Dave Grohl says Nirvana's 'heartbreaking' final song is 'hard to listen to'

He discusses 'You Know You’re Right'

Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl on stage in December 1993
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 16th Aug 2019
Last updated 16th Aug 2019

Foo Fighters lynchpin Dave Grohl says he finds it incredibly difficult to listen to the last song Nirvana recorded with Kurt Cobain before his death in 1994, ‘You Know You’re Right’.

Only performed once live at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom on 23rd October 1993, Nirvana recorded ‘You Know You're Right’ during what proved to be their final session at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle in January 1994, three months before Kurt Cobain’s death.

The then previously unreleased ‘You Know You’re Right’ appeared as the opening track on Nirvana’s self-titled best-of compilation album in October 2002.

In a candid interview with The Guardian ahead of Foo Fighters’ UK shows this month, Dave Grohl says he finds it hard to listen to ‘You Know You’re Right’.

Nirvana in 1991

“I listened to it for the first time in 10 years... Oh God, it’s hard to listen to,” Dave said.

Written during soundchecks on tour, Dave continued: “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.

“By the time we got to Europe I remember it being cold. It was the first time I felt depression. There was one day where I couldn’t get out of bed. I started to question why we were even there.”

Reflecting on the song and Kurt, Dave added: “Lyrically, it’s heartbreaking. He was in a place we may not have recognised. Musically, there’s something cathartic. You know, I miss his voice. I miss him…

“I don’t think he was comfortable in the place that he was at the time. I don’t know if anybody was. But his experience was much different. I used to think it sounded like he was singing the chorus. Now I listen to it and it’s like he’s wailing.”

Elsewhere in The Guardian feature, Dave discusses ‘Molly’s Lips’, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, his solo song ‘Friend of a Friend’ he released as Late!, Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘No One Knows’ and Foo Fighters’ ‘Best of You’, ‘Everlong’ and ‘Alone + Easy Target’.

Foo Fighters play the following UK and Ireland shows this month:

AUGUST 2019

Glasgow Summer Sessions, Bellahouston Park - Sat 17th

Belfast Boucher Road Playing Fields – Mon 19th

Dublin RDS Arena – Wed 21st

Leeds Festival - Fri 23rd

Reading Festival - Sun 25th