Composition and lyrics
Farmer biography
The song was inspired by the story of Seattle actress Frances Farmer, who appeared in numerous films and theater productions during her career. Following early accusations of atheism and communism, [4] reports began to surface of allegedly erratic behavior, and Farmer was arrested and committed to psychiatric institutions several times before being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. This led to a stay of several years at Western State Hospital in Lakewood, Washington, at the request of her mother and other family members. In her autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning?, Farmer later recounted what she called the "unbearable terror" of being in the hospital, claiming that she "was raped by orderlies, gnawed on by rats and poisoned by tainted food. I was chained in padded cells, strapped into strait-jackets and half-drowned in ice baths." [5] The accuracy of the book, which was published posthumously and partially ghost written by a friend, is disputed, but Farmer is confirmed to have suffered from poor conditions at the hospital, undergoing electroconvulsive shock therapy as was then standard at the institution. [6] After her release in 1950, Farmer successfully fought for release from the conservatorship of her mother and attempted a comeback as an actor. She was diagnosed with esophageal cancer due to her excessive smoking, and died in 1970 at the age of 56. [7]
Cobain's interest in Farmer
Cobain had been fascinated by Farmer's life since high school, when he first read the controversial 1978 Farmer biography, Shadowland , by Seattle Post-Intelligencer film critic, William Arnold. According to journalist Gillian G. Garr, Cobain grew to identify "even more with Farmer's story" after his own success with Nirvana, "especially with Farmer's unconventional nature, her outspoken dislike of commercialism, her hounding by the media, and her sad, unjust fate." [3] In 1993, Cobain made several attempts to contact Arnold, who did not respond. Cobain eventually contacted the Post-Intelligencer' Arts and Entertainment editor, and was surprised when Arnold did not know who he was. Arnold states that Cobain then "called and left this rambling message," which included Cobain's theory that he was related to the judge who had signed the first order to commit Farmer. "I thought to myself, 'I've really got to talk to this guy,'" Arnold recalls, "but I was going through some other stuff then and I just didn't. Then he killed himself and I felt really bad." [3] Arnold, who did not hear the song during Cobain's lifetime, had written "Return the call of K.C. - the Nirvana guy!" at the top of his to-do list for April 8, 1994, the day that Cobain's body was found. [8]
Arnold instead wrote an article for the Post-Intelligencer, published on April 14, 1994, titled "Cobain Found a Kindred Spirit in Frances Farmer's Troubled Life," in which he stated that "Cobain's behaviour might be interpreted as the actions of a man determined to embody the spirit of Frances Farmer." [8] John D. Luerssen, author of the 2014 biography Nirvana FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Most Important Band of the 1990s, also noted similarities between Farmer's personality and Cobain's, writing that "the parallels between the actress - who once listed her occupation as 'cocksucker' when she was arrested - and the rocker are remarkable. Both were strong-willed and rebellious, and defiant for the sake of their art." [9]
Cobain discussed the song in depth in Azerrad's 1993 biography, Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana , saying that "I guess that's my way of letting the world know that bureaucracy is everywhere and it can happen to anybody and it's a really evil thing. The story of Frances Farmer is so sad and it can happen to anybody and it almost felt at a time that it was happening to us...but it's mainly just exposing the Frances Farmer story to people." [1] According to Azerrad, the lines "In her false witness/ We hope you're still with us" were an attack on those who believed the claims in a September 1992 Vanity Fair article by Lynn Hirschberg, which alleged that Love had used heroin while pregnant. [1] Both Azerrad and Garr note the theme of revenge in lines such as "She'll come back as fire/ And burn all the liars/ And leave a blanket of ash on the ground," [1] [3] with Garr saying the song represents "a rare case of someone emerging triumphant in a Nirvana song." [3]
On February 24, 1992, Love wore a satin lace dress previously owned by Farmer when she married Cobain on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. [10] Cobain's and Love's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, was named after Frances McKee, vocalist and guitarist for the Scottish indie pop band the Vaselines, [11] and not Farmer.
