"Miss World" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

, written by frontwoman

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...

and lead guitarist

Eric Erlandson Eric Theodore Erlandson (born January 9, 1963) is an American musician, guitarist, and writer, primarily known as founding member, songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole from 1989 to 2002. He has also had several musical si ...

. The song was released as the band's fifth single and the first from their second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Live Through This ''Live Through This'' is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Hole, released on April 12, 1994, by DGC Records. Recorded in late 1993, it departed from the band's unpolished hardcore aesthetics to more refined melodies ...

'', in March 1994. The single was released in the United States on

Tim/Kerr Tim/Kerr (also known as T/K) was an American independent record label in Portland, Oregon, United States, run by Thor Lindsay and Thomas "Tim" Kerr IV from 1985 until 1999. Between 1978 and 1984 Lindsay and Kerr were also co-owners of an independ ...

Records, an independent label in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, on a 7-inch pink vinyl, as well as a limited edition

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics that extend at lea ...

pressing paired with the band's cover of "Over the Edge" by the Wipers.

City Slang City Slang is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. History The label was founded in 1990 by former tour agent Christof Ellinghaus, exclusively to release The Flaming Lips' '' In A Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine S ...

released CD and vinyl versions of the single in Europe, both with "Rock Star" (Alternate Mix) as a B-side. A music video for the song was directed by

Sophie Muller Sophie Luise Elisabeth Muller (born 31 January 1962) is a British music video director who has directed more than 300 music videos. She won a Grammy Award for Annie Lennox's 1992 ''Diva'' video album, and an MTV Video Music Award for Lennox's son ...

in March 1994 and released in promotion with the single.

Origin and recording

Erlandson and Love wrote "Miss World" in summer 1992 after the departure of former band members

Jill Emery Hole was an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989. It was founded by singer Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson. It had several different bassists and drummers, the most prolific being drummer Patty Sch ...

and

Caroline Rue Hole was an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989. It was founded by singer Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson. It had several different bassists and drummers, the most prolific being drummer Patty Sc ...

. An early version of the song, recorded with drummer

Patty Schemel Patricia Theresa Schemel (born April 24, 1967) is an American drummer and musician who rose to prominence as the drummer of alternative rock band Hole from 1992 until 1998. Born in Los Angeles, Schemel was raised in rural Marysville, Washington, ...

and Love's husband and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

frontman

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

, was recorded in BMG Ariola Ltda in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

on January 21, 1993. Featuring Love on lead guitar and vocals, recently recruited drummer

and Cobain on bass, the trio recorded the song, alongside others such as "She Walks on Me", " Softer, Softest" and " Closing Time", during breaks in Nirvana's session. Sound engineer

Craig Montgomery Craig Montgomery is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns''. He has been portrayed by Scott Bryce from 1982 to 1991, 1993 to 1994 and 2007 to 2008, Hunt Block from 2000 to 2005, Jeffrey Meek from 2006 to 2007, and Jon ...

stated that though some songs were "half-baked ideas", "'Miss World' was a fairly complete song at that point" and "'the most fleshed out song' of the session." The band played the song live on July 15 and 16, 1993, during their performances at the

Clapham Grand The Grand (previously The Grand Theatre) is a Grade II listed building on St John's Hill, near Clapham Junction in Battersea, South London. It was designed by Earnest Woodrow and was first opened in 1900 as The New Grand Theatre of Varieties. ...

in London and at the

Phoenix Festival The Phoenix Festival was set up by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group in 1993 as an alternative to the established Glastonbury and Reading Festivals. It was held at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon and was one of the ...

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

, respectively. The official album version of the song was recorded as part of the ''Live Through This'' sessions at Triclops Studios in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in October of that year.

Composition and lyrics

"Miss World" is known to deal with themes of self-image and substance abuse. Speaking of the song, reviewer Tim Grierson stated that "'Miss World' ties a deceptively candy-coated melody to a sad tale of drug abuse and distorted body image as Love hits upon a familiar theme of the album: the dichotomy of how ugly you feel on the inside while trying to appear beautiful to others." '' Selects Clark Collis observed: "'Miss World' treads similar ground to

Juliana Hatfield Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls (band), Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Julia ...

's '

Supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

' – only, naturally, about 10,000 times more virulently." The lyrics expand on the main theme of self-image with the opening lines containing "I am the girl you know, so sick I cannot try" and later lyrics relating to suffering. The use of the term "kill me pills" is inspired by, and also a reference to,

Anne Sexton Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book '' Live or Die''. Her poetry details ...

, who, after overdosing on

pentobarbital Pentobarbital (previously known as pentobarbitone in Britain and Australia) is a short-acting barbiturate typically used as a sedative, a preanesthetic, and to control convulsions in emergencies. It can also be used for short-term treatment of ...

, and other

barbiturates Barbiturates are a class of depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological addiction potential as ...

