Why This Song Matters: 'Dumb' by Nirvana

Nirvana’s release of In Utero was an awesome reversal of course from 1991’s Nevermind, and the decision to create something new offered a vast blank canvas upon which to explore and create. A standout track on this album is ‘Dumb’, which shows the more somber and subdued side of the band, with a large component of the song coming from cello parts played by Lori Goldston. To me, this song is a classic ‘outsiders’ song, and shows the cold reality that this outsider is perfectly aware of their status. 

“I'm not like them,
but I can pretend.
The sun is gone
but I have a light.
The day is done,
but I'm having fun.
I think I'm dumb,
or maybe just happy”

Societies always champion a dominant social archetype that people are expected to fit in, manifesting itself everywhere from home, to the schools, to the workplace. Square pegs are blasted into round holes. This protagonist in the song is aware of that, and knows that in order to be “like them”, they must pretend. Enter a lifetime of having to ‘play the game’ and be something that you are not. The sun has disappeared, but the protagonist has a light. This points to the tendency to take something real and replace it with something artificial. This replacement leaves a void and can create a disconnect, as the song shows, and confusion can set in. Are you happy? Or are you dumb? How is one supposed to know where the truth lies when they have been groomed to ‘play the game’ and masquerade as something they aren’t in order to fit the expectations of others?

Kurt Cobain, as complex of a person as he was, had so much empathy within himself. This song serves as an example of that to me, as it shows how destructive this molding of people can be to them. People can become numb towards and disassociated with their own identities after a while, and this song feels like a cautionary tale against making that mistake with our children. Whether Kurt  meant it as a cautionary tale, a social commentary, or an autobiographical anecdote (or perhaps nothing at all), we will never know. But this speaks to his talent as a songwriter - that such strong meaning can be contrived from his music, even to this day.

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