September 24th marked the 30th anniversary of one of the most influential modern(ish) albums: Nirvana’s Nevermind. The album featured the trio ditching their metal riffs and center-of-the-show bass lines for a more alt-rock-y sound that synthesized the three core instruments into a more cohesive and narrow sound. We also saw a shift in lyrical style, where Nevermind took an analogous approach of spraying paint on a canvas, and asking onlookers to tell you what it means (the low-hanging comparison to the interpretation of statutes has been redacted for the purposes of this article). With that came a wave of lyrical interpretation and scholarly debate among PhD candidates and NASA scientists regarding how the album could have prophesied the feelings that led to the eventual death of frontman Kurt Cobain. Among those discussions, a piece of the puzzle has always seemed to be missing to me.
While songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit and Come As You Are drive much of the buzz around the album, for obvious angsty reasons, there are some blatantly under-represented and under-interpreted songs that point to larger and more applicable themes in the life of your everyday listener. To me, one of those songs is On A Plain. On Spotify, as of writing this, the song sits at the lowest amount of plays for the non-bonus tracks off the album. Is it by virtue of its existence in the tail-end of the album that amounts to this disparity? I would argue probably not, considering Something In The Way has almost triple the listens and is the next song in the album’s sequence. As such, keep in mind the relatively low intrigue around understanding the song (just take a look at the barren Genius page), and the consequent missing perspectives on the subject matter. I have taken it upon myself, the unequivocal expert in lyrical interpretation, to bring the song to light and hopefully impart some key life philosophies. I’m looking for more of a “huh” moment than a “whoa” moment.
In essence, the song, in my opinion, discusses the importance of being fine with complacency yet understanding the inescapable demands of human nature to get out of that complacency. The chorus is a repetition of the idea that being “on a plain” (equated to being on a plateau in terms of achievement, life trajectory, etc.) puts you in a neutral position, and that being neutral here is still preferred to being in a negative position, hence the lack of complaint. Cobain uses the first verse to contrast this idea to the expectations placed on someone in a neutral position by external actors that want that neutral party to tilt into a positive direction, not for the neutral party’s own benefit, but for the external actors’. The second verse is the opposite of the first, in the sense that Cobain looks at the neutral party shifting into the negative yet not wanting to do that either. In connection to this, the third verse is an amalgamation of these two verses into actionable formats; people expect so much from Cobain, and he does it all simply to appease his external actors through making music. That leaves us with the bridge, which is by far the most puzzling in its application to the overall theme. However, in that sense, it may actually be more meta commentary to be used as an aside, where Cobain strays from his attempt to appease these external actors and recognizes that it’s futile because he is not genuine in his attempt.
So, what is the relevance of dissecting the song in relation to us? I think the answer to that question can be found in some self-reflection of the number of times we’ve been asked to do something and have done it simply for the benefit of the person asking us. Something we, or at least I, do not really consider in connection to that self-reflection is the value of being on a plateau. If you’ve ever driven on a rural road, you’ll know that the flat stretch of land (where I definitely have never sped on) lets you clearly see the rises and falls in the road ahead of you. In that sense, being on a neutral ground is fairly beneficial to either prepare you for the good or the bad. Why do we as humans strive so hard to be on that upward slope, and then feel so bad when we get that huge dip from the peak? Is it not useful to be “on a plain” and avoid immeasurable disappointment while simultaneously being ready for the positives? I personally believe that being complacent, and being ok with being in an ok position, can do wonders for your mental health, and not push the extra pressures that will be felt a million times over throughout our lives. In summation, being in a neutral position is not bad because we’re not actively in a negative position, nor are we conforming to the pressures of being in a positive position. In that sense, maybe we can all take a deep breath from time to time and just be content with who we are and what we’ve accomplished, and then take the plunge into the hardships when needed. There will be bad times, and there will be good times, but we can never truly appreciate that if we are constantly in the mindset of one or the other. So throw away your textbooks, email your professors telling them you’re not coming to class next week, and recline as far back as your Ikea office chair lets you; you’re doing ok.