Come as You Are (Nirvana song)

"Come as You Are" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by frontman and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the third track and the second single from the band's second studio album Nevermind (1991), with the single released on February 18, 1992. It was the band's second and final American Top 40 hit, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also their second UK Top 10 hit, reaching number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. The single reached the Top 10 in nine countries and the Top 40 in ten additional countries.

The unexpected success of the album's lead single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit", propelled Nirvana to mainstream success, with Nevermind being released two weeks later. Following the album's release, the band and its management company debated whether to release "Come as You Are" or "In Bloom" as the next single from the album due to Cobain's concerns over the similarity of the former with the song "Eighties" (1984) by English post-punk band Killing Joke. After some persuasion by the management, Cobain agreed to release "Come as You Are" as the second single because of its commercial potential. Killing Joke was upset over the song and there were rumors that a lawsuit had been filed alleging copyright infringement, though the suit never materialized. Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker was reportedly upset about the whole situation and felt that Nirvana handled the matter poorly. Similarities between "Come as You Are" and "Life Goes On" by English punk band the Damned have also been noted.

The music video for "Come as You Are" was directed by Kevin Kerslake, who drew inspiration for it from the cover artwork of Nevermind. Rolling Stone ranked "Come as You Are" 452nd on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2010, and the song placed 445th on the 2021 edition of the list.