Freud's interpretation of Nirvana's Lithium

I'm so happy. Cause today I found my friends.
They're in my head. I'm so ugly. But that's ok.
'Cause so are you. We've broke our mirrors.
Sunday morning. Is everyday for all I care.
And I'm not scared. Light my candles. In a daze cause I've found god.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.....

I'm so lonely. And that's ok. (alt: 'cause today )
I shaved my head. And I'm not sad, and just maybe
I'm to blame for all I've heard. And I'm not sure.
I'm so excited. I can't wait to meet you there.
And I don't care. I'm so horny. But that's ok. My will is good.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah.....

(Chorus)
I like it. I'm not gonna crack.
I miss you. I'm not gonna crack.
I love you.I'm not gonna crack.
I kill you. I'm not gonna crack. (x2)

I'm so happy. Cause today I found my friends.
They're in my head. I'm so ugly. But that's ok.
'Cause so are you. We've broke our mirrors.
Sunday morning. Is everyday for all I care.
And I'm not scared. Light my candles.
In a daze cause I've found god.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah.....
(Chorus)..

Attempting to analyze the song "Lithium" by Nirvana might seem impossible. It is difficult to decipher what it all means. However, the title itself does shed light on the unusual lyrics. Lithium is an anti-depressant medication taken by those who suffer from bipolar disorder. The story of the lead singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, is a popular one. After being addicted to heroine for several years he committed suicide on April 8, 1984. It is rumored that he may have suffered from bipolar illness. According to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, almost 6 million Americans suffer from the disease (dbsalliance.org).

In an interview with Flipside, Cobain was asked if the line "Lite my candles, in a daze, because I’ve found God" was about his view on people who are brainwashed by religion? Cobain replied "Yeah, I guess you could say that. The story is about a guy who lost his girlfriend, I can't decide what caused her to die, let's say she died of AIDS or a car accident or something, and he's going around brooding and he turned to religion as a last resort to keep himself alive. To keep him from suicide" (Al and Cake).

Freud might say that the guy whose lost his girlfriend is experiencing the same type of loss discovered during the early stages of development. The same loss that Freud discusses when he says "That efflorescence comes to an end in the most distressing circumstances and to the accompaniment of the most painful feelings. Loss of love and failure leave behind them a permanent injury to self-regard in the form of a narcissistic scar, which in my opinion...contributes more than anything to the "sense of inferiority" which is so common in neurotics" (435).

However, the lyrics do not seem to indicate what Cobain states the song is about. The song actuallly is representative of someone who is suffering from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depression. When Cobain sings, "I like it. I'm not gonna crack. I miss you. I'm not gonna crack. I love you. I'm not gonna crack. I kill you. I'm not gonna crack" (sing.365.com). These lyrics are typical of somone who is suffering mania. It relates to someone who is battling between the conscious and the unconscious. According to the National Health Institute some signs of mania are, increased energy, activity, and restlessness. Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood. Extreme irritability. Racing thoughts and talking very fast, jumping from one idea to another. Poor judgement. Increase sexual drive. Denial that anything is wrong (nimh.nih.gov). According to Rivkin and Ryan in Strangers to Ourselves, "Freud spend most of his life studying the boundary and the dynamic movements between the conscious self or ego and the unconscious, which he later came to call the id." (391).

There is no doubt that the person described in the song is experiencing a state of neurosis. The repression expressed is carried so deeply that if he experiences loss again suicide may be inevitable and as for Cobain personally, that turned out to be the outcome.

Works Cited

Al and Cake. An Interview with...Kurt Cobain. Flipside. May/June 1992.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
<http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home>

Freud, Sigmund. Chapter 5, Beyond the Pleasure Principle. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin, Michael Ryan. Oxford, 2004. p. 435

National Institute of Mental Health
<http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml>

Nirvana Lithium Lyrics – Sing365.com
<http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Lithium-lyrics-Nirvana/1121C5DF5495B3A44825682D000BD4F3>

Rivkin, Julie. Ryan, Michael. Chapter 1, Introduction: Strangers to Ourselves: Psychoanalysis. Literary Theory: An Anthology. Oxford, 2004. P.391