Pennyroyal Tea (MTV Unplugged) Lyrics
I'm on my time with everyone
I have very bad posture
[Chorus]
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I'm anemic royalty
[Verse 2]
Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld
So I can sigh eternally
[Chorus]
I'm so tired I can't sleep
I’m anemic royalty
I’m a liar and a thief
I’m anemic royalty
[Verse 3]
I'm on warm milk and laxatives
Cherry-flavored antacids
[Chorus]
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
Distill the life that's inside of me
Sit and drink Pennyroyal Tea
I'm anemic royalty
That sounded good
Shut up
About
The Steve Albini-recorded studio version of “Pennyroyal Tea” was originally released on 1993’s In Utero, Nirvana’s final studio album before Cobain’s death, and had been set to become their next single in April 1994. However, after Kurt Cobain’s death pre-empted its release, this live, Unplugged rendition gained popularity, and is now perhaps the most well-known version of the song.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
In Michael Azerrad’s 1993 Nirvana biography, Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain explains how he wrote “Pennyroyal Tea” with Dave Grohl in 1990 in an Olympia, Washington apartment they shared:
Dave and I were screwing around on a 4-track, and I wrote that song in about thirty seconds. And I sat down for like half-an-hour and wrote the lyrics and then we recorded it.
- 5.Pennyroyal Tea (MTV Unplugged)
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- 11.Oh, Me
- 12.Lake of Fire
