Released: November 1, 1994

Songwriter: Curt Kirkwood

Producer: Alex Coletti Scott Litt

[Verse 1]
Many a hand has scaled the grand old face of the plateau
Some belong to strangers, and some to folks you know
Holy ghosts and talk show hosts are planted in the sand
To beautify the foothills, and shake the many hands

[Chorus]
Nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop
And an illustrated book about birds
You see a lot up there but don't be scared
Who needs action when you got words

[Verse 2]
When you've finished with the mop, then you can stop
And look at what you've done
The plateau's clean, no dirt to be seen
And the work, it was fun

[Chorus]
Nothing on the top but a bucket and a mop
And an illustrated book about birds
You see a lot up there but don't be scared
Who needs action when you got words

[Verse 3]
Many hands began to scan around for the next plateau
Some say it was Greenland, and some say Mexico
Others decided it was nowhere except for where they stood
But those were all just guesses
Wouldn't help you if they could

[Guitar solo]

Nirvana

Nirvana was arguably the most successful act of the early 1990s grunge movement that originated in Seattle, Washington. Formed in 1987 in the neighboring city of Aberdeen, they were catapulted into the spotlight four years later with the release of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and their second studio album, September 1991’s Nevermind.

They are credited with bringing alternative rock to mainstream attention and putting a nail in the coffin of ‘80s hair metal, which was dying a slow death on the charts at that point. In early 1992, Nevermind managed to knock Michael Jackson’s Dangerous from the #1 position on the Billboard charts, cementing their place in American music history.

The band’s career was suddenly cut short in April 1994, when iconic frontman Kurt Cobain was found dead from an apparent suicide. Drummer Dave Grohl has since become a hugely successful frontman in his own right with the band Foo Fighters. Nirvana has gone on to enjoy a musical afterlife in the hearts and ears of successive generations of fans comparable to that of The Beatles and Black Sabbath.