1 Song From The Beatles’ ‘The White Album’ Paved the Way for Nirvana and Other Grunge Bands
The Beatles paved the way for many things, including the British ska scene, the mainstream acceptance of psychedelia, and the entire genre of heavy metal music. It’s also arguable a song from The Beatles’ The White Album inspired Nirvana and other grunge bands. Here’s a look at the track and what Kurt Cobain had to say about The Beatles.
The Beatles’ ‘The White Album’ has a dark song that feels like a Nirvana doing blues
The White Album runs the guts of emotions. It’s happy, nervous, angry, lovesick, and sad. One song from the album is both very angry and very sad at the same time: “Yer Blues.” The blues-rock number is one of the hardest-rocking tracks in the Fab Four’s discography. In it, John Lennon unleashes a lot of negative emotions, including a desire to die.
It’s easy to see “Yer Blues” as a predecessor to grunge. The song’s combination of sadness, anger, and abrasive guitars become hallmarks of the subgenre. Love or hate “Yer Blues,” it’s a far cry from “I Want to Hold Your Hand!”
‘The White Album’ has some grungy lyrics
The lyrics of “Yer Blues” also have some similarities to grunge lyrics. 1990s alternative rockers often expressed themselves in oblique ways. While much of “Yer Blues” is straightforward, it also includes cosmic lines about sky mothers, earth fathers, and worms licking John Lennon’s bone. Lyrically, Cobain and company probably learned more from 1960s psychedelic rockers than anyone else.
The main difference between “Yer Blues” and grunge is that the former is, well, a blues song. Blues birthed rock. However, Beatles tunes like “Yer Blues,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” and “Get Back” have a more overt blues influence than most grunge songs. The impact that blues had on Nirvana and their grunge contemporaries is more subtle.
Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain liked 1 of The Beatles more than the others
During a 1994 interview with Rolling Stone, a reporter mentioned to Cobain that he was a huge fan of The Beatles. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “John Lennon was definitely my favorite Beatle, hands down. I don’t know who wrote what parts of what Beatles songs, but Paul McCartney embarrasses me. Lennon was obviously disturbed [laughs]. So I could relate to that.”
Cobain sympathized with the “Power to the People” singer. “And from the books I’ve read — and I’m so skeptical of anything I read, especially in rock books — I just felt really sorry for him,” he added. “To be locked up in that apartment. Although he was totally in love with Yoko and his child, his life was a prison. He was imprisoned. It’s not fair. That’s the crux of the problem that I’ve had with becoming a celebrity — the way people deal with celebrities. It needs to be changed; it really does.”
Cobain said he didn’t know how to discuss the mistreatment of celebrities in a way that would connect with the public. “No matter how hard you try, it only comes out like you’re b******* about it,” he opined. “I can understand how a person can feel that way and almost become obsessed with it.”
The Beatles inspired Nirvana, grunge, and every other good musical movement after 1965.
How to get help: In the U.S., call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
