You Know You're Right
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"You Know You're Right" is a song by the American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
, written by lead vocalist and guitarist,
Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...
. It is the first song on the greatest hits album ''
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
'', released by
DGC Records DGC Records (an initialism for the David Geffen Company) was an American record label that operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is owned by Universal Music Group. In 1999, after the PolyGram merger into UMG which crea ...
in October 2002. It is also the final song the band recorded before Cobain's suicide in April 1994. For years after Cobain's death, the song was known only from a bootlegged live version, recorded in October 1993 at the Aragon Ballroom in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and from a cover by American rock band
Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid Body (physics), 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 m ...
, fronted by Cobain's widow,
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, Love has had a career spanning four decades. She rose to promi ...
. Surviving Nirvana members
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...
and
Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician, politician and activist. Novoselic co-founded and played bass on every album for the rock music, rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the ban ...
had intended to release the studio version on a posthumous Nirvana
box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...
, but Love blocked its release in 2001, asserting that a recording of such "extraordinary artistic and commercial value" belonged on a cheaper, single disc compilation instead. In September 2002, "You Know You're Right" was subject to a high profile
Internet leak An internet leak is the unauthorized release of information over the internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, a ...
, which led to it being put into heavy rotation on radio stations around the world, despite
cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...
orders from DGC's parent company
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
. Shortly after, it was announced that the lawsuit between Love and Grohl and Novoselic was settled, and that the song would appear on a greatest hits album later that year. "You Know You're Right" was released as a
promo single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...
in October 2002, and reached number one on both '' Billboard's''
Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...
and
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
charts.


Early history

"You Know You're Right" was written in 1993. A boombox-recorded home demo, featuring Cobain on vocals and guitar, was released posthumously on the Nirvana box set, ''
With the Lights Out '' With the Lights Out'' is a box set by the American rock band Nirvana, released on November 23, 2004. It contains three CDs and one DVD of previously rare or unreleased material, including B-sides, demos, and rehearsal and live recordings. T ...
'', in November 2004. The same version was re-released on the compilation album, '' Sliver: The Best of the Box'', in November 2005. The full song was only performed once in concert, at the Aragon Ballroom on October 23, 1993. Contemporary reviews of the show did not mention the then-unknown song, but Chicago music journalist
Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'', ''Matter'' and '' Modern Drummer'' ...
later described hearing it at the concert in a 2002 ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' article, recalling that "it was classic Nirvana, hitting with the same impact as '
Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, '' Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. Having sold over 13 million units worldwide, it i ...
' and boasting a similar structure-a slow, creepy verse, suddenly exploding into a painfully cathartic but undeniably catchy chorus."


Robert Lang session

"You Know You're Right" was recorded in the studio by Adam Kasper at Nirvana's final session, on January 30, 1994 at Robert Lang Studios in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington. The band had booked the studio for three days during a tour break, but Cobain had been absent for the first two days, leaving Novoselic and Grohl to work on their own songs. Upon Cobain's arrival on the third day, he immediately went to the studio's
mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...
and listened to the material his bandmates had recorded, offering support. Despite his apparent enthusiasm for the session, he had arrived at the studio without his gear, and ended up using a Univox guitar that the band's guitar technician, Ernie Bailey, had reworked for him, along with the studio's 50 Watt Marshall amp, which he disliked, and a pedal board with a Boss
distortion pedal Distortion pedals are a type of effects unit designed to add distortion to an audio signal to create a ''warm'', ''gritty'', or ''fuzzy'' character. Depending on the style of signal clipping, the broader category of distortion pedals is typicall ...
. The band jammed for approximately 20 minutes, and then began working on the arrangement of "You Know You're Right", then known as "Kurt's Tune #1". According to a May 2004 ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...
'' article by Gillian G. Gaar, the band rehearsed the song three times, with the structure "pretty well hashed out" on the first take, and the chiming intro featured in the final version, achieved by Cobain playing the guitar above the nut, first appearing on the third take. Robert Lang, the studio's owner, recalled being "speechless" hearing the song while in the control room with Kasper. After recording the master instrumental take, the band and others present at the recording session took a break away from the studio to visit a local pizzeria and for Cobain to buy cigarettes, and then returned and recorded another instrumental song, titled "Jam After Dinner". Cobain then recorded the vocals to "You Know You're Right," completing the main vocals in one take, and then adding two additional vocal overdubs. These were the only vocals that Cobain recorded during the session. His final contribution to the recording was a guitar overdub. Novoselic and Grohl recorded six more songs without Cobain, who had likely left by then, after signing the studio door and adding a drawing of a cat next to his signature. Nirvana's touring guitarist, Pat Smear, lived in Los Angeles and was not present during the session. In a 2002 interview with the website ''Nirvana Fan Club'', he said Cobain had sent him a cassette of the recording and told him he could add his part later. The band dissolved before Smear had the chance. The band reportedly planned to continue work at Lang's studio after their upcoming European tour, but Cobain died just over two months later, after cancelling the tour and returning to Seattle. The masters of the sessions remained in Novoselic's basement until 1998, when work began on a posthumous Nirvana
box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...
with an intended release date of September 2001, the 10th anniversary of the band's major label debut, ''
Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a Record label#Major versus independent record labels, major label an ...
''. The song, now retitled "You Know You're Right," was mixed on July 14 and 15 of that year at Conway Studios in
Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
, in anticipation of its release. According to Novoselic, the final mix does not sound significantly different from the way it sounded when it was recorded in 1994, with the most dramatic changes being the addition of compression and
reverb In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...
.


