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{{Short description|1993 song by Nirvana}}
{{For|the 2007 book by Joe Hill|Heart-Shaped Box (novel)}}
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{{Infobox song
| name        = Heart-Shaped Box
| cover       = Nirvana-usa-heartshaped-box-geffen-s.jpg
| alt         =
| caption     = UK picture sleeve
| type        = single
| artist      = [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]
| album       = [[In Utero]]
| B-side      = 
* "[[Marigold (Dave Grohl song)|Marigold]]"
* "Milk It" 
* "Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip"
| released    = {{start date|1993|8|30}}
| recorded    = February 1993 
| studio      = [[Pachyderm Studios|Pachyderm]] ([[Cannon Falls, Minnesota]])
| genre       = [[Grunge]]<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html?p=3 |title=The 50 Best Grunge Songs |magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |last=Danaher |first=Michael |date=August 4, 2014 |access-date=March 14, 2016 |archive-date=March 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320171523/http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-grunge-songs.html?p=3 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| length      = 4:39
| label       = [[DGC Records|DGC]]
| writer      = [[Kurt Cobain]]
| producer    = [[Steve Albini]]
| prev_title  = [[Puss / Oh, the Guilt]]
| prev_year   = 1993
| next_title  = [[All Apologies]]
| next_title2 = [[Rape Me]]
| next_year   = 1993
| misc        = {{Extra track listing
 | album  = [[In Utero]]
 | type   = studio
 | tracks = {{In Utero tracks}}
}}
{{External music video|{{Plainlist|
*{{YouTube|n6P0SitRwy8|"Heart-Shaped Box"}}
*{{YouTube|UThKn_TmfmM|"Heart-Shaped Box" (Director's Cut)}}}}
|header=Music videos}}
}}

"'''Heart-Shaped Box'''" is a song by the American [[grunge music|grunge]] band [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], written by vocalist and guitarist [[Kurt Cobain]]. It appears as the third track on the band's third and final studio album, ''[[In Utero]]'', released by [[DGC Records]] in September 1993. It was one of two songs on ''In Utero'' remixed by [[Scott Litt]] prior to the album's release, due to the band's dissatisfaction with the original mixing by producer [[Steve Albini]]. The Litt remix also featured additional vocal harmonies and guitar by Cobain, which were the only elements on the album's 12 main tracks not recorded during the original sessions with Albini in February 1993.

In [[Michael Azerrad|Michael Azerrad's]] 1993 [[Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana|Nirvana biography]], Cobain explained that "Heart-Shaped Box" was written about children with terminal cancer.<ref name="auto3"/> However, the song is generally also believed to be about his relationship with his wife, [[Courtney Love]], of the American rock band, [[Hole (band)|Hole]].

"Heart-Shaped Box" was released as ''In Utero's'' first single on August 30, 1993. Although the single was not released in the United States, to avoid competing with album sales, the song generated considerable American radio airplay, reaching number one on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Alternative Songs|Modern Rock Tracks]] chart. The physical single reached the top 10 in several countries, including Portugal, the [[UK Singles Chart|United Kingdom]], Ireland, Finland, and New Zealand. It also reached to [[Top 40]] in numerous other countries. 

"Heart-Shaped Box" was the final song performed at Nirvana's last concert, on March 1, 1994, in [[Munich, Germany]]. It was also the final Nirvana song to receive a music video before the [[Suicide of Kurt Cobain|suicide of Cobain]] in April 1994. The video, directed by [[Anton Corbijn]], won two awards, including [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video|Best Alternative Video]], at the [[1994 MTV Video Music Awards]].

==Early history==

"Heart-Shaped Box" was written by Cobain in early 1992 at the apartment in the [[Fairfax Avenue|Fairfax]] district of [[Los Angeles, California]], he shared with his wife, the American musician [[Courtney Love]].<ref name="auto3">Azerrad, pp. 324–25.</ref> In a 1994 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' interview with [[David Fricke]], Love recalled hearing Cobain work on the guitar riff for the first time:

<blockquote>The only time I asked him for a riff for one of my songs, he was in the closet. We had this huge closet, and I heard him in there working on 'Heart-Shaped Box.' He did that in five minutes. Knock, knock, knock. 'What?' 'Do you need that riff?' 'Fuck you!' Slam. ''[Laughs]'' He was trying to be so sneaky. I could hear that one from downstairs.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Fricke |first1=David |title=Courtney Love: Life Without Kurt |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/courtney-love-life-without-kurt-81520/ |access-date=27 September 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=15 December 1994}}</ref></blockquote>

