"Polly" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana. It is the sixth song on its 1991 album, Nevermind.

History[link]

Dating back to at least 1988, "Polly" stands alongside "About a Girl" as one of singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain's earliest forays into unfiltered pop songwriting. It was originally titled "Hitchhiker", and later "Cracker", but was renamed "Polly" sometime in 1989. It was left off Nirvana's 1989 debut album, Bleach, because Cobain believed it was not consistent with the band's heavy grunge sound of the time. However, it found its way onto the band's second album, Nevermind, two years later, and remained a part of the band's regular setlist until Cobain's death (and Nirvana's dissolution) in April 1994.

It also stands as drummer Chad Channing's only contribution to Nevermind, having been asked to leave the band before the recording of the album in Los Angeles. Channing's cymbal crashes remained on the final Nevermind version of the song as it was recorded at producer Butch Vig's Wisconsin studios before Channing was replaced by Dave Grohl. The tracks from those Wisconsin sessions, which included soon to be Nirvana classics "In Bloom" and "Lithium", would be used by the band as a demo in effort to attract major label attention. Those sessions also served to make the band comfortable enough with Vig's production style that they would select him to produce Nevermind. "Polly" is a distinct song in that it is entirely acoustic (as originally recorded for Nevermind), which contrasts the more "clean-guitar-for-verses, distorted-guitar-for-choruses, quiet-loud-quiet" pattern Nirvana is famous for employing. The song has the least significant drum part of all of Nirvana's catalogue of songs; all the song has are cymbals at the start of each chorus section.

Inspiration[link]

In the VH1 Classic Albums documentary about Nevermind, bass player Krist Novoselic remembers Cobain writing "Polly" after reading a newspaper article about the abduction, torture and rape in June 1987 of a 14-year-old girl by Gerald Arthur Friend; Friend had picked her up near the Tacoma Dome in his car after she had attended a rock concert.^[1][2][3]

Composition[link]

"Polly" was recorded in the key of E minor with the chords E5-G5-D5-C5 for all verses and then the chords D5-C5-G5-B♭5 for all choruses. The song starts with Cobain playing the verse progression on an acoustic guitar and singing the vocals until the first chorus when bass enters and a cymbal crash is played this is done for all verses and choruses after the second chorus the guitar stops playing and a bass break starts. According to Nevermind producer Butch Vig on Classic Albums: Nevermind, Cobain sang the line "Polly said" too early, but they decided to leave it in. ^[4]. The song ends with a final cymbal crash after the third chorus.

Personnel[link]

• Kurt Cobain: lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar
• Krist Novoselic: bass
• Chad Channing: cymbals

Other versions[link]

Apart from the acoustic rendition which appears on Nevermind, eleven other versions have been officially released:

• A live, electric version from late 1991, which appears as a B-side on import versions of the band's 1992 "In Bloom" single.
• An electric studio version recorded for the BBC's Evening Session in late 1991, which appears on Incesticide. This version is dubbed "(New Wave) Polly", perhaps because of its faster tempo.
• A live, acoustic version recorded during the band's MTV Unplugged performance in late 1993, which was subsequently released the following year on the band's posthumous MTV Unplugged in New York album. This version features Pat Smear on rhythm guitar, and Lori Goldston on cello.
• A live, electric performance from late 1991, which appears on the 1994 home video Live! Tonight! Sold Out!!
• A live, electric rendition from mid 1991, which appears on the documentary 1991: The Year Punk Broke.
• A live, electric version from late 1989, which appears on the band's 1996 live compilation, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah.
• A solo, acoustic home demo which appears on the 2004 Nirvana box set, With the Lights Out.
• An electric studio take from 1989, which also appears on With the Lights Out.
• An electric live version from 1992 appears on the 2009 release Live at Reading.
• An electric live version from 1991 appears on the 2011 release Live at the Paramount.

