| "All Apologies" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byNirvana | ||||
| from the albumIn Utero | ||||
| A-side | "Rape Me" (double A-side) | |||
| B-side | "Moist Vagina" | |||
| Released | December 6, 1993 (1993-12-06) | |||
| Recorded | February 1993 | |||
| Studio | Pachyderm (Cannon Falls, Minnesota) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | DGC | |||
| Songwriter | Kurt Cobain | |||
| Producer | Steve Albini | |||
| Nirvana singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| In Utero track listing | ||||
12 tracks
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "All Apologies" onYouTube | ||||
"All Apologies" is a song by American rock bandNirvana, written by vocalist and guitaristKurt Cobain. It appears as the final track on the band's third and final studio album,In Utero, released byDGC Records in September 1993. The song closes the American version of the album, while non-US versions ofIn Utero feature an additional song, "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip", which begins after approximately 20 minutes of silence on the same track.
On December 6, 1993, "All Apologies" was released as the second single fromIn Utero, as adouble A-side with the song "Rape Me". It was Nirvana's final single beforeCobain's suicide in April 1994.
Although not released as a physical single in the US, "All Apologies" became the third Nirvana song to top theModern Rock chart, and reached number 32 on theUK Singles Chart. It also reached theTop 40 in France, Ireland and New Zealand. It was nominated for twoGrammy Awards in 1995, and won aBMI award for most played song on Americancollege radio during the eligible period from 1994 to 1995. It was also included on theRock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".
Nomusic video was made for "All Apologies", with Cobain explaining in a December 1993MTV interview that he "hadn't bothered to come up with any ideas lately" because he had been "concentrating on touring."[1] MTV began airing a live version, recorded at the band'sMTV Unplugged concert shortly before the single's release, as a music video instead. This version was released as apromotional single in February 1994, and also generated heavy airplay.
"All Apologies" was written by Cobain in 1990. In a 2005 interview with Wes Orshoski ofHarp, Nirvana drummerDave Grohl recalled that the song was "something that Kurt wrote on [a] 4-track in our apartment inOlympia. I remember hearing it and thinking, 'God, this guy has such a beautiful sense of melody, I can't believe he's screaming all the time.'"[2] According to Cobain's managerDanny Goldberg in his 2008 memoirBumping into Geniuses, Cobain "played theBeatles song 'Norwegian Wood' over and over, hour after hour" while writing the song.[3]
"All Apologies" was first recorded in the studio by Craig Montgomery at Music Source Studios inSeattle,Washington on January 1, 1991. This version, described by music journalist Gillian G. Gaar as "having a more upbeatpop-folk sound" than later versions, featured bassistKrist Novoselic accompanying Cobain on guitar, playingseventh chords behind the guitar riff, and Grohl's drumming accented by a tambourine.[4] The song was first performed live at theWolverhampton Civic Hall inWolverhampton,West Midlands, England on November 6, 1991.
The second and final studio version of "All Apologies" was recorded bySteve Albini atPachyderm Studios inCannon Falls, Minnesota in February 1993, during the recording sessions forIn Utero. The song, at that point tentatively titled "La La La", was recorded on February 14, the second day of the sessions.[5]
The recording featurescello by Kera Schaley, a friend of Albini's who at the time played in theChicago band, Doubt. Schaley had initially been asked by Albini to compose a cello part for the song "Dumb", and after hearing what she had written, Cobain asked her to "play around with 'All Apologies.'"[6] As she recalled in a 2010 interview withSwan Fungus, "Most of the cello on that was me just messing around and then Kurt had me learn one specific line that he wanted everyone to be playing the same thing on. I sort of thought they were going to scrap the cello on that one, but it stayed in."[7]
In a 2023 interview withRolling Stone, Schaley revealed that Albini was initially resistant to the idea of adding cello to "All Apologies." As she explained to interviewer Brian Hiatt, "Steve kept trying to talk [Cobain] out of putting cello on it," but says that "Kurt and I won in the end." According to Schaley, Cobain "loved the deep sound, like the really deep, groaning sound of the low notes. He was like, 'just lay on that for a long time.' And so I just laid on that low note for him. And I got some noise parts in there. I like making noise on the cello, too. And if you listen for some high screeching sounds at the end, that’s me."[8]
Despite the addition of cello, Albini was pleased with the recording, saying that he remembered "really liking the sound of that song as a contrast to the more aggressive ones" and that "it sounded really good in that it sounded lighter, but it didn't sound conventional. It was sort of a crude light sound that suited the band."[9] In a 1993Rolling Stone interview, Cobain toldDavid Fricke that songs such as "All Apologies" and "Dumb" represented "the lighter, more dynamic" sound that he wished had been more prominent on previous Nirvana albums.[10]
