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June 20, 2023 |
| Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box | ||
The Nirvana song, Heart Shaped Box, is a masterpiece of metaphor and symbolism. While no one would accuse the group of being a Christian group, the song raises some interesting questions that we will deal with.
Many have tried to explain the meaning of the lyrics, but arrived at different understandings. With the author, Kurt Cobain, no longer around, there is no one who can say who, if anyone, is right.
The official video contains significant, though odd, Christian symbols. I can't know for sure but I expect the author of the song was deeply involved in the symbolism of the video and, therefore, the symbols there can help us to understand the meaning of the lyrics. So this study will mix captures from the video with the lyrics.
Understanding the meaning behind the title is a big step forward in understanding the lyrics. Before we can even understand that we need to understand a little bit of the author's worldview, a Liberal worldview.
People with a liberal worldview despise rules being placed on them. I expect most of my audience to be Christian Conservatives who will have trouble understanding that. Humans, by their nature, reject being controlled, to a degree. we prefer to think that we are free agents.
Conservatives are more able to understand that there must be some laws that rule over us all. Christians are also used to the idea that there are God given laws that rule over us. Liberals do not accept this. They find any rule to be a chain on them and they chaff against it constantly, even if the law is not stopping them from doing something. Just the idea that there is a law over them is a problem.
Liberals want to think that they are king. This extends into an unexpected direction when a Liberal says "don't put your laws on me." In that and similar other statements, we see a rule for everyone else to follow. This hypocrisy leads to a two-tier system - a king who is not bound by any laws and his subjects who are bound by all of his laws.
These tiers lead to a worldview where the king is arrogant about himself, though he denies that, and condescending towards others and society and especially to the rules of others and the rules of society.
Finally we can understand the title for the song. Liberals feel boxed in, constrained, and restricted by rules. That is the "box" that the title refers to. The "heart" in the title is love, a well-known symbol in Western culture. The meaning of the title, then, is "it looks like love (or claims to be love) but it feels constricting."
This may have been obvious to many. What causes trouble comes from the question, "what box is he talking about". In a Biblical-level use of symbolism, the author speaks of two different boxes and thereby shows that he sees commonality between the two.
The first box is his wife, Courtney Love, and probably the question of children and possibly of abortion. Being married, and especially being a father, just naturally involve rules. Those rules can be ignored for a while but soon they have to be obeyed, if the fatherhood and marriage are to continue.
The second box is God. I know nothing about Kurt but what I see in the lyrics shows a man who is thinking about God. There is no way he could ever accept those rules and he thinks Christianity is stupid. Yet he contemplates God, probably frequently.
Since the song deals with two boxes, it shouldn't surprise us that the chorus speaks to both.
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey
Wait
I got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Your advice
The words "I got a new complaint" would indicate that he feels he has been told that he complains too much. This idea may have come from something Courtney said, but it could also be that he recalls previous problems he has had with the idea of God.
The words "Forever in debt to your priceless advice" are clever and deep. To Courtney he would be saying, "thanks for your opinion, but it's just advice and I'm not going to be ruled by it." He doesn't see her advice as being as valuable as she thinks it is - certainly not so valuable that he would change forever to accommodate it.
To God, his words are essentially the same, "I see the Bible as a book of advice and I'll use what I want from it, but I will not be a slave to you." Of course we don't see the Bible that way. Even though he contemplated God a lot, he likely saw the Bible as the writings of men. We see them as the words of the loving God who created everything, including us. How could we be anything but willing slaves to him? Kurt wouldn't have seen God as loving because God's rules would have tied him down.
She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black
The first verse appears focused on Courtney. It may contain some references to their relationship that are not public. Therefore some of what he says cannot be understood.
He is using Zodiac signs. He is a Pisces and Courtney is a Cancer.
He is also contrasting "weak" with "black". My best guess here is that a relationship problem exists where sometimes she "goes black" and "he becomes weak". The "going black" phrase has been used elsewhere to indicate an alcohol blackout but I don't think that is the meaning here. The rest of the words indicate she is conscious while black and doing something. The meaning here is probably "angry" or "mean".