Post-Robert Lang session

Unlike many unreleased Nirvana recordings, the studio version of "You Know You're Right" had never been bootlegged and remained unheard by the public until 2002, when clips provided by Love were played on an episode of the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
show ''
Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
''. However, an audience recording of the Aragon Ballroom version began appearing on commercial bootlegs as early as 1994, under erroneous titles such as "On a Mountain" and "Autopilot." The song received further exposure when Hole performed it, under the title "You've Got No Right," during their ''
MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...
'' appearance on February 14, 1995. Love introduced it as "a song that Kurt wrote; helast song, almost." In 1995, Love offered the song to American rock musician
Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age ...
, a friend of Cobain's, to cover with his band, Screaming Trees. As Screaming Trees guitarist Gary Lee Conner recalled in the 2023 book ''Lanegan'', "When we were working on songwriting for
Dust Dust is made of particle size, fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian processes, aeolian process), Types of volcan ...
...Mark is like, 'Courtney wants us to do a song… And it was that song — 'You Know You're Right.' So, I got a tape of it and we learned it. We never recorded it. But we learned it without Mark, and Mark came down to sing it… and he couldn't. He changed his mind. And that was the end of it." Conner acknowledged that the band "could have had a big hit" by releasing a cover of a then-unknown Nirvana song, but believes Lanegan may have been wary of capitalizing on Cobain's death.


Lawsuit and release

In 2001, the studio version of "You Know You're Right" became the center of a legal dispute between Love and surviving Nirvana members Grohl and Novoselic. Love blocked its release, saying that it would be "wasted" on the planned box set, and was better suited to a single-disc collection similar to
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' compilation album '' 1''.A piece of Kurt Cobain
/ref> Her lawsuit called the song a "potential 'hit' of extraordinary artistic and commercial value", and her manager asserted that a release with the song could sell 15 million copies. Novoselic said he did not necessarily disagree with Love: "I've always considered everything she said. We've considered it and agreed and said, 'Hey, that's a great idea, Courtney.' I tried to get along with Courtney as best I could, but there's only so much you can do." In August 2001, one of the earliest firsthand descriptions of the studio version appeared in the Cobain biography ''
Heavier Than Heaven ''Heavier Than Heaven'' is a 2001 biography of musician Kurt Cobain, the frontman of the grunge band Nirvana. It was written by Charles R. Cross. For the book, Cross desired to create the definitive Cobain biography, and over four years condu ...
'', written by the Seattle music journalist Charles R. Cross, who had been granted access to the recording by Love. Cross called the song "one of the high-water marks in obain'sentire canon," and wrote that "the plaintive wail in the chorus couldn't be clearer: 'Pain,' he cried, stretching the word out for almost ten seconds, giving it four syllables, and leaving an impression of inescapable torment." In March 2002, Love played the song at a private event in Hollywood, and also allowed a portion of the song to air on an episode of ''Access Hollywood'' that she was interviewed in. The latter marked the first time any part of the studio recording had been heard by the general public. As the lawsuit continued, another description of the studio version appeared in print, in the ''Spin'' article ''The Nirvana Wars'', written by DeRogatis and published in June 2002. Like Cross, DeRogatis had been allowed to hear the studio version and other unreleased Nirvana recordings by Love, and described it as "even stronger" than the live version he heard in person at the Aragon Ballroom in 1993.


