All Apologies

Cobain wrote it in 1990. Craig Montgomery recorded a first studio version at Music Source Studios in Seattle on 1 January 1991. The In Utero version was cut at Pachyderm on 14 February 1993, tentatively titled La La La. It has cello by Kera Schaley, a friend of Albini's who played in the Chicago band Doubt. Albini was initially resistant. Schaley said Cobain loved the deep sound. Cobain complained that the vocals were too quiet in Albini's mixes, and Scott Litt remixed the song at Bad Animals in May 1993.

At Reading on 30 August 1992 Cobain dedicated the song to Love and their daughter. He told Azerrad he liked to think it was for them, and he described its mood as peaceful, happy, comfort.

Singles and Unplugged

It was released on 6 December 1993 as a double A-side with Rape Me. It was the second In Utero single and the last before Cobain's death. It reached number one on Modern Rock Tracks and 32 in the UK. No studio video was made, so MTV aired the version recorded for Unplugged on 18 November 1993, with Pat Smear and Lori Goldston. That version was promoted as a single in February 1994 and is on MTV Unplugged in New York. Spin's Kyle McGovern called it the definitive rendition in 2014.

Time's Christopher John Farley called it the best song on In Utero. Q ranked it first of the 10 greatest Nirvana songs in 2004, and it is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1995.

Live

The band played it for the last time at its final concert in Munich on 1 March 1994. At the 2014 Hall of Fame induction Lorde sang it, and at FireAid on 30 January 2025 Violet Grohl sang it.