Heart-Shaped Box lyrics

I think it's about feminine techniques of control that often seek to dominate in disguised ways. It's some form of perceived love dependance without liberation.

Kurt is talking about his addiction to heroin in the first four lines. He says "she eyes me like a pisces when i am weak".. Speaking about coming down off of heroin and being weak from it. The heroin is just eyeing him down until he uses again and is back "up" on his binge. "ive been locked inside your heart shaped box for weeks".. His love for the drug has locked his soul into a metaphoric box of only caring about using. "i've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap".. Again saying that he is trapped by the heroin(which is a tarry substance) and by using the words drawn, magnet, pit, trap all in the same line he gets the point across of how addicting the substance is to him. "i wish i could eat your cancer when you turn black".. He mentions it being cancer which is something that kills people but he says that he loves it and would eat the cancer. Its something that he "loves to hate" or atleast he acknowledges how bad it is for him but he still loves the high he gets when using.

"i wish i could eat your cancer when you turn black" means that he wishes that he can stop the cycle before it gets to him.

Interesting how kurt identified with hamlet, the prince of denmark right towards his end, in his suicide note. What i find interesting in this song, are all the flower referecences; angel's hair, babies breath, and meat eating orchids. In shakespeare's hamlet, ophelia (hamlet's once love interest) in her madness, wears a "fantastic garland" made up of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples. She was so deep in melancholie, and trapped by famliy( and social) dynamics , that she could only express herself (sometimes in song) by making vague, abstract raferences to flowers that had then historical meanings. Her feelings and the people around her were so bound together, like a pile of peperclips - that to pull at one, you had to pull at all of them; to undertand her, those in her circle would have had to be willing to honestly look at themselves in the mirror and know their true nature, but they were unwilling, or unable, and therefore ophelia's outburts were all painted with the same 'madness brush' and she became their scapegoat. So like ophelia. Kurt in song wears a garland of flowers. I guess the question is, what are kurt's reasons and what are his cryptic meanings, and reserved for what audience exactly: his lover, his god, himself, or all of them. The refrain is also kind of cryptic. Two simple line: it's as if, in the first line, he is trying to make a stand, confronting the oppressor(s), but then in the second line, he sort of whimps out and says the opposite. Or maby musically, it's inner voice/outer voice blurring, were the lister doesn't really know what is trully tought or said ( or double-spoken). Perhaps, it takes on a different meaning to a different audience (a lover, himself, or god), with each repetition of the refrain.

I think kurt's blaming his mother about the fact she has gaved him birth. He think he was a mistake and he mad about his mother. ''heart shaped box'' - a uterus. ''magnat tar pit trap'' - the birth to an ugly world. ''cancer'' - an involuntary development of cells - like an unwanted pregnant. ''broken hymen of your highness, i'm left black'' his mother finally had sex- but he his the side effect. An explanation about the umbilical noose is unnecessary i think...

Okay so i love the song and the band but could someone tell me what
"i wish i could eat your cancer when u turn black'' i didnt get that.

Woo i love this song it awsome i love it when he say cut myself on angels hair and babys breath

Nirvana
heart-shaped box lyrics
send "heart-shaped box" ringtone to your cell
heart-shaped box
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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

This song is about courtney love, in fact the 'in utero' was largely written with her in mind, as 'nevermind' was written about tobi (can't remember second name! ), his ex. The name came from a gift that courtney gave to kurt before they were together, with was a silk and laced heart shaped box with some strange things in it, and you could say that this was his gift back to her.

The line 'forever in debt to your priceless advice' comes from a letter he sent to courtney

Appently, the line 'i wish i could eat your cancer when you turn black' means 'i love you' (i can't see how personally, but thats what i've read)

'throw down your umbilical noose so i can climb right back' is a plea for the women in his life, courtney, his wife, wendy, his mum and kim, his younger sister, to support him

Though the song has many meanings, kurt wrote some liner notes for the single, that weren't used, including thems like 'leonardo da vinci, male seahorses (who carry their young), rasism in the old west and there are a few other i haven't listed because they're so strange i did't think people would take this seriously!

These all come from the book 'heavier than heaven' an amazing biography about kurt, highly recomend it

The first line in the song "she eyes me like a pisces" has meaning. A pisces (kurt cobain was a pisces by his birthdate) has a need to fit in and feel connected to a person and the world at large. This song is about that. How despite wanting to leave the relationship, he can't because of this need. This woman also "attacks" him when he's weak, and then cares for him after, making him dependant on her. This gives the effect that he can't live without her, even though he desperatly wants to. The line "your advice" is repeated many times, and this may be why he feels like he can't leave.