A year before Nirvana released “Marigold” as a B-side to “Heart-Shaped Box,” Dave Grohl had already recorded the song under the pseudonym Late! on his cassette-only release, Pocketwatch. When he brought the song to Nirvana, “Marigold” became the only song released by the band with Grohl as the lead singer.
“I think it might have been Steve [Albini] who said, ‘Marigold’ should maybe be on the album,'” said Grohl in 2013 about presenting the song to producer Albini and the band during their In Utero session. “I was terrified. No, no, wait. It was that famous joke: ‘What’s the last thing the drummer said before he got kicked out of the band? Hey, I wrote a song.’”
Ultimately, “Marigold” didn’t make the album, which relieved Grohl, who later released a live version of “Marigold” with Foo Fighters on their 2006 live acoustic album, Skin and Bones. The Nirvana version also appeared on the band’s 2004 box set With the Lights Out.
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“Obviously, it didn’t make it [‘In Utero’],'” said Grohl. “I’m glad, because the album retained the integrity of Kurt’s vision. But I was incredibly flattered. ‘Really, you like that?’”
“Color Pictures of a Marigold”
Originally titled “Color Pictures of a Marigold,” Grohl’s Late! version is more stripped back with vocals and guitar capturing the slightly convoluted lyrics. Here’s there in case I won it all … He’s scare in case I want it all sings Grohl.
The annual blooms, which typically grow from the late spring through fall are known to symbolize life and death. Centered around the bright blossoms, Grohl’s lyrics may speak to the complex feelings around wants, desires, success and the pace at which time passes.
He’s there in case I won it all
He’s scared ’cause I want
He’s scared in case I want it all
He’s scared ’cause I want
All in all the clock is slow
Six color pictures all in a row
Of a marigold
He’s there in case I won it all
He’s scared ’cause I want
He’s there in case I won it all
He’s scared ’cause I want
All in all the clock is slow
Six color pictures all in a row
Of a marigold
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For more than a decade, Foo Fighters never featured “Marigold” on their setlist until the band started their 2006 theater tour, which was used for Skin and Bones. On July 14, 2006, Foo Fighters performed “Marigold” for the first time during a show at the Berkeley Community Theatre in Berkeley, California and would continue making its way into sets for another four years.
The last time that Grohl performed the song was during a secret show at Paladino’s in Los Angeles in 2010 with Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear joining him before wiping the song from the Foo Fighters’ setlist again for more than a decade.
In 2022, Grohl revisited “Marigold” and played the song for the first time in 12 years during the annual Chicago benefit show, Letters To Santa: The 24-Hour Comedy And Music Marathon.
Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images
