the band in a hospital setting watching an old man being administered medication through an IV drip. The majority of the video takes place in a surreal outdoor setting that incorporates imagery from the film The Wizard of Oz.^[28] During the song's first verse, the old man from the hospital, now wearing a Santa hat and later a mitre, climbs onto a crow-ridden Christian cross. The second verse introduces a young girl in a white robe and peaked cap reaching for human fetuses in a tree, and an overweight woman in a suit with human organs painted onto it and with angel wings affixed to her back. In the video's final cut, the band is only shown performing in the outdoor setting during the choruses, where Cobain's face moves in and out of focus in the camera.^[28] While most of the video was devised by Cobain, Corbijn added elements such as the intentionally artificial crows, a ladder for the old man to climb onto the cross with, and a box with a heart at the top that the band performs inside of during the song's final chorus.^[29] Corbijn created another cut of the video featuring alternate footage during the final verse, including more shots of the young girl and the woman, and scenes of Cobain lying on his back in the poppy field, with mist surrounding him. This version of the video is featured on the DVD The Work of Director Anton Corbijn.^[30][31]

After the video's release, Kevin Kerslake sued Nirvana, alleging copyright infringement.^[32] The case was settled out of court.^[33] The 'Heart-Shaped Box' music video was the number one most played music video on MTV in the US as recorded by Billboard magazine on November 20, 1993.^[34] The video won two MTV Video Music Awards in 1994, for Best Alternative Video and for Best Art Direction. As the ceremony was held after Kurt Cobain's April 1994 death, the awards were accepted by Cobain's former bandmates Novoselic, Grohl, and touring guitarist Pat Smear.^[35] 'Heart-Shaped Box' also topped the music video category in the 1993 Village VoicePazz & Jop critics' poll.^[36] In 2011, NME ranked the song's music video at number 22 on its of the '100 Greatest Music Videos'.^[37] That same year, Time magazine ranked 'Heart-Shaped Box' at number 10 on its list of 'The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos', where it was described as 'beautiful and [...] terrible'.^[38]

In February 2016, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl reunited with the actress, Kelsey Rohr, who played the girl in the 'Heart-Shaped Box' music video twenty-three years earlier and who was then just six years old.^[39] Rohr stated that 'Today reminded me that I peaked at 6 years old BUT I was the most badass kid on the playground. Today was the absolute coolest. Or in Dave's words seeing each other today was a 'historic moment'! What a legend!'.^[39]

Track listing[edit]

All songs written by Kurt Cobain except where noted.

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Personnel[edit]

• Kurt Cobain: vocals, guitar
• Krist Novoselic: bass
• Dave Grohl: drums

Cover versions[edit]

