In this special listening party salon, we’ll explore some of the variations and styles that have inspired musicians from Lead Belly, Grateful Dead, and Dolly Parton, to Kurt Cobain and Sleigh Bells. In the Pines is about American railroad men, forbidden behavior, seemingly endless trains, and the decapitation of loved ones. This particular jaw-dropping performance inspired Neil Young to describe Cobain’s vocals during the final screamed verse as Unearthly, like a werewolf, unbelievable. A live performance by the American grunge band Nirvana reinterpreted Lead Bellys version and was recorded during their MTV Unplugged performance in 1993. Kurt Cobain frequently cited Lead Belly as a major influence of Nirvana and gave Lead Belly songwriting credits in the liner notes of the 1994 album.
The lyric variations are mournful, vengeful, angry, mysterious, ghostly, and defiant. A version of the song performed by the Four Pennies reached the UK top-twenty in 1964. At the conclusion of the set, the producers urged Cobain on for an encore but he refused, saying he couldn’t top the last song - a now legendary rendition of In the Pines, patterned after Lead Belly’s Black Girl, and titled Where Did You Sleep Last Night?Īn old Appalachian folk song, In the Pines has endured over a century of interpretations and left its mark on multiple genres. In 1993, MTV Unplugged brought Kurt Cobain and Nirvana up for a plugged in unplugged performance. In this salon, Interintellect Wes Chow tracks the evolution of folk music by listening to the many versions of the classic folk song In The Pines.