Heart-Shaped Box (4:42)

“Heart-Shaped Box” is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain released as the first single from the group’s third studio album In Utero in 1993. It was one of two songs from the album mixed by Scott Litt in order to augment the original production by producer Steve Albini. While Nirvana’s label DGC Records did not release a physical single for sale in the United States, “Heart-Shaped Box” received much American radio airplay, reaching number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The international release of the single reached number five in the United Kingdom.

Origin and recording
Kurt Cobain wrote “Heart-Shaped Box” in early 1992. Cobain forgot about the song for a while, but began working on it again when he and his wife Courtney Love moved to a house in the Hollywood Hills. In a 1994 Rolling Stone interview, Love said she overheard him working on the song’s riff in a closet. She said she asked him if she could use the riff for one of her songs, to which he replied, “Fuck off!” and closed the closet door. “He was trying to be so sneaky”, said Love. “I could hear that one from downstairs.” The couple shared a journal in which they would write lyrics; Cobain biographer noted that Love’s songwriting sensibility informed Cobain’s on the song. The song’s name came from a heart-shaped box Love had given Cobain. However, Cobain had originally titled the song “Heart-Shaped Coffin”.

Nirvana had difficulty completing the song. Cobain attempted to have the rest of the band complete the song during jam sessions. He said, “During those practices, I was trying to wait for Chris and Dave to come up with something but it just turned into noise all the time.