Accolades[link]

• Ranked #18 in NME's "Top 20 Nirvana Songs" (2004)

References[link]

• Azerrad, Michael. Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Doubleday, New York: 1993, ISBN 0-86369-746-1
• Nirvana Nevermind. Dir. Bob Smeaton. Isis Production, 2004. DVD.
• Appendix A – “Polly” Lyrics by Nirvana, 1994

1. ^ "GUILTY VERDICT IN RAPE CASE". Seattle Post-Intelligencer: D1. August 19, 1987. 
2. ^ Rocco, John (1998). The Nirvana companion: two decades of commentary: a chronicle of the end of punk. Schirmer Books. p. 243. ISBN 0-02-864930-3. http://books.google.co.uk/books?ei=8aIxT_rUFMHC8gOK_8CVBw&id=Ii0UAQAAIAAJ. 
3. ^ Klosterman, Chuck; A.V. Club (2009). "Shoot the whole day down". Inventory: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls, 10 Great Songs Nearly Ruined by Saxophone, and 100 More Obsessively Specific Pop-Culture Lists. Simon and Schuster. p. 71. ISBN 1-4165-9473-6. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=70vSvQwG4vAC&pg=PT87. 
4. ^ Vig, Classic Albums: Nevermind

"Polly" is a nickname for Mary, which was derived from another nickname for Mary, Molly. It is sometimes used as a name in its own right.

Persons[link]

• Polly Adams, English actress
• Polly Adler, Russian born American madam and author
• Polly Bemis, Chinese American pioneer
• Polly Bergen, American singer and actress
• Polly Berry, African-American slave
• Polly Bradfield, American violinist
• Polly Brown, English singer
• Polly Draper, American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director
• Polly Dunbar, British author and illustrator
• Polly Durant, American cellist
• Polly James, British actress
• Polly Jean Harvey, English singer/songwriter
• Polly Holliday, American actress.
• Polly Klaas, American murder victim
• Polly Maberly, English actress
• Polly Marshall, English professional Ladies cricketer
• Polly Moran, American actress and comedian.
• Polly Paulusma, English singer-songwriter.
• Polly Platt, American film producer, production designer and screenwriter
• Polly Samson, English journalist and writer
• Polly Scattergood, English singer-songwriter
• Polly Stenham, English playwright
• Polly Shannon, Canadian actress
• Polly Stockton, British event rider
• Polly Teale, British writer and theater director
• Polly Toynbee, British journalist and writer
• Polly Umrigar, Indian cricketer
• Polly Walker, English actress
• Polly Young, English soprano, composer and keyboard player

Music[link]

• "A Song for Polly", a song by Kracker
• "Collage for Polly", a song by Joe Farrell from the album Joe Farrell Quartet
• "Polly" (song), a song by Nirvana
• "Polly" (The Kinks song), a song by The Kinks
• "Polly Wolly Doodle", a popular children's song
• "Sweet Polly Oliver", an English folksong
• Polly (musical), a 1929 Broadway musical
• "Pretty Polly" (ballad), a murder ballad
• "The Rebel Soldier", a Waylon Jennings song about a girl named Polly
• Polly (opera), an opera with text by John Gay and music by Johann Christoph Pepusch, the sequel to Gay's The Beggar's Opera

Fiction[link]

• Polly Peachum, a character in the play The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht
• Polly (novel), a novel by Freya North
• Polly: A Novel, a novel by Amy Bryant
• Polly Perks, the main character in Terry Pratchett's novel Monstrous Regiment
• Polly Spark, a fictional character in Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart Typing educational software series
• Along Came Polly, film with character Polly Prince
• Polly (Doctor Who), a fictional character in Doctor Who
• Polly (1989 film), a television musical adaptation of the book Pollyanna, starring Keshia Knight Pulliam and Phylicia Rashad
• Aunt Polly, a character in Tom Sawyer
• Polly Plummer, a main character in the novel The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis
• Polly Sherman, the waitress in the British Sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by Connie Booth
• Polly Garter, a character in the play for voices Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
• The History of Mr Polly, a novel by H. G. Wells
• Polly (Underdog), a character in Underdog
• Polly (John Gay opera), a play by John Gay
• Pollyanna, a 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter
• Polly Churchill, a main character in the 2010 two-part novel Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis

Other[link]