Cobain briefly set the song aside, then resumed work on it after he and Love moved to an apartment in [[Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles]].<ref>Azerrad, pp. 325.</ref> Nirvana's first attempts to work on it were unsuccessful; Cobain said he waited for bassist [[Krist Novoselic]] and drummer [[Dave Grohl]] "to come up with something but it just turned into noise all the time".<ref name="Azerrad, p. 325">Azerrad, p. 325.</ref> Eventually, during one jam session, Cobain said he "came up with the vocal style instantly and it just all flowed out real fast. We finally realized that it was a good song."<ref name="Azerrad, p. 325"/>

"Heart-Shaped Box" was first performed live on January 16, 1993, at the [[Hollywood Rock|Hollywood Rock Festival]] in [[São Paulo, Brazil]]. It was first recorded in the studio a few days later, at [[Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG Ariola]] studios in Rio de Janeiro.<ref name="auto6">{{cite book |last1=Gaar |first1=Gillian G. |title=In Utero |date=2006 |publisher=Continuum Publishing |isbn=0-8264-1776-0 |pages=25}}</ref> Producer Craig Montgomery recalled hearing the song during the band's soundcheck in São Paulo, saying that "even then Kurt knew this was the single&nbsp;... All the other [new] stuff they had was way more noisy and abrasive than this. Even the other sound guys that were out there on the platform with me were going, 'Yeah, this is a good song.{{'"}}<ref name="auto6"/> The band's guitar tech, Ernie Bailey, also had a positive initial reaction to the song in Brazil, saying that "you could tell this was an important song, in a lot of ways. You knew that it just had a lot of weight to it, even the first time you heard it."<ref name="auto6"/>

Two versions of the song were recorded at BMG Ariola, with the initial take being done to test the studio's equipment. The second take was posthumously released on the band's rarities box set, ''[[With the Lights Out]]'', in November 2004, and on the compilation album ''[[Sliver: The Best of the Box]]'' in November 2005. On January 23, the band again performed "Heart-Shaped Box" live, at the Hollywood Rock Festival in Rio de Janeiro. These early versions of the song featured unfinished lyrics and what music journalist Gillian G. Gaar called "a far more experimental solo, more akin to the group's improvs".<ref name="auto6"/>

==''In Utero''==

The final studio version of "Heart-Shaped Box" was recorded in February 1993 by [[Steve Albini]] at [[Pachyderm Studios]] in [[Cannon Falls, Minnesota]], for the band's third studio album, ''[[In Utero]]''. Work on the song began on February 14, the second day of recording. According to Albini in a 2013 interview for the audio series ''Spotify Landmark'', "Heart-Shaped Box" was the only song recorded during the sessions that required "more than a couple of takes", along with eventual fourth single, "[[Pennyroyal Tea]]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Albini |first1=Steve |title=Spotify Landmark: Nirvana's In Utero |url=https://open.spotify.com/album/62Eg7rm61rMiZWjjZ98UER |website=Spotify |date=September 17, 2013 |access-date=September 27, 2022}}</ref>

In a 2013 ''Rolling Stone'' interview with Fricke, Grohl recalled that "everyone was concerned about the tempo of 'Heart-Shaped Box.' But [[metronome|click tracks]] were not cool. Kurt and Steve came up with this idea — we should use a [[strobe light]] [laughs]. We had this long conversation about how it won't dictate the tempo, just imply the tempo.&nbsp;... I sat there for a take or two with this fucking strobe light in my face until I practically had a seizure."<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Fricke |first1=David |title=Q&A: Dave Grohl on Kurt's Last Days and the Making of 'In Utero' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/qa-dave-grohl-on-kurts-last-days-and-the-making-of-in-utero-2-108580/ |access-date=September 27, 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=September 24, 2013}}</ref>

Despite his overall satisfaction with the recording, Novoselic was unhappy with the original [[effects pedal|effect]] used during the song's guitar solo, and recalled arguing with Cobain and Albini about it:

<blockquote>These were the words I said: 'Why do you want to take such a beautiful song and throw this hideous abortion in the middle of it? And they're like, 'Well, I don't know, it sounds good.' They didn't have any arguments, because they were sabotaging it is what they were doing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gaar |first1=Gillian G. |title=In Utero |date=2006 |publisher=Continuum Publishing |isbn=0-8264-1776-0 |pages=54}}</ref></blockquote>

===Remix===

The guitar effect was eventually removed when the song was remixed, along with second single "[[All Apologies]]", by [[Scott Litt]] at Bad Animal Studios in Seattle in May 1993, several months before the album's release. Cobain and Novoselic had agreed that the vocals and bass were too quiet in Albini's original mix of the album, and elected to have the two future singles remixed. Litt's remix of "Heart-Shaped Box" also featured newly recorded vocal harmonies and acoustic guitar by Cobain.<ref>Azerrad, p. 338.</ref>

==Later performances==

On September 25, 1993, the band performed "Heart-Shaped Box", along with "[[Rape Me]]", on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' at [[NBC Studios (New York City)|NBC Studios]] in New York City. It was their first show with second guitarist [[Pat Smear]].