The band eventually elected to remix "All Apologies", along with the album's lead single "Heart-Shaped Box", due to concerns that the vocals and bass were not loud enough in Albini's original mixes.[11] In a 1993Guitar World interview, Cobain explained to English journalistJon Savage:
"[The quieter songs onIn Utero] came out really good, and Steve Albini's recording technique really served those songs well; you can really hear the ambience in those songs. It was perfect for them. But for "All Apologies" and "Heart-Shaped Box" we needed more. My main complaint was that the vocals weren't loud enough. In every Albini mix I've ever heard, the vocals are always too quiet. That's just the way he likes things, and he's a real difficult person to persuade otherwise. I mean, he was trying to mix each tune within an hour, which is just not how the songs work. It was fine for a few songs, but not all of them. You should be able to do a few different mixes and pick the best."[12]
The two songs were remixed byScott Litt, chosen due to his work with American rock bandR.E.M., in May 1993 at Bad Animals inSeattle, Washington.[13] A third song, "Pennyroyal Tea", was remixed by Litt in November 1993 in preparation for its release as a single. Novoselic defended the band's decision to remix "All Apologies" and "Heart-Shaped Box" by calling them "gateways" to the more abrasive sound of the rest of the album, and that once listeners played the record they would discover "this aggressive wild sound, a true alternative record".[14]
According to Goldberg in his 2019 Cobain biographyServing the Servant, Cobain was "euphoric" after hearing Litt's mix of "All Apologies", the first of the two songs initially remixed.[15]
On November 18, 1993, Nirvana performed an acoustic version of "All Apologies" during theirMTV Unplugged performance atSony Music Studios inNew York City. This version of the song featuredPat Smear on second guitar andLori Goldston on cello.
"All Apologies" was performed for the final time live at Nirvana's last concert, at Terminal Eins inMunich, Germany on March 1, 1994.
Cobain dedicated "All Apologies" to his wife,Courtney Love, and their daughter,Frances Bean Cobain, during the band's appearance at theReading Festival inReading, England on August 30, 1992. "I like to think the song is for them," he toldMichael Azerrad in the 1993 biographyCome As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, "but the words don't really fit in relation to us...the feeling does, but not the lyrics." Cobain summarized the song's mood as "peaceful, happy, comfort – just happy happiness."[16]
In a 2023Rolling Stone interview, Azerrad speculated that the lyric "aqua seafoam shame" may have been "a reference to being in a hospital, with all those bland aqua-seafoam-colored walls and [Cobain is] feeling shamed because he’s there for his drug habit.”[17]
"All Apologies" was released as adouble A-side single with "Rape Me" on December 6, 1993, onCD single,cassette single, and 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl record formats.[18] The only instruction Cobain gave the single's art director, Robert Fisher, regarding the packaging was that he wanted "something withseahorses".[19] Like its predecessor "Heart-Shaped Box", the single was not released commercially in the United States.[18] However, the song did peak at number one on the USModern Rock Tracks Chart, remaining on the chart for 21 weeks and boosting sales ofIn Utero nationwide.[20] In January 1994, the "All Apologies" UK CD single became available in the US in limited numbers as animport release.[21] In February 1994, "All Apologies" was voted in as the number one most wanted song by listeners of theHawaii Free Radio.[22]
"All Apologies" was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal andBest Rock Song in 1995.[23] "All Apologies" is also aBMI Award-winning song,[24] for being the most played song on U.S.college radio during the eligible period from 1994 to 1995.[25]
The B-side "Moist Vagina" was never performed live and released only on the All Apologies single. The song's name was changed to MV for discreetness on some versions. Most of the song is Cobain yelling the word "Marijuana!".[26]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [27] |
Everett True ofMelody Maker named "All Apologies" the magazine's "Single of the Week", calling it "the most supremely resigned, supremely weary fuck you to the outside world I've heard this year," with "the most gorgeous, aching tune, an emotionally drainingennui."[28] In his review ofIn Utero forRolling Stone,David Fricke called the song a "stunning trump card, the fluid twining of cello and guitar hinting at a little firesideR.E.M. while the full-blaze pop glow of the chorus shows the debt of inspiration Cobain has always owed toPaul Westerberg and the vintageReplacements."[29] Christopher John Farley ofTime called itIn Utero's "best song" and "a riddling, fitting ending to a great album."[30]
