You Know You're Right

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"You Know You're Right"

Single by Nirvana
from the album Nirvana
Released	October 8, 2002
Format	CD, 7", 12"
Recorded	January 30, 1994 at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, Washington
Genre	Grunge
Length	3:38
Label	Geffen
Producer(s)	Adam Kasper
Chart positions
#1 (US Billboard Mainstream Rock) #1 (US Billboard Modern Rock) #45 (US Billboard Hot 100)
Nirvana singles chronology
"Aneurysm" (1996 )	"You Know You're Right" (2002)

"You Know You're Right" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the first song on their 2002 "best-of" album, Nirvana.

1 History
2 Title
3 Personnel
4 Covers
5 Chart positions
6 Accolades
7 References
8 External links

"You Know You're Right" was most likely written in mid-to-late 1993, making it one of the few post-In Utero Kurt Cobain compositions known to exist. For years, it was known from only a bootlegged live version, recorded on October 23, 1993 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois, and from a performance of the song by Hole (fronted by Cobain's widow, Courtney Love), recorded at their MTV Unplugged set in 1995.

A studio version of the song had been recorded at Nirvana's final session, on January 30, 1994 at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, Washington, but remained locked away from fans for years following Cobain's death.

This recording became the object of much legal wrangling between Love and surviving Nirvana bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. Grohl and Novoselic had wanted the song for a planned Nirvana box set, but Love blocked its release, and a battle over Nirvana's legacy ensued.

Love maintained that "You Know You're Right" would have been "wasted" on a box set, and would be better-suited to a single-disc collection similar to the Beatles' 1. [1] Her lawsuit called the song a "potential 'hit' of extraordinary artistic and commercial value," and her manager asserted that a release with the song could sell 15 million copies. [2]

Novoselic revealed that he did not necessarily disagree with Love: "I've always considered everything she said. We've considered it and agreed and said, 'Hey, that's a great idea, Courtney.' I tried to get along with Courtney as best I could, but there's only so much you can do." [3]

In September 2002, the lawsuit between Love and the surviving Nirvana members was settled, and it was announced that "You Know You're Right" would arrive on "a one-CD history of the band" called Nirvana later that year. [4] An MP3 of the song was leaked on the internet a few weeks prior to its official release, and the song was thrown in rotation by a number of alternative rock radio stations, even after being sent cease and desist letters from Nirvana's record label.

"You Know You're Right" was eventually released as a promo single, and a music video was made. The song made No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to internet download sales. The song charted at #1 on both the Billboard Mainstream and Modern Rock Charts. Ironically, Nirvana were succeeded at #1 on the Modern Rock charts by The Foo Fighters, who are fronted by Dave Grohl.

In 2004, an acoustic demo of the song was released on With the Lights Out, the long-awaited box set. It was re-released in 2005 on the band's compilation album, Sliver - The Best of the Box. This boombox-recorded rendition is only the third known version of the song.

"You Know You're Right" was apparently played at soundchecks during the American leg of the band's In Utero tour in 1993, but these versions remain unsurfaced (or were never recorded). There is also a limited edition bootleg that was pressed in Europe.

"You Know You're Right" may not have had a proper title at the time of Cobain's death in April 1994. According to a 2004 Seattle Times article by Gillian G. Gaar, it was listed simply as "Kurt's Song #1" on the tracking sheets from the Robert Lang Studios recording session. In 1995, it was performed as "You've Got No Right" by Hole at their MTV Unplugged appearance.

In the liner notes to Nirvana, Rolling Stone writer David Fricke erroneously states that the song had gone under the previous titles of "Autopilot" and "On a Mountain." In reality, these names were accidentally invented by bootleggers, who had misheard Dave Grohl's comment at the beginning of the live version. Grohl had announced, "This is our last song; it's called 'All Apologies,'" not realizing that Cobain had already started playing "You Know You're Right." Thanks to the poor fidelity of the live recording, bootleggers believed Grohl had introduced the new song, and tried to interpret what they thought was its title.

Other than Hole, "You Know You're Right" has been covered by the following artists:

Seether
American rapcore band Limp Bizkit
American hard rock band Breaking Benjamin.

Note: You Know You're Right was only released as a promotional single and downloadable single. Retail singles were not released.

Year	Song	Chart	Position
2002	You Know You're Right	Mainstream Rock Tracks (US)	No. 1
2002	You Know You're Right	Modern Rock Tracks (US)	No. 1
2002	You Know You're Right	The Billboard Hot 100 (US)	No. 45
2002	You Know You're Right	Triple J Hot 100 (Australia)	No. 12
2002	You Know You're Right	Finland Mitä hittiä Charts	No. 45
2002	You Know You're Right	Latvian Airplay Charts	No. 11
2002	You Know You're Right	Polish Airplay Charts	No. 13
2002	You Know You're Right	Bubbling Hot 100 Airplay (US)	No. ?
2002	You Know You're Right	Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (US)	No. ?

Ranked #5 in Spin's "Best Singles of 2002" (2002)
Ranked #20 in NME's "Top 20 Nirvana Songs" (2004)
Ranked #9 in Q's "10 Greatest Nirvana Songs Ever" (2004)

A piece of Kurt Cobain by Jim DeRogatis, March 10, 2002
Courtney Love Sues Grohl And Novoselic, Blocks Nirvana Rarity by Teri vanHorn, MTV News, June 29, 2001
The Internet Nirvana Fanclub's report on the settlement of the Nirvana lawsuit
Six years sifting vaults, basement tapes by Gillian G. Gaar, Seattle Times, 2004

Preceded by "Aerials" by System of a Down	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single October 26, 2002	Succeeded by "All My Life" by Foo Fighters