"Heart-Shaped Box" was the final song played at Nirvana's last show, on March 1, 1994, at Terminal 1 of [[Munich-Riem Airport]] in [[Munich, Germany]].<ref name="lastgig">{{cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=March 1, 2019 |title=Flashback: Nirvana Play Gut-Wrenching Encore at Last Concert |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-nirvana-play-gut-wrenching-encore-at-last-concert-128265/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |location=New York City |publisher=[[Wenner Media]] |access-date=July 20, 2018}}</ref>

==Composition==

{{Listen
 |filename = Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box.ogg
 |title = "Heart-Shaped Box"
 |description = "Heart-Shaped Box", released as the first single from ''In Utero'', was remixed by [[Scott Litt]] in May 1993. Displeased with [[Steve Albini]]'s original mix of the song, Nirvana had Litt increase the volume of the vocals and bass guitar, and Cobain added backing vocals and acoustic guitar.}}
"Heart-Shaped Box" is a [[grunge]] and [[alternative rock]] song that lasts for a duration of four minutes and thirty-nine seconds.<ref name="Cobain">{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0067115|title=Nirvana 'Heart-Shaped Box' Sheet Music in A Minor - Download & Print|last=Cobain|first=Kurt|work=Musicnotes.com|date=August 5, 2008 |publisher=[[BMG Rights Management]]|access-date=March 28, 2019}}</ref> According to the [[sheet music]] published at Musicnotes.com by [[BMG Rights Management]], it is written in a 4/4 [[time signature]], with a moderate [[tempo]] of 100 [[Tempo#Beats per minute|beats per minute]].<ref name="Cobain"/> It is in the [[Key (music)|key]] of [[A-flat minor|A{{music|flat}} minor]], modulating to [[A♭ (musical note)|A{{music|flat}}]] [[Dorian mode|dorian]] on the verses, while Kurt Cobain's [[vocal range]] spans one [[octave]], from the low note of [[A♭ (musical note)|A{{music|flat}}<sub>3</sub>]] to the high note of [[A♭ (musical note)|A{{music|flat}}<sub>4</sub>]].<ref name="Cobain"/>

The song has a basic sequence of A{{music|flat}}<sup>5</sup>–F{{music|flat}}<sup>5</sup>–D{{music|flat}}<sup>5</sup>–A{{music|flat}}–F{{music|flat}}<sup>5</sup>–D{{music|flat}}<sup>7</sup> in the verses and A{{music|flat}}<sup>5</sup>–F{{music|flat}}<sup>5</sup>–D{{music|flat}}<sup>7</sup> during the chorus as its [[chord progression]].<ref name="Cobain" /> Journalist Gillian Gaar described "Heart-Shaped Box" as "the Nirvana formula personified, with a restrained, descending riff played through the verse, building in intensity to the cascading passion of the chorus".<ref name="Gaar53" />

=== Lyrics ===

[[File:Courtney Love 1995 by Andrzej Liguz.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.9|[[Courtney Love]] performing with [[Hole (band)|Hole]] in 1995. Cobain's relationship with Love, whom he married in February 1992, is believed to have inspired the lyrics of "Heart-Shaped Box".|alt=Woman playing guitar and screaming into microphone]]

In the 1993 Nirvana biography ''[[Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana]]'', Cobain told author [[Michael Azerrad]] that "Heart-Shaped Box" was written about children with cancer. "Every time I see documentaries about little kids with cancer I just freak out", he explained. "It affects me on the highest emotional level, more than anything else on television."<ref name="auto3"/> As Azerrad noted, however, the song's lyrics were more likely about Love. [[Charles R. Cross]], author of the 2001 Cobain biography ''[[Heavier Than Heaven]]'', described the lyric, "I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black" as "what has to be the most convoluted route any songwriter undertook in pop history to say 'I love you'".<ref name="Cross, p. 281">Cross, p. 281.</ref> Garr wrote that "while the song does reference [cancer], the lyrics appear more to address the physical and emotional dependencies inherent in relationships."<ref name="Gaar53">Gaar, p. 53.</ref>