Download Lagu Heart Shaped Box Nirvana

• Melanie's Breast on the A Tribute To Nirvana cover album by Tribute Records (Gothenburg) label (TR 02) in 1996^[66][67]
• Evanescence on 'Going Under' single in 2002^[68]
• Erlend Bratland on the album True Colors in 2008^[69]
• Little Roy on the album Battle For Seattle in 2011^[70]
• Closterkeller on the album Koncert '97 in 2011^[71]
• Phantasmagoria on 'Disarm The Settlers Volume II' single in 2012^[72]
• Ásgeir Trausti on 'Here It Comes' single in 2014^[73]
• These Arms Are Snakes on the In Utero, in Tribute, in Entirety cover album by Robotic Empire label (ROBO 100) in 2014^[74]
• Goldfish on a single in 2015.
• Dead Sara on The Covers EP in 2017^[75]
• 10 Years as an exclusive Best Buy bonus track on the album (How to Live) As Ghosts in 2017.^[76]
• Ramin Djawadi for the Season 2 trailer of Westworld in 2018.^[77]
• Nikki Stringfield (2018)^[78]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Danaher, Michael (August 4, 2014). 'The 50 Best Grunge Songs'. Paste.
2. ^ ^abc'Nirvana | Chart History. Alternative Songs'. Billboard. Eldridge Industries. October 16, 1993. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
3. ^ ^abcde'In Utero – Nirvana | Awards (Billboard Singles)'. Allmusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
4. ^ ^abc'Nirvana | full Official Charts History'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
5. ^ ^abGaar, p. 98.
6. ^'Flashback: Nirvana Play Gut-Wrenching Encore at Last Concert'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
7. ^ ^abGaar, p. 53.
8. ^Azerrad, pp. 324–25.
9. ^Fricke, David (December 15, 1994). 'Life After Death'. Rolling Stone. Now in 'Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Nirvana Songs – 3. 'Heart-Shaped Box''. April 10, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
10. ^ ^abCross, p. 278.
11. ^ ^abAzerrad, p. 325.
12. ^Gaar, pp. 23–25.
13. ^Azerrad, p. 338.
14. ^Cobain, Kurt. 'Nirvana 'Heart-Shaped Box' Sheet Music in A Minor - Download & Print'. Musicnotes.com. BMG Rights Management. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
15. ^Cobain, Kurt. 'Nirvana 'Heart-Shaped Box' Sheet Music in A Minor - Download & Print'. Musicnotes.com. BMG Rights Management. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
16. ^Cobain, Kurt. 'Nirvana 'Heart-Shaped Box' Sheet Music in A Minor - Download & Print'. Musicnotes.com. BMG Rights Management. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
17. ^Cobain, Kurt. 'Nirvana 'Heart-Shaped Box' Sheet Music in A Minor - Download & Print'. Musicnotes.com. BMG Rights Management. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
18. ^Azerrad, p. 324.
19. ^Cross, p. 281.
20. ^Staff (July 30, 2012). 'Courtney Love Tells Lana Del Rey That 'Heart-Shaped Box' Is About Her Vagina'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
21. ^Mothersole, Ben (November 30, 1993). 'Nirvana's Kurt Cobain: Getting to Know Utero'. Circus. Retrieved April 30, 2018 – via nirvanaclub.com.
22. ^Rosen, Craig. 'Nirvana Set has Smell of Success'. Billboard. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved September 25, 1993. Now in Rocco, John M.; Rocco, Brian, eds. (1998). 'Nirvana Set has Smell of Success (pp. 87ff.)'. The Nirvana companion. Two decades of commentary. A chronicle of the end of punk. New York City: Schirmer Books. ISBN0-0286-4930-3. ISBN978-0-028-64930-6.
23. ^ ^ab'Nirvana | Chart History. Mainstream Rock'. Billboard. Eldridge Industries. November 6, 1993. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
24. ^Gaar, Gillian G. 'Verse Chorus Verse: The Recording History of Nirvana'. Goldmine. F+W Media. Retrieved February 14, 1997.
25. ^Kerrang! magazine, issue 746, April 17, 1999. (voted by readers).
26. ^Gaar, p. 88.
27. ^Gaar, pp. 90–91.
28. ^ ^abGaar, p. 90.
29. ^Gaar, p. 91.
30. ^Gaar, p. 93.
31. ^Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box' (Director's Cut) on YouTube.
32. ^'Nirvana Sued Over Box Vid'. Variety. March 10, 1994. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
33. ^Gaar, p. 94.
34. ^Billboard magazine – November 20, 1993 – p. 41 – 'Video Monitor' section americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
35. ^Gaar, p. 95.
36. ^Christgau, Robert. 'The 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll'. The Village Voice. March 1, 1994. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
37. ^'NME's 100 Greatest Music Videos'. Stereogum. July 15, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
38. ^'The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos: Nirvana, 'Heart-Shaped Box' (1993)'. Time. July 26, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
39. ^ ^abDave Grohl meets the girl from Nirvana's 'Heart-Shaped box' music video 23 years later independent.co.uk. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
40. ^'Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box'. Companies, credits, notes, barcode and all the versions released'. Discogs. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
41. ^'Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box' (cassette version). Companies, credits, notes, barcode'. Discogs. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
42. ^'Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box' (US 12-inch vinyl promo version). Companies, credits, notes, barcode'. Discogs. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
43. ^'Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box' (2013 20th Anniversary promo single). Companies, credits, notes, barcode'. Discogs. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