• A stereotypical parrot is often called Polly
• Polly (robot), an early vision-based mobile robot
• "Polly put the kettle on", nursery rhyme with Polly as the subject
• Polly Pocket, popular children's toy, mostly played with by young girls
• Polly (peanut), a Norwegian peanut snack brand
• Polly and Molly, two genetically engineered sheep
• PollyVote, a website that forecasts political elections
• Polly (candy), a chocolate candy made by the Finnish-Swedish candy company CloettaFazer AB
• "Polly Had A Dolly", nursery rhyme about Polly and her doll
• USS Polly (SP-690), a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Polly"
• All pages with titles containing "Polly"
• Poly (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Three singers-a trio-singing a song while accompanied on a lute played by one of the singers. Das Konzert [The Concert] (c. 1490, Lorenzo Costa).

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing. A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs. The lyrics (words) of songs are typically of a poetic, rhyming nature, though they may be religious verses or free prose.

A song may be for a solo singer, a duet, trio, or larger ensemble involving more voices. Songs with more than one voice to a part are considered choral works. Songs can be broadly divided into many different forms, depending on the criteria used. One division is between "art songs", "pop songs", and "folk songs". Other common methods of classification are by purpose (sacred vs secular), by style (dance, ballad, Lied, etc.), or by time of origin (Renaissance, Contemporary, etc.).

A song is a piece of music for accompanied or unaccompanied voice or voices or, "the act or art of singing," but the term is generally not used for large vocal forms including opera and oratorio.^[1] However, the term is, "often found in various figurative and transferred sense (e.g. for the lyrical second subject of a sonata...)."^[1] The noun "song" has the same etymological root as the verb "to sing" and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines the word to mean "that which is sung" or "a musical composition suggestive of song." The OED also defines the word to mean "a poem" or "the musical phrases uttered by some birds, whales, and insects, typically forming a recognizable and repeated sequence and used chiefly for territorial defence or for attracting mates." ^[2]

Cultural types[link]

Art songs[link]

Art songs are songs created for performance in their own right, usually with piano accompaniment, although they can also have other types of accompaniment such as an orchestra or string quartet, and are always notated. Generally they have an identified author and composer and require voice training for acceptable performance. German-speaking communities use the term art song ("Kunstlied") to distinguish so-called "serious" compositions from folk song ("Volkslied"). The lyrics are often written by a poet or lyricist and the music separately by a composer. Art songs may be more formally complicated than popular or folk songs, though many early Lieder by the likes of Franz Schubert are in simple strophic form. They are often important to national identity.

Art songs feature in many European cultures, including but not limited to: Russian (romancy), German (Lieder), Italian (canzoni), French (mélodies), Scandinavian (sånger), Portuguese (canções), Spanish (canciones). There are also highly regarded British and American art songs in the English language. Cultures outside of Europe that have a classical music tradition, such as India, may or may not feature art songs. The accompaniment of European art songs is considered as an important part of the composition.

The art song of the period in which they originally flowered is often a duet in which the vocalist and accompanist share in interpretive importance. The pieces were most often written to be performed in a home or salon setting, although today the works enjoy popularity as concert pieces. The emergence of poetry during this era was much of what inspired the creation of these pieces by Brahms, Schumann, Schubert and other composers. These composers set poems in their native language. Many works were inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Heinrich Heine. Another method would be to write new music for each stanza to create a unique form; this was through-composed form known in German as durchkomponiert. A combination of both of these techniques in a single setting was called a modified strophic form. Often romantic art songs sharing similar elements were grouped as a song cycle.^[3]

Folk songs[link]

Folk songs are songs of often anonymous origin (or are public domain) that are transmitted orally. They are frequently a major aspect of national or cultural identity. Art songs often approach the status of folk songs when people forget who the author was. Folk songs are also frequently transmitted non-orally (that is, as sheet music), especially in the modern era. Folk songs exist in almost every culture.

Popular songs[link]

Modern popular songs are typically distributed as recordings and are played on the radio, though all other mass media that have audio capabilities are involved. Their relative popularity is inferred from commercially significant sales of recordings, ratings of stations and networks that play them, and ticket sales for concerts by the recording artists. A popular song can become a modern folk song when members of the public who learn to sing it from the recorded version teach their version to others. Popular songs may be called pop songs for short, although pop songs or pop music may instead be considered a more commercially popular genre of popular music as a whole.

