Cover: Nirvana - Where Did you Sleep Last Night - Leadbelly

I hope no one will think it's snooty of me to point out that if Leadbelly wrote this song then I'm the Queen of England. It's an old traditional song which normally goes by the name "In the Pines," and which has a long history with many variations. It might be accurate to say that the song was arranged by Leadbelly, but that might be pushing it too.
According to a 1994 New York Times article it dates back to at least the 1870s (their guess is as good as mine). Acording to folklorist Alan Lomax Leadbelly uses a part of the song heard in a 1917 version, and another part from a 1925 recording. The song has been recorded by the likes of Bill Monroe, Dolly Parton, Joan, Baez, Chet Atkins, the Strange Creek Singers (Mike Seeger, Hazel Dickens, Tracy Schwarz, and Alice Gerrard), and in this case Nirvana. By all accounts Mr. Cobain was a huge Leadbelly fan.
So what's the song about? Depending on which version you listen it's about someone wandering into the pines. The pines would appear to represent any number of bad things (again, depending upon the version). It ranges from trampy behavior, to depression, to death. There also tends to be a long train, and a train accident resulting in decapitation. Lovely stuff.
That said this is a prime example of how much angst ridden modern music has in common with angst ridden traditional music (maybe minus the train). Some selections of old-timey music give gangsta-rap a run for it's money in degreee of violence without pushing any sort of mother-f*cker per minute rate.
But back to the song at hand. It's quite possibly one of the best things they ever recorded. It doesn't rock like their more noisy songs, but the feeling conveyed here is some of the most powerfull Cobain ever mustered. He doesn't scream it, but this is one of those cases where the song is better for it. I've heard several versions of this song and this remains at the top of the heap, if nothing else for the raw emotion.
Good stuff.

Grade: A
buy Nirvana's Unplugged in New York from amazon.com.
buy Where Did You Sleep Last Night: Leadbelly Legacy, Vol. 1 from Amazon.com.
buy the Very Best of Bill Monroe from amazon.com. (warning, it's bluegrass!!!)