44. ^'Australian-charts.com – Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box'. ARIA Top 50 Singles.
45. ^'Ultratop.be – Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box' (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
46. ^'Top RPM Singles: Issue 2319.' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
47. ^'Eurochart Hot 100 Singles'(PDF). Music & Media. September 18, 1993. p. 12. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
48. ^'Top 10 Sales in Europe'(PDF). Music & Media. October 9, 1993. p. 13. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
49. ^'Top 10 Sales in Europe'(PDF). Music & Media. October 2, 1993. p. 14. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
50. ^Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Otava Publishing Company Ltd, 2003. ISBN951-1-21053-X.
51. ^'Lescharts.com – Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box' (in French). Les classement single.
52. ^'The Irish Charts – Search Results – Heart-Shaped Box'. Irish Singles Chart.
53. ^'Nederlandse Top 40 – Nirvana' (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
54. ^'Dutchcharts.nl – Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box' (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
55. ^'Charts.nz – Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box'. Top 40 Singles.
56. ^'HEART-SHAPED BOX'. Polskie Radio. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
57. ^'Archiwum Listy Przebojow - Trojki - Nrivana'. www.lp3.pl. Polskie Radio. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
58. ^'Top 10 Sales in Europe'(PDF). Music & Media. October 16, 1993. p. 18. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
59. ^'Swedishcharts.com – Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box'. Singles Top 100.
60. ^'AOR Tracks'(PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. October 29, 1993. p. 56. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
61. ^'AOR Tracks - Songs Reaching Top 15 in 1993'(PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. December 10, 1993. p. 60. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
62. ^'Top National Sellers'(PDF). Music & Media. January 20, 1996. p. 15. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
63. ^'NIRVANA - SINGLES (CHANSON)'. lescharts.com. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
64. ^'AOR Tracks - The Top 93 of 1993'(PDF). Radio & Records. Radio & Records. December 10, 1993. p. 59. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
65. ^'British single certifications – Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box'. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 5, 2018.Select singles in the Format field.Select Silver in the Certification field.Type Heart-Shaped Box in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
66. ^'A Tribute To Nirvana'. Discogs. 1996. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
67. ^'A Tribute To... Nirvana'. Discogs. 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
68. ^'Evanescence – Going Under'. Discogs. 2002. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
69. ^'Erlend Bratland – True Colors'. Discogs. 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
70. ^'Little Roy – Battle For Seattle'. Discogs. 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
71. ^'Closterkeller – Koncert '97'. Discogs. 1997. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
72. ^'Coyote Clean Up / Phantasmagoria – Disarm The Settlers Volume II'. Discogs. 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
73. ^'Ásgeir Trausti – Here It Comes'. Discogs. April 19, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
74. ^'In Utero: In Tribute'. Discogs. April 19, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
75. ^'Dead Sara – The Covers'. Discogs. January 16, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
76. ^'10 Years – (How to Live) As Ghosts'. Discogs. October 27, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
77. ^Kreps, Daniel (March 30, 2018). ''Westworld' Composer Talks 'Epic' Take on Nirvana's 'Heart-Shaped Box''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
78. ^bravewords.com. 'THE IRON MAIDENS Guitarist NIKKI STRINGFIELD Pays Tribute To KURT COBAIN With Cover Of NIRVANA's 'Heart Shaped Box'; Video'. bravewords.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.

Nirvana Heart-shaped Box Chords

References[edit]

• Azerrad, Michael (2013) [1st ed. 1993]. Come as You Are. The Story of Nirvana. New York City: Random House. ISBN0-30783373-9. ISBN978-0-307-83373-0.
• Cross, Charles R. (2012) [1st ed. 2001]. Heavier Than Heaven. A Biography of Kurt Cobain. New York City: Hachette. ISBN1-44471712-X. ISBN978-1-444-71712-9.
• Gaar, Gillian G. (2006). Nirvana's in Utero. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN1-44118609-3. ISBN978-1-441-18609-6.

Nirvana Heart Shaped Box Free Download

External links[edit]

Nirvana Heart Shaped Box Guitar Pro Tab Download

• 'Heart-Shaped Box' at Discogs (list of releases)
• 'Heart-Shaped Box' official music video on YouTube
• 'Heart-Shaped Box' review by Marc Deming on AllMusic
• 'Still Moving: Photographers' Music Videos' – The New Yorker article featuring commentary by Anton Corbijn about 'Heart-Shaped Box' video
• Usage in film and television: see 'Nirvana – Soundtrack. 'Heart-Shaped Box' at IMDb
• Accolades archived at Acclaimed Music

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