See also[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Song

• Air (music)
• Animal song: bird song, whale song, zoomusicology
• Aria
• Ballad
• Canticle
• Category:Musical forms
• Hymn
• Instrumental
• Lied
• Madrigal (music)
• Song structure (popular music)
• Vocal music
• Theme song
• Poem and song
• Singing

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Marcello Sorce Keller (1984), "The Problem of Classification in Folksong Research: a Short History", Folklore, XCV, no. 1, 100- 104.

Polly and the Billets Doux are a four-piece band from Winchester, UK. Their music has been described as “a harmony blend of folk, rock, blues, soul and gospel” by The Sunday Times.

The band consists of Polly Perry (lead vocals), Andrew ‘Steeny’ Steen (lead guitar, vocals) Dan Everett (double bass, guitar, vocals) and Ben Perry (drums/percussion). Dan Everett is also a solo singer-songwriter in his own right.

Festivals[link]

Polly and the Billets Doux are well known for their festival appearances each year. Notable performances include Glastonbury,^[1] Secret Garden Party, Cambridge Folk Festival, The Big Chill, Larmer Tree Festival and Blissfields.^[2]

The band have also supported Fun Lovin' Criminals and Water Tower Bucket Boys on tour.

Radio[link]

They have been championed by BBC Radio 2 including Terry Wogan and Bob Harris. Their debut EP Head of Steam reached number 21 on the BBC Radio 1 Indie Chart. Tom Robinson and Cerys Matthews on BBC 6 Music are also fans, playing the band’s music regularly on their shows.^[3]

Releases[link]

Polly and the Billets Doux released their debut EP Head of Steam in 2009 and their debut album Fiction, Half-Truths and Downright Lies in 2010.^[4]

Their latest record, a limited edition EP called Hold Fast is set for release in May 2012. Their second album is expected to follow in 2013.^[5]

The band release their music independently but it is distributed through Genepool/Universal.^[6]

References[link]

1. ^ "News - The Bandstand line-up announced". Glastonbury Festivals. http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/news/the-bandstand-line-up-announced. Retrieved 2012-05-24. 
2. ^ "Polly & The Billets Doux - performer profile page". Efestivals.co.uk. 2008-06-28. http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/bands.php?BandID=18341. Retrieved 2012-05-24. 
3. ^ Tom Robinson (2012-01-23). "Music - Polly and the Billets Doux". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/588c0075-b0ad-482e-9602-690a60aa1bd9. Retrieved 2012-05-24. 
4. ^ "Polly and the Billets Doux – Releases". Pollyandthebilletsdoux.co.uk. http://pollyandthebilletsdoux.co.uk/releases/. Retrieved 2012-05-24. 
5. ^ "Polly and the Billets Doux". Polly and the Billets Doux. http://pollyandthebilletsdoux.co.uk/. Retrieved 2012-05-24. 
6. ^ "Search Genepool". Thegenepool.co.uk. http://www.thegenepool.co.uk/search.asp?artist=polly+and+the+billets+doux&title&format&label&submit.x=0&submit.y=0. Retrieved 2012-05-24. 

External links[link]

• Official website

Polly Scattergood
Polly Scattergood performing at the Shoreditch Festival in Hackney, London; July 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Polly Scattergood
Born	1987 (age 24–25) Colchester, Essex, England
Genres	Indie pop Experimental Alternative rock
Occupations	Singer, musician, songwriter
Instruments	Keyboard, piano and guitar
Years active	2005-present
Labels	Mute Records

Polly Scattergood (born 1987, Colchester, Essex, England),^[1] is a British singer-songwriter. She has been described as ethereal, dark, intense and quirky,^[2][3][4] while her musical style has been described as "early 21st century electro-dance-pop of London proper".^[5] Scattergood's debut album, self-titled, was released in spring 2009 in the United Kingdom and United States. It received mixed, but generally positive, reviews.^[6]

Early years[link]

Scattergood grew up near Colchester, the eldest of three siblings with two younger brothers.