Cobain's unused liner notes for ''In Utero'', first described in ''Heavier Than Heaven'' and published in ''[[Journals (Cobain)|Journals]]'' the following year, featured an explanation for "Heart-Shaped Box" that "fell completely apart", according to Cross, "but touched on ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', {{'}}''[[I Claudius]]''{{'}}, [[Leonardo da Vinci]], male seahorses (who carry their young), racism in the Old West, and [[Camille Paglia]]".<ref name="Cross, p. 281"/>

The song's title was inspired by the collection of heart-shaped candy boxes Love kept in the front room of the Fairfax apartment she and Cobain lived in.<ref name="auto3"/> However, early versions of the song featured the word "coffin" rather than "box". According to Bailey, the song also featured the working title "New Complaint."<ref>Gaar, p. 25.</ref> In a 1993 interview with ''[[Circus (magazine)|Circus]]'', Cobain explained that the chorus lyrics "Hey / Wait / I've got a new complaint" were a reference to how he believed he was often perceived by the media.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mothersole |first=Ben |date=November 30, 1993 |title=Nirvana's Kurt Cobain: Getting to Know Utero |work=[[Circus (magazine)|Circus]] |url=http://www.nirvanaclub.com/info/articles/11.30.93.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060326195926/http://www.nirvanaclub.com/info/articles/11.30.93.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=March 26, 2006 |access-date=April 30, 2018 |via=nirvanaclub.com}}</ref>

In 2012, Love wrote on [[Twitter]] that "Heart-Shaped Box" was about her vagina. Tweeting to the American musician [[Lana Del Rey]], who had covered the song at [[Born to Die Tour|a concert]] in [[Sydney]], [[Australia]], the previous week, Love wrote, "You do know the song is about my Vagina right? 'Throw down your umbilical noose so i can climb right back,' umm&nbsp;... On top of which some of the lyrics about my vagina I contributed." The tweets were deleted shortly after.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Courtney Love Tells Lana Del Rey That 'Heart-Shaped Box' Is About Her Vagina |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/courtney-love-tells-lana-del-rey-that-heart-shaped-box-is-about-her-vagina-192019/ |access-date=September 27, 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=July 30, 2012}}</ref>

==Release==

"Heart-Shaped Box" was released as ''In Utero's'' first commercial single on August 30, 1993, on CD, [[cassette tape]], and 7-inch, and 12-inch vinyl record formats.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=27|date=August 28, 1993}}</ref> The single was released in Europe only and peaked at number five on the [[UK Singles Chart]], making it their highest-charting song there.<ref name="Gaar98">Gaar, p. 98.</ref> All copies of the single featured the Grohl-composed "[[Marigold (Dave Grohl song)|Marigold]]" as a B-side, while 12-inch vinyl and CD editions also included the ''In Utero'' track, "Milk It".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Gillian G. |last=Gaar |title=Verse Chorus Verse: The Recording History of Nirvana |magazine=[[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]] |publisher=[[F+W Media]] |location=New York City |date=February 14, 1997}}</ref>

In the United States, DGC sent promo copies of the song to American [[Campus radio|college]], [[modern rock]], and [[album-oriented rock]] radio stations in early September. The label did not actively court [[Top 40]] radio, with [[Geffen Records]]' head of marketing explaining that "Nirvana didn't sell nearly 5 million [records] because of a hit single. They sold that many albums because of who they are". DGC employee Mark Kates stated that "Generally we don't release commercial singles because we feel it cannibalises album sales" with fellow employee Jim Merlis adding that "European singles are released because overseas there's a whole singles market".<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Rocco |editor-first1=John |editor-last2=Rocco |editor-first2=Brian |year=1998 |title=The Nirvana Companion: Two Decades of Commentary: A Chronicle of The End of Punk |location=London |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |pages=210–211 |isbn=0711969957 |quote=Gaar, Gillian (1997). 'Verse Chorus Verse: The Recording History of Nirvana'. ''[[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]]''.}}</ref> However, the single was available in the US in limited numbers as an [[import]] release.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Borzillo |first=Carrie |author-link=Carrie Borzillo |date=April 23, 1994 |title=Cobain Mourned By Fans, Industryites In Memorials, Music Stores |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1994/1994-04-23-Billboard-Page-0100.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=102 |access-date=July 30, 2021 |quote='within a few hours of Cobain's death being confirmed on April 8, the only remaining Nirvana titles at Park Ave Records on Queen Ann Street were two "Heart Shaped Box" import CD singles', and 'One song, "Marigold," written by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, appeared on the import version of the "Heart-Shaped Box" single'.}}</ref>

