“Polly” is the story of an unidentified 14-year-old girl who was attending a concert in Tacoma, Washington in June of 1987 when she was kidnapped by serial rapist and kidnapper Gerald Friend.
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Then 49, Friend offered the teenager, who had just parted ways with her friends, a ride home from the concert. Friend then abducted, raped, and tortured the girl, who was eventually able to break free from him at a local gas station.
First arrested for similar horrific crimes, Friend was originally arrested in 1960 and sentenced to 75 years in prison. After serving 20 years at a prison in Walla Walla, Washington, and escaping twice, Friend was paroled in 1980. After his 1987 offense, he was sentenced to another two 75-year terms at the Airway Heights Corrections Center in Washington State.
“That song ‘Polly,’ it’s a true story,” said bassist Kris Novoselic in a 1991 interview. “It’s about a young girl who was abducted. The guy drove her around in his van. Tortured her, raped her. The only chance she had of getting away was to come on to him and persuade him to untie her. That’s what she did, and she got away. Can you imagine how much strength that took?”
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The Meaning—and Point of—”Polly”
The abduction took place not far from Kurt Cobain‘s home in Aberdeen and after reading about the story of “Polly” in a newspaper, he was inspired to write one of Nirvana‘s darkest and most controversial songs—preceding the band’s 1993 single, “Rape Me.”
Written solely by Cobain, and titled “Hitchhiker” at first, “Polly” was the sixth track on Nevermind and moves through some of the disturbing phases of the abduction, and from an unlikely perspective.
The song is not the easiest listen on Nevermind since it’s a narrative of the tragic event, written from the perspective of the abductor, not the victim.
Polly wants a cracker
I think I should get off her first
I think she wants some water
To put out the blow torch
Isn’t me, have a seed
Let me clip your dirty wings
Let me take a ride, cut yourself
Want some help, please myself
Got some rope, haven’t told
Promise you, have been true
Let me take a ride, cut yourself
Want some help, please myself
Polly wants a cracker
Maybe she would like some food
She asked me to untie her
A chase would be nice for a few
On its surface, “Polly” may come across as insensitive and an exploitation of the victim, but that was never Cobain’s intention. Instead, “Polly” is trying to convey something deeper. It’s exposed the harsh and disturbing reality of a rapist’s thought pattern and the need to educate more men that rape is not acceptable.
“’Polly’ is a remarkable song about the rape and torture of a 14-year-old girl, a real event Kurt read about in the newspaper and he chose to sing it from the criminal’s perspective,” said Courtney Love during the 30th anniversary of Nevermind in 2021. “You can’t write that song today, from the point of view of the perpetrator. Kurt would definitely not be allowed to sing ‘Polly’ today, and I think that’s pretty sad.”
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Cobain, himself, was staunchly against any form of violence against women, specifically rape, and the band was very outspoken about the subject, along with being supporters of women’s rights issues. The band fell under more scrutiny around their 1993 In Utero single “Rape Me,” which Cobain called an “anti-rape” song and more about the poetic justice of rape, and a rapist getting what they deserved.
“Rape is one of the most terrible crimes on earth, and it happens every few minutes,” said Cobain in the same interview in ’91. “The problem with groups who deal with rape is that they try to educate women about how to defend themselves. What really needs to be done is teaching men not to rape. Go to the source and start there.”
Cobain added, “I was talking to a friend of mine, who went to a rape crisis center where women are taught judo and karate. She looked out the window and saw a football pitch full of boys, and thought those are the people that should really be in this class.”
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If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline:
(800) 656 HOPE (4673)
http://www.rainn.org
Crisis Text Line:
SMS: Text “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741
Photo: Paul Bergen/Redferns