Leak

In May 2002, four additional clips of "You Know You're Right" were leaked online, leading some to speculate that it had been placed on advance copies of Grohl's heavy metal side project, '' Probot''. On May 17, Grohl issued a statement denying his involvement in the leak, and that the song was not included on any CD he had compiled or given to anyone. On September 21, 2002, an unmastered
MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...
of the full studio version of "You Know You're Right" was leaked online. The song was quickly put in rotation by a number of
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
radio stations, which led to
cease-and-desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the other ...
letters being issued by
DGC Records DGC Records (an initialism for the David Geffen Company) was an American record label that operated as a division of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is owned by Universal Music Group. In 1999, after the PolyGram merger into UMG which crea ...
' parent company
Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
; a number of stations defied the orders. The Seattle radio station 107.7 The End posted a banner on their website that announced: "We took your e-mails and flooded the server at Geffen Records with tons of choice words about their 'You Know You're Right' cease and desist order. Due to the huge publicity outcry, the label has released the track. Hear NEW Nirvana all this weekend, only on 107.7 The End." In late September, Love, Grohl and Novoselic released a joint statement announcing that the lawsuit had been settled, and that "You Know You're Right" would be officially released on the ''
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
'' greatest hits album later that year. It was released as a
promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...
, with a music video directed by Chris Hafner. It was rereleased on Nirvana's second greatest hits compilation, ''
Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
'', in 2010.


Composition

"You Know You're Right" is an
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
song that is three minutes and 38 seconds long. According to the
sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...
published at Sheet Music Plus by
EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by Sony Music Publishing. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending regulatory approva ...
, it is written in the
time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
of
common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...
, with a moderately slow
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 84
beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
. "You Know You're Right" is composed in the key of
F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...
, while Kurt Cobain's
vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...
spans one
octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
and three
notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...
. The song follows a basic sequence of F5–D–E in the verses and pre-chorus and is mainly restricted to a droning chord of F5 throughout the refrain as its
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
. The journalist Charles R. Cross said it featured the "soft-hard dynamics" of Nirvana's 1993 single "
Heart-Shaped Box "Heart-Shaped Box" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the third track on the band's third and final studio album, '' In Utero'', released by DGC Records in September 199 ...
," with quiet verses followed by a loud screamed chorus. It follows the usual quiet/loud/quiet pattern of Nirvana songs. The lyrics are sarcastic: "things have never been so swell, I have never failed to fail" and alternating word play between "you know you're right" and "you know your rights".


Title

"You Know You're Right" did not have an official title at the time of Cobain's death in April 1994. According to Gaar's 2002 ''Mojo'' article, it was listed simply as "Kurt's Tune #1" on the tracking sheets from the Robert Lang Studios recording session. The title used by Hole, "You've Got No Right," was the one most commonly used by fans prior to the song's official release. In the
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...
to ''Nirvana'', ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' writer
David Fricke David Fricke (born ) is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 ye ...
erroneously states that the song had gone under the previous titles of "Autopilot" and "On a Mountain". The latter title was also cited by Cross in ''Heavier Than Heaven''. These names were actually invented by bootleggers who had misheard Grohl's comment at the beginning of the live version. Grohl had announced, "This is our last song; it's called '
All Apologies "All Apologies" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the final track on the band's third and final studio album, '' In Utero'', released by DGC Records in September 1993. The song ...
'", unaware that Cobain had already started playing "You Know You're Right". Due to the relatively poor fidelity of the live recording, bootleggers believed Grohl had introduced the new song, and tried to interpret what they thought was its title. Cross also seems to misrepresent the lyrics in ''Heavier Than Heaven'', citing the lyric, "I am walking in the piss," which appears in Hole's 1995 version of the song, but in no known Nirvana recording.


Music video

A music video for "You Know You're Right" was released in October 2002. Directed by Chris Hafner, it features a montage of band footage, drawn mostly from live performances and interviews, occasionally edited to give the effect of the song being performed. The video peaked at number two on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's most played music videos, as monitored by the
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Broadcast Data Systems (also known as Nielsen BDS, BDS or Luminate BDS) was a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts publishe ...
, for the week ending October 20, 2002.