Her first memory of making music was playing a toy piano when she was aged four.^[7] Aged 12, having listened to Suzanne Vega's song "Luka", Scattergood concluded, "Music doesn't have to be strident to carry a strong message" and "That you don't have to shout. You can say things and people will listen if they want to."^[2] She has stated she would often listen to Leonard Cohen as a teenager.^[8]

Aged 16 she moved to London. She took part time work on a market stall to pay her way through music school.^[2]

Musical career[link]

Despite misunderstanding in the press, her name Scattergood is her family name. It means "here today, gone tomorrow" or "spendthrift waster".^[2]

Scattergood attended the Brit School where she wrote 800 songs.^[2] After graduation she caught the attention of music industry executive Neil Ferris who took on her management. Ferris then introduced Scattergood to Daniel Miller head of Mute Records. He led her to her current producer Simon Fisher Turner.^[2]

Scattergood describes herself as a storyteller. "I write about emotions and moments, not all are biographical."^[2] Scattergood's debut single entitled "Glory Hallelujah" was released in 2005. Her September 2007 single "Nitrogen Pink" is about the fragility of life and how quickly things come and go. It was written about "a friend of a friend who was really sick from cancer, this young guy who was only 30 and had a great, happy life but was slowly deteriorating".^[2][3] The single "I Hate the Way" which was written on a toy keyboard was released on 22 September 2008 on both limited edition 10 inch vinyl and iTunes.^[9] The song has been described as documenting her emotional instability and penchant of going to bed with unsuitable men.^[10]

On 10 November 2008, Scattergood was a guest on the Rob Da Bank show where three of her songs were played ("I Hate The Way", "Untitled 27" and "Nitrogen Pink").^[11] Da Bank called her "The Kate Bush of the 21st century". On 28 November, she played an acoustic set on the Janice Long show ("I Hate The Way", "Please Don't Touch" and "I've Got A Heart"). When asked about her discovery of music, she replied, "I found a guitar when I was about 12, in the coat cupboard, it had maybe 3 strings on it ... I just taught myself".

On 7 March 2009 Scattergood gave a live studio session on the BBC Radio 2 Dermot O'Leary show. Her cover version of "Puff, the Magic Dragon" proved to be popular with listeners, introducing many for the first time to the artist.

Debut album[link]

Polly Scattergood was released 9 March 2009 in the United Kingdom.^[12][13] and on 19 May in the United States.

"Other Too Endless" was released as a single from the album on 23 February 2009. It was named "record of the week" on the Steve Lamacq show. The download version features a remix by Vince Clarke who is a member of Erasure, ex Assembly (where he shared the spoils with ex Undertones frontman Feargal Sharkey), ex Yazoo and ex Depeche Mode.^[12] iTunes made it 'Single of the Week' on 30 March 2009. "Please Don't Touch" was her second single, released on 4 May 2009.^[14] She then re-released "Nitrogen Pink" and released "Bunny Club" as singles.^[15]

Second studio album[link]

Scattergood has confirmed via her Twitter account that she is currently recording her second studio album. A demo for the rumored lead single titled "New York, New York" has been leaked to the internet.^[16]

Touring[link]

February 2009 saw Scattergood playing several clubs and hosting her own club night.^[12] According to her MySpace page Scattergood is on a United Kingdom club tour which will conclude on 19 April. She is scheduled to play a Dublin, Ireland club date on 21 April followed by festival appearances at Live at Leeds, The Great Escape, and Bestival. She accompanied Bat for Lashes at the iTunes Live Festival on 19 July 2009.^[17] An EP of the iTunes performance was released in August 2009 on iTunes. She supported Amanda Palmer in September 2009 at Union Chapel, Islington.

Other pursuits[link]

Scattergood is using her MySpace to advocate for a campaign to protest a proposal by a London Council member to remove a work by graffiti artist Banksy entitled "one nation under cctv" from Ginglik at Shepherds Bush Empire.

Scattergood and her friends post small art films to her MySpace page and YouTube.

Scattergood also recorded a new rendition of the song "New York, New York" for the first teaser trailer of the 2010 video game Crysis 2.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Polly Scattergood on Myspace