When he says "I wish I could eat your cancer", he means "I wish I could take what she puts out."
Understanding "heart shaped box" now, we can see what he means by "locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks." He feels trapped in a relationship that looks like love but is restricting and constricting him. This has been going on for some time. The usage of the word "weeks" isn't necessarily literal time. The word "weeks" may have been used for the rhyme.
Then, he talks about how he got into this situation and how locked in he is. He conveys this using a magnet and a tar pit Like a magnet, the closer he got to Courtney, the more strongly he was pulled toward her. Like the La Brea Tar Pits, which trapped thousands of animals, he feels he cannot get out.
There is some chance that the lyrics contain a double meaning. The "magnet tar pit trap" could also be "magnetar pit trap" where a Magnetar (neutron star) creates an inescapable magnetic field shaped like a pit, from which nothing escapes.
Summarizing this verse, Kurt feels that he has been sucked into a relationship that looks like love but is constricting him and he sees no way out.
Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath
Broken hymen of Your Highness, I'm left black
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back
In this verse Kurt turns to his problems with God and specifically Christianity.
The "meat-eating orchids" are people. I don't know why he would choose orchids. The "meat-eating" would not be a reference to vegetarianism. In this context, it is much more likely to be a reference to the wafer eaten for communion in Roman Catholic churches. They believe it becomes the literal body of Christ. Kurt thinks that is stupid and mocks it. So do Protestants.
With "cut myself", he plays on the idiom "cut my teeth" but he indicates that he feels injured by his upbringing. The "angel hair" would not be pasta. Coupled with "baby's breath" we find another case where it seems double meanings are being used. Baby's Breath is a flower but his point is not about pasta or flowers. He means he was raised in a church with church teachings.
The "broken hymen" likely is a very abstract way of saying, questioning really, that he was an imperfect creation by God. Again, we see "black" and would have to give it the same meaning as above, "anger". So his point would be that he isn't exactly happy about being born imperfect, or considered to be imperfect. He doesn't likely consider himself imperfect.
The thought above continues into the next line. Here he mocks a foundational tenet of Christianity. The point of both lines is, "why create people on earth and then send down a way for them to come right back. How stupid is that?" The "umbilical noose" would be Jesus and his teachings, which would never be acceptable to Kurt. If the heart-shaped box is constricting him, the noose would be fatally so.
His point here is less interesting than his previous one. Most Christians don't ask the question because it isn't interesting to them. So most don't know the answer, as Kurt probably didn't, and an explanation is in order.
God is a perfect being who cannot tolerate imperfection in his presence. He wanted to create a people with free choice, who would choose him. This meant there needed to be a way for his creation to do evil without being immediately destroyed. They would sometimes choose to do evil but would have a chance to repent and God would be able to show himself glorious by forgiving them. Therefore the creation of man needed to include creation of a place where man could be "distant" enough from God.
What Kurt sees as the foolish idea of God creating imperfection and expecting them to "climb back up", is really necessary if God's creation is to be given freewill. The other choice would be for his creation to be robotic followers, whose obedience would have no meaning.
We also see a commonality here between Kurt and Courtney and God. Kurt finds both of them restricting.
There is another commonality. Kurt feels a "magnetic" pull toward God, though unexpressed, just as he felt toward Courtney. I understand that he takes swings at God in other songs. That is his way of pushing back against that pull. He has a worldview that he does not want to give up and it conflicts with God. This is an area I know well from my time as an atheist.
The video only relates to the second verse of the lyrics. In addition to elaborating the words of the verses, it adds commentary that isn't in the verses.
Waiting for Jesus' death. It isn't clear in this picture who is in the bed. Later we'll see the character more clearly.
The implication here would be that the group (Nirvana) are waiting for Jesus to die, or at least the idea of Jesus. They want him to hurry and they wait because they believe it is imminent.
Jesus, represented as an old man wearing a Santa hat, stands among the orchids, representing people. These would be the "meat eating orchids" from the lyrics. Also seen is the cross he will be crucified on.
Since Kurt wasn't really a vegetarian of any sort, the "meat eating" is not likely a reference to vegetarianism. Instead it is more likely a reference to communion, which only Catholics believe becomes the actual body and blood of Jesus.