Reception

"You Know You're Right" was the fourth Nirvana song to enter the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching number 45. It was their fifth song to reach number one on the ''Billboard''
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart, where it remained for four consecutive weeks, the longest of any Nirvana song. With an increase of 1,616 spins, Nirvana also broke the record for the largest detected jump by an act already on the chart. It also became the first Nirvana song to top the ''Billboard''
Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...
chart. The digital download release also sold well internationally. Amy McAuliffe from
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
called the song "a poignant reminder of what might have been" and described it as "listening to a dead man snarling out his last gasp of righteous sarcasm." Will Hermes of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' remarked that it was "amazing how a merely good Nirvana song still scorches everything within earshot." David Samuels of ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' wrote that "unlike most post-mortem rock releases, 'You Know You're Right' is not
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
material or the result of recording studio wizardry—it's a real Nirvana song" that showed that "Cobain was at the peak of his powers as a vocalist and songwriter—the most gifted and popular writer that rock music had seen since Lennon/McCartney." Likewise, Larry Flint from ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' stated, "Unlike most previously unreleased cuts tacked onto best-of sets, 'You Know You're Right' is a potent addition to Nirvana's cache of classic material." "You Know You're Right" was ranked as the fifth-best single of the year by ''Spin'', with Charles Aaron calling it a "gnarly little heart-shaped box crammed with
feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...
, bile, and a gut-shredding chorus." In 2002, the song received a BDS Spin Award for 50,000 radio spins in the US, and in 2003 it received a BDS award for 100,000 radio spins in the US.


Legacy

In 2011, "You Know You're Right" was ranked at number two on '' NME's'' list of the 10 best Nirvana songs. In 2015, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' listed it at number 21 on their ranking of 102 Nirvana songs. In 2023, it was ranked at number 30 by
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
on '' the A.V. Club's'' "Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked" list. Shortly before its release, Kasper described "You Know You're Right" as one of the band's "best songs, probably in the Top Ten." Grohl reflected on the song in a 2019 interview with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
,'' telling interviewer Eve Barlow that "I listened to it for the first time in 10 years. Oh God, it's hard to listen to. It was not a pleasant time for the band. Kurt was unwell. Then he was well. Then he was unwell. The last year of the band was tough." In addition to calling the lyrics "heartbreaking" in retrospect, Grohl added that "I used to think it sounded like obainwas singing the chorus. Now I listen to it and it's like he's wailing." In a 2022 retrospective article on the song, Brad Shoup of ''Billboard'' described it as "the most anticipated rock single of 2002," and wrote that its posthumous chart success "was a testament to Kurt Cobain's bone-deep sense of songcraft – and the still-sizable fanbase Nirvana had established before Cobain's April 1994 suicide."


In pop culture

In May 2020, American director
Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career a ...
revealed in an interview with ''
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
'' that he had hidden the studio recording of "You Know You're Right," given to him by Love, in his film ''
Vanilla Sky ''Vanilla Sky'' is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film '' Open Your Eyes'', which was writ ...
'', which was released almost a year prior to the song's official release. "We couldn't credit it in the movie and it was actually illegal," Crowe explained, "but Courtney Love gave it to us. She said, 'This is the only Nirvana song that's never been released. Hide it in your movie somewhere.' In March 2025, a remix of the song appeared in the trailer for the second season of the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
post-apocalyptic drama television series, '' The Last of Us''.


Accolades


Personnel

*
Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...
– guitar, vocals *
Krist Novoselic Krist Anthony Novoselic (; ; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician, politician and activist. Novoselic co-founded and played bass on every album for the rock music, rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the ban ...
– bass guitar *
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...
– drums * Adam Kasper – recording and mixing, producer


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Recording and release history

Six versions of "You Know You're Right" are known to exist: the final studio version along with three rehearsal takes from the same session, the live version from the band's show at the Aragon Ballroom in October 1993, and the solo acoustic demo that appeared on ''With the Lights Out'' in November 2004.


Demo and studio versions


Notes


References


External links


"You Know You're Right" discography information
{{Authority control 1994 songs 2002 singles Nirvana (band) songs Hole (band) songs Songs written by Kurt Cobain Song recordings produced by Adam Kasper Songs released posthumously