In 2004,Q ranked "All Apologies" first on their list of the "10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever."[31] In 2005,Blender ranked it at number 99 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".[32] In 2011, it was ranked at number 462 onRolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list, moving down seven spots from its position in 2004,[33] and first on theNME's list of the Nirvana's "10 Best Tracks."[34]Rolling Stone placed it at number 13 on their ranking of 102 Nirvana songs in 2015.[35] In 2019,The Guardian ranked it second on their list of "Nirvana's 20 greatest songs.:[36] In 2022,Pitchfork ranked it at number 140 on their "250 Best Songs of the 1990s" list, with Jayson Greene writing that its melody was "so simple it seems as though someone, somewhere, must always have been singing it."[37] The same year,Pitchfork readers voted it the 39th best song of the decade.[38] In 2023, it was ranked second onthe A.V. Club's "Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked" list, withStephen Thomas Erlewine calling it "a song so quiet that it almost plays as a hymn"[39]
"All Apologies" is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's unranked list of "The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", along with the band's 1991 breakthrough single "Smells Like Teen Spirit."[40]
Both the studio and MTV Unplugged versions of "All Apologies" appeared in an episode of the American drama television showSix Feet Under in August 2005.[41] The episode was titled "All Alone", a misrepresentation of the song's closing lyric, "All in all is all we all are."[42]
On February 4, 2018, an instrumental version of the song appeared in aSuper Bowl commercial forT-mobile.[43] This version originally appeared on the 2006 albumLullaby Renditions of Nirvana, part of theRockabye Baby! series of albums which reinterpreted songs by popular artists as lullabies, aimed towards infants. It also appeared in the 2015 Cobain documentaryMontage of Heck, directed byBrett Morgen.[44]
"All Apologies" was covered by Irish singerSinéad O'Connor as the seventh track on her albumUniversal Mother, released in September 1994. A music video was made for O'Connor's version,[45] and it appeared in an episode of the American drama television showBig Little Lies in 2019. In 2024, it was featured in theA24 filmQueer, directed byLuca Guadagnino,[46] as well as in the film's trailer.[47]
The February 1996 release of jazz pianistHerbie Hancock's 35th studio album,The New Standard, included Hancock's "All Apologies" cover as the album's ninth track.
On April 10, 2014, "All Apologies" was performed by surviving Nirvana members Grohl, Novoselic, andPat Smear, with lead vocals byNew Zealand musicianLorde, at Nirvana'sRock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony atBarclays Centre inBrooklyn, New York. The performance also featured American rock musiciansAnnie Clark,Kim Gordon, andJoan Jett. On January 30, 2025, the song was again performed by Grohl, Novoselic and Smear, with Dave's daughter,Violet Grohl, on lead vocals, and Gordon on bass, at theKia Forum inInglewood, California forFireAid, to help with relief efforts for theJanuary 2025 Southern California wildfires. It was the first reunion of the surviving Nirvana members in five years.[48][49]
| "All Apologies (unplugged)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Promotional single byNirvana | ||||
| from the albumMTV Unplugged in New York | ||||
| Released | February 5, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | November 18, 1993 atSony Music Studios in New York City | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock,acoustic rock | |||
| Length | 4:23 | |||
| Label | DGC | |||
| Songwriter | Kurt Cobain | |||
| Producers | Alex Coletti,Scott Litt, Nirvana | |||
| Nirvana singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| MTV Unplugged in New York track listing | ||||
MTV began airing theMTV Unplugged version of "All Apologies" as amusic video shortly after the concert was taped, which coincided with the release of the song as the second single fromIn Utero in December 1993.[50][51] In aMTV interview that month, Cobain revealed that he did not consider this version a strong performance of the song, saying that the band had "played that song a lot better before,"[52][53] but explained that he had been too busy with touring to come up with a music video for the studio version.[54]
According to American comedianBobcat Goldthwait, however, who opened for Nirvana at some shows during theIn Utero tour, Cobain had shared his idea for an official "All Apologies" video that revolved around him being drunk at a party. Goldthwait suggested that Cobain perform the song dressed asLee Harvey Oswald, singing into the camera while putting his rifle together in theTexas School Book Depository from which he assassinated American presidentJohn F. Kennedy. Cobain told Goldthwait thatMTV didn't allow guns in music videos, so Goldthwait suggested he use a pie instead of a gun, with Novoselic or Grohl playing Kennedy and being hit by the pie in the back of their head. Goldthwait said Cobain was receptive to the idea, despite no video being made.[55]
TheMTV Unplugged "All Apologies" video was ranked at number seven onMTV'sTop 100 Video Countdown of 1994.[56] It also aired onMTV Europe starting in February 1994 to promote theIn Utero album and the studio version of the song which had been released as a single,[57] and was eventually placed into medium rotation in June 1995 as the third music video used to promote theMTV Unplugged in New York album,[58] following "About a Girl" in October 1994,[59] and "The Man Who Sold the World" in February 1995.[60]
In addition to being aired as the song's music video, theMTV Unplugged version of "All Apologies" was released as apromotional single in February 1994,[61][62][63] and on the albumMTV Unplugged in New York in November 1994.
