以一如以往的你前来 (1992)

"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.

Background and recording

"Come as You Are" was one of the few new songs Nirvana recorded onto the rehearsal tape the group sent to producer Butch Vig prior to the recording of Nevermind in 1991. The group recorded the song with Vig during album sessions at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, in early 1991. Cobain recorded his guitar solo in two takes, as well as three takes of vocals, of which the first was used. Vig then asked Cobain to double track his vocals throughout the entire song. During the harmony overdub session, Cobain accidentally sang the phrase "No, I don't have a gun", appearing the fourth time he sings the word "memoria" after the guitar solo. When this mistake was discovered, Cobain decided to keep it in the final recording. Vig sampled Cobain singing "memoria" from the middle of the song and placed it in the background of the song near the end twice. The band also performed an acoustic version of the song during their MTV Unplugged performance on November 18, 1993. The recording later appeared on the live album of the performance, released about a year later in November 1994.

Composition and lyrics

"Come as You Are" is an alternative rock song that lasts for a duration of three minutes and thirty-eight seconds. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by BMG Rights Management, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a heavy rock tempo of 120 beats per minute. "Come as You Are" is composed in the key of E minor, and Kurt Cobain's vocal range spans one octave and one note, from a low of E3 to a high of F♯4. The song alternates between the chords of E5 and D5 during the verses and Esus4 and G in the pre-chorus, while in the chorus it changes to the chord progression of A–C5. It begins with Cobain playing an unaccompanied guitar riff for eight seconds. Cobain used an Electro-Harmonix Small Clone guitar chorus pedal to give his instrument a "watery" or "echoey" tone during the verses and pre-choruses, and as a result the pedal has been associated with the song ever since. He is joined by the rest of the band for the first verse, which is moody and subdued. Once the band reaches the chorus, the song reaches full volume. The shift in dynamics is a technique Nirvana used on many of its songs. The song features one of Cobain's longest guitar solos. "Kurt really did not play a lot of solos," Vig said. "This one is more of a melodic part based on the vocal melody. It's not trying to show off pyrotechnics. It complements the melody of the song."

Many have speculated that the song is about heroin, which Cobain was struggling with at the time of writing and recording. The lyrics "Come