, called the drugs "kill me pills." Bassist

Kristen Pfaff Kristen Marie Pfaff (née Parco; May 26, 1967 – June 16, 1994) was an American musician, best known as the bassist for alternative rock band Hole from 1993 to 1994. Prior to Hole, Pfaff was the bassist and backing vocalist for Minneapolis-base ...

had a minor input in the lyrical composition contributing the chorus lines "I made my bed, I'll lie in it / I made my bed, I'll die in it" from a song, "Limited Edition," she had written earlier in her career with

Janitor Joe Janitor Joe was an American noise rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, in 1992. The band's founding members were vocalist and guitarist Joachim Breuer, former member of the Minneapolis-based rock band Bastards, bassist and v ...

. On both ''Live Through This'' and the individual single, the song is credited on record as written by Hole as a band, however according to BMI's website, the official authors are Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson. The European single version of the song had b-sides featuring an alternative mix of "Rock Star" (mislabeled from the original title of the song, "Olympia") with multiple vocal tracks from Courtney Love playing simultaneously, giving it a sound reminiscent of

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

chants. This version of the song (which is a satire on the

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

movement) has even more satirical lyrics than the album version on ''Live Through This'': "When I went to school in Olympia/And everyone's the same/What do you do with a revolution?/You just forget your name/When I went to school in a

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

state/And everyone's the same/We took punk rock, and we got a grade." The UK release of the single also featured a live cover of "Do It Clean" by Echo and the Bunnymen, while the US pressing featured a cover of "Over the Edge" by the Wipers. In later years, the track has been covered by

Neverending White Lights Daniel Victor (born September 20, 1979) is a Canadian recording artist and producer from Windsor, Ontario, best known for the collaborative music project Neverending White Lights, which features instrumentation performed mostly by Victor, with ...

musician

Daniel Victor Daniel Victor (born September 20, 1979) is a Canadian recording artist and producer from Windsor, Ontario, best known for the collaborative music project Neverending White Lights, which features instrumentation performed mostly by Victor, with ...

, as well as American

band The

Afghan Whigs The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001 and have since reformed as a band. The group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John Cur ...

. The song appeared in an episode of

Daria ''Daria'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis, Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It focuses on the title character, Daria Morgendorffer, ...

, "The Lawndale File".

Music video

Prior to the single's release, a promotional music video for "Miss World" was recorded in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in March 1994. It is the only music video by Hole that features bassist

. Directed by

, best known later for

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...

's "

Don't Speak "Don't Speak" is a song by American rock band No Doubt from their third studio album, ''Tragic Kingdom'' (1995). It was released as the third single from ''Tragic Kingdom'' in the United States on April 15, 1996, by Interscope Records. Lead sin ...

" video, the video features the band performing the song at a beauty pageant, in which Love is seen as the title character, Miss World; pampering herself, receiving flowers, being crowned, adored by fans and eventually crying onstage. The video is heavily influenced by the style and decorations of the 1976 film ''

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

''. During much of the latter image bears striking resemblance to the cover of ''Live Through This''.

Track listings

All songs were written by

and

, except where noted. European 7-inch single (EFA 04936-7) # "Miss World"2:58 # "Rock Star" 2:33 UK CD single (EFA 04936-2) # "Miss World"2:58 # "Rock Star" 2:33 # " Do It Clean" (

Will Sergeant William Alfred Sergeant (born 12 April 1958) is an English guitarist, best known for being a member of Echo & the Bunnymen. Born in Walton Hospital, he grew up in the village of Melling and attended nearby Deyes Lane Secondary Modern. He is th ...

, Ian McCulloch,

Les Pattinson Leslie Thomas Pattinson (born 18 April 1958 in Ormskirk, Lancashire) is an English musician, best known for his work as the bassist and co-writer of the Liverpool-based band Echo & the Bunnymen,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discog ...

Pete de Freitas Peter Louis Vincent de Freitas (2 August 1961 – 14 June 1989) was an English musician and producer. He was the drummer in Echo & the Bunnymen, and performed on their first five albums. De Freitas was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Toba ...

)1:26 US 7-inch single (TK947081) # "Miss World"2:58 # " Over the Edge" (

Greg Sage Greg Sage (born October 21, 1951) is an American songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, regarded as an important influence on many punk rock and post-punk artists. Sage is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of the infl ...

)2:48

Credits and personnel

Personnel credits are adapted from ''Live Through This''s liner notes. Hole *

– vocals, guitar] *

– guitar, composition *

– bass, piano, backing vocals *

– drums, percussion Guest musician *

Dana Kletter Dana Kletter (born October 21, 1959) is an American musician and writer. Biography Kletter and her twin sister Karen were born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in New York. Dana began playing piano at age four. She attended American Universi ...

– additional vocals Production *

Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, the Mighty Mighty Bosstone ...

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Sean Slade Sean Slade (born 14 November 1957) is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. On many of his productions he worked in partnership with Paul Q. Kolderie. Career Slade was born in Lansing, Michigan, United States. He graduated from Yal ...

– producer, engineer *

Scott Litt Scott Warren Litt (born March 10, 1954) is an American record producer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock genre and is best known for producing six R.E.M. albums in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s during the band's most suc ...

- mixing

Charts

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miss World (Song) Hole (band) songs 1994 singles 1994 songs Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Songs about suicide Songs written by Courtney Love Songs written by Eric Erlandson es:Miss World (canción)