In a February 1994 review of the song,Billboard wrote that "stripped to its basic elements, the song stands quite tall, and Kurt Cobain's rough-hewn vocal has many more shades and colors to enjoy. Already flooding rock radio, the task will be bringing this one to pop programmers—which seems like a distinct possibility".[64] According to aCashbox article published the same month, theUnplugged version was "enjoying ultra-heavy rotation, stoking radio interest in the song".[65] TheUnplugged version has reportedly gone on to receive more radio airplay than the studio version,[66] and appears on both of the band'sgreatest hits albums,Nirvana (2002) andIcon (2010).
In 2014, Kyle McGovern ofSpin called theUnplugged version "the definitive rendition" of the song, writing that "its power lies in those chilling cello lines; the candle-lit intimacy that can be felt even without watching the iconic performance footage; and that final mantra, gently sung by Cobain and Dave Grohl: 'All in all is all we are,' an epitaph equal parts puzzling, comforting, and devastating."[67] In the magazine's 1995 review ofMTV Unplugged in New York,Rob Sheffield wrote that the rendition "begins hesitantly, fingers tapping on strings in a brittle staccato, until Dave Grohl's elegantly brushed drums push Cobain into a terse valentine to a lover who has married him and buried him, a lover from whom he can't escape because after he'd tasted the joy of being easily amused, it hurts too much to go back to jaded detachment."[68]
Released as adouble A-side with "Rape Me".
CD single and 12-inch vinyl
Cassette and 7-inch vinyl
US promotional CD single(released February 1994)[61][62][63]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
Unplugged version
| Year | Award | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | BMI Award for most played song on college radio | Won |
| 1995 | Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | Nominated |
| 1995 | Grammy Award for Best Rock Song | Nominated |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[102] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[103] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[104] Sales since 2004 | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[105] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Year | Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Kerrang! | United Kingdom | 20 Great Nirvana Songs Picked by the Stars[106] | 4 |
| 2004 | Q | High Spirits: 10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever[31] | 1 | |
| 2005 | Blender | United States | The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born[32] | 99 |
| 2011 | Rolling Stone | Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[33] | 462 | |
| NME | United Kingdom | Nirvana: Their 10 Best Tracks[107] | 1 | |
| 2019 | The Guardian | Nirvana's 20 greatest songs – ranked![36] | 2 | |
| 2022 | Pitchfork | United States | The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s[108] | 140 |
| The 100 Best Songs and Albums of the 1990s, According to Pitchfork Readers[109] | 39 | |||
| 2023 | The A.V. Club | Essential Nirvana: Their 30 greatest songs, ranked[110] | 2 |
Nirvana
Additional personnel
| Year | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Sinéad O'Connor | Universal Mother |
| 1996 | Herbie Hancock | The New Standard |
| 2011 | Little Roy | Battle for Seattle |
NIRVANA/All Apologies/MTV Unplugged
Buzz Bin
Heavy Rotation
Pro CD Includes MTV Unplugged version
check out the MTV Unplugged mix on your desk now!
LW
Peak Date: December 3, 1994