Jesus, walking among the Orchids. The video is careful to show that he tramples on one of them. This would refer to Jesus trampling on people who didn't want to live the way he wanted, thus boxing them in.
Jesus, putting himself on the cross. Also seen are some black birds, perhaps ravens. They may be decorative.
The point here would be that mankind is not responsible for Jesus' death. It was Jesus' own words that caused him to be crucified. This strikes against a fundamental tenet of Christianity, that Jesus was rejected and killed by his own creation.
It's an interesting idea. The things that Jesus said did rile the people who put him to death. In Israel at that time, you could be killed for speaking blasphemy. The idea is flawed because it assumes that the people had no way to know he was God, and that his words were not blasphemy but truth. There were many people who did know he was God.
Innocence and the babies. The young girl would represent "innocence." The Pope-like clothing she wears probably marks her as becoming a Christian, a child of the Pope, if you like. Later she will be seen jumping up to grab the unborn babies hanging from their umbilical cords.
Angel? If it wasn't for the lyrics, which at this time are saying "cut myself on angel hair", we would have no idea what this is. If there is any meaning to the skinless bloated angel, it is lost on me.
Innocence skips past the crucifixion. Later she will be seen looking up at the cross as though she doesn't understand. Still later she will be seen skipping back the other way, still unconcerned.
The point here would be that people naturally don't care about the church. This goes along with the Liberal idea that people are born pure and innocent and later corrupted by society.
The Bible teaches the exact opposite of that. People are born with a sinful nature that will lead them to sin and become an enemy of God. They need a savior to reconcile them with God.
Innocence begins to change. Here we see that she is a blue-eyed blond. Later we'll see that she throws away an orchid. Then a breeze blows her hat off and into a pool of blood, which turns it into a black witches hat. The girl appears in black Pope-style clothing, standing beside the hospital bed where Jesus is dying, and the group was waiting.
Being a blue-eyed blond, is probably a comment on Christianity being primarily a European religion. That's an odd idea because it began as a Middle Eastern religion and was spread as far east as China and as far south as Ethiopia. The fact that those groups mostly rejected it is not a commentary on Christianity.
Throwing away the orchid would mean that Christians do not care for people. From a liberal worldview the focus of Christianity should be entire on the physical needs of people. Christians do help in that area but their focus is on the spiritual needs of the people. Liberal churches and the Social Gospel are loved by Liberals but have lost their spiritual focus.
The turning black process would mean that Christianity corrupts innocents, turning them into evil.
The group now appears in what looks to be a sleazy hotel room. They are jumping around and having a good time.
The meaning of the remainder of the video is unclear. It's as though the group decided to step into their own metaphor. Maybe the videographer ran out of ideas.
Innocence appears for brief moments in the sleazy room. She is wearing the white Pope-like outfit. She doesn't seem happy. In some of those moments, she is holding a red heart-shaped box that is empty. Later she decides to lay on the bed in the room. Seems like fill to get to the end of the video.
The last scene of the video takes us back to the hospital room. One of the band members is opening the curtains which lets a very bright light into the room.
The point seems to be that Jesus is now dead and things can get better.
As I wrote the above analysis of the lyrics, I became convinced that Kurt must have had a strong background in Christianity. I had no idea if this was true. I'm no student of him or his music. While proofing, I checked and found this.
Cobain became a devout Christian and regularly attended church services. He later renounced Christianity, engaging in what was described as "anti-God" rants. (Wikipedia Kurt_Cobain)
Kurt Cobain was gifted in many ways but he had some struggles during his life. It seems to me the things that he did always took him away from where he wanted to be.
One of his gifts was that of metaphor. He may have been too skilled at that as there are many people who, 30 years later, are still trying to understand this song. Even Courtney Love thinks she understands, but probably doesn't.
In this song, Kurt rails against his feelings of being restricted, in one case by his relationship with Courtney and in the other case, his former relationship with God.
Despite that being a former relationship, he still feels the need to beat that horse. That is a common thing, though, with people who are pushing away from God. The pushing must continue in order to keep the distance, much like a magnet.