Song Review: Nirvana “Polly”

“Polly” is one of those songs where if your not really listening to the words and understanding the theme, you would have never have guessed what the song is about when you finally discover the theme. This is one of those that with the soft acoustic strumming and minimal instrumentation, it almost sounds like a love song, or a Jack Johnson-ish let-me-reminisce-on-happy-memories-with-a-girl-type-song.

 

However, if you catch your grandmother nodding and clapping to this one riding in the passenger seat, you may have to pull over because you cannot stop laughing to her singing “Polly wants a cracker”. I found this amusing because before finding out the song’s real meaning, I figured it was just a song about wild, kinky sex.

 

"Pollly" May Sound Like A Good Sing-A-Long...

However, when I found out that it is based on a true story and rape of a 14 year-old girl who had just attended a concert, the song takes on a whole other meaning. This song seems now to me as a subtle means of speaking out against sex crimes by Nirvana.

 

The progression of the story turns from violent and chilling to a reason for listeners to sigh in relief. Cobain, speaking from the point of view of the kidnapper, implies torture with a blowtorch and tying the girl up using ropes. These gruesome details seem almost impossible to predict from Cobain’s innocently soft-spoken lines that begins each verse “Polly wants a cracker”. His voice sounds so good on the melody that, to me, it is the sole reason that a message like this could be recorded with such a laid-back innocent feel to it; that it sounds so innocent and sweet that it achieves the purpose of describing the shunned activities of a rapist even more effectively, rather than sounding like a strong-willed song of activism.

 

Still singing from the criminal’s point of view, Cobain implies that  (with help from details of the story which “Polly” is based) that the girl escapes because the rapist takes her for a ride, letting his “guard down”. Within the lyrics, the twisted psychology of the kidnapper/rapist is revealed with lines like “I want some help, to help myself” and “She asks me to untie her, a chase would be nice for a few”.

 

Musically, I love the structure and the sounding of the verses- with the simple acoustic guitar and Kurt Cobain’s soft drawl. However, the melody of the chorus doesn’t necessarily fit right for me, it almost sounds out of place, because of the way the lines are said and the changes in the chords on the acoustic guitar.  My favorite part of the song is at 1:50 where the chorus ends, and all of a sudden, a bass-line in the same melody as the acoustic guitar appears in the midst of silence and leads to “Polly says her back hurts”. This might even be my favorite moment for the entirety of Nevermind.

 

With an undercover theme that is as powerful as it is unexpected, and sweet-sounding melody, “Polly” is a delight to listen to, and demonstrates an alternate way to draw light upon an ever-important problem.

 

“Polly” Rating: 4/5