"Heart-Shaped Box" entered the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart at number seven,<ref>Rosen, Craig. "Nirvana Set has Smell of Success". ''Billboard''. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved September 25, 1993. Now in {{cite book |editor1-first=John M. |editor1-last=Rocco |editor2-first=Brian |editor2-last=Rocco |chapter=Nirvana Set has Smell of Success (pp. 87ff.) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/nirvanacompanion0000unse/page/87/mode/1up |title=The Nirvana companion. Two decades of commentary. A chronicle of the end of punk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ii0UAQAAIAAJ |year=1998 |publisher=[[G. Schirmer Inc.|Schirmer Books]] |location=New York City |isbn=0-0286-4930-3 }}</ref> and eventually peaked at number one on the chart.<ref name="Billboard1">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/nirvana/chart-history/mrt/|title=Nirvana {{!}} Chart History. Alternative Songs |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=[[Valence Media]] |location=Los Angeles, California|date=October 16, 1993 |access-date=September 11, 2018}}</ref><ref name="billboard charts">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/in-utero-mw0000097301/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402032511/http://www.allmusic.com/album/in-utero-mw0000097301/awards |archive-date=April 2, 2016 |title=In Utero – Nirvana {{!}} Awards (Billboard Singles)| website=[[Allmusic]] |publisher=[[All Media Network]]|access-date=May 31, 2012}}</ref> The song also reached number four on the [[Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart.<ref name="Billboard2">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/nirvana/chart-history/rtt/ |title=Nirvana {{!}} Chart History. Mainstream Rock |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Eldridge Industries |date=November 6, 1993 |access-date=September 11, 2018}}</ref><ref name="billboard charts"/> ''[[Music & Media]]'' reported in November, 1993, that the song had been well received on Italian [[contemporary hit radio]] station [[RTL 102.5]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wonsiewicz |first=Steve |date=November 6, 1993 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1993/MM-1993-11-06.pdf |title=Discerning Between Alternative & Mainstream |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |page=8 |access-date=March 21, 2023}}</ref> In Israel, it was voted in at number 27 on the [[Israel Broadcasting Authority|IBA]]'s "Voice of Israel" singles chart in September 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1of9J-7k3EqEzvgH8mZXqGv5N-oAIC30d/edit?gid=497451199#gid=497451199 |title=Israeli Singles Chart archive |website=google.com |language=he |access-date=August 17, 2024}}</ref> It was also voted in at number 13 on Poland's [[Lista Przebojów Programu Trzeciego|LP3]] chart in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lp3.pl/wykonawca/808 |title=Archiwum Listy Przebojow - Trojki - Nrivana |website=www.lp3.pl |publisher=[[Polskie Radio]]|access-date=August 6, 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241010010630/https://www.lp3.pl/wykonawca/808 |archive-date=October 10, 2024}}</ref>

===Critical reception===
{{music ratings|noprose=yes
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref>{{AllMusic|id=mw0000920424|accessdate=November 13, 2025}}</ref>
}}
Reviewing ''In Utero'' for ''Rolling Stone'', Fricke called "Heart-Shaped Box" "the kind of song [[Stone Temple Pilots]] couldn't write even with detailed instructions", and cited it as evidence, along with "[[Dumb (Nirvana song)|Dumb]]", that if [[Generation X]] "is ever going to have its own [[John Lennon|Lennon]] — someone who genuinely believes in rock & roll salvation but doesn't confuse mere catharsis with true deliverance — Cobain is damn near it".<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Fricke |first1=David |title=In Utero |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/in-utero-248756/#:~:text=It's%20the%20last%20thing%20most,a%20triumph%20of%20the%20will. |access-date=September 27, 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=September 16, 1993}}</ref> Phil Alexander of ''[[Kerrang!]]'' wrote that "on the current single Heart-Shaped Box, the sublime All Apologies&nbsp;... and the convalescent croon of Penny Royal Tea, [Cobain] re-stakes his claim as one of his generation's most absorbing songsmiths."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Phil |url=https://www.kerrang.com/this-is-the-sound-of-absolution-nirvana-in-utero-original-kerrang-review-1993 |title='This is the sound of absolution': Our original 1993 review of Nirvana's In Utero |access-date=September 28, 2022 |work=Kerrang! |date=September 21, 2020}}</ref> John Mulvey of the ''[[NME]]'' called the song "a strangulated, semi-f-ed-up anthem of sorts for a generation who fell in love to '[[Smells Like Teen Spirit|Teen Spirit]]' and are now as disturbed as Kurt by a growing sense of maturity".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mulvey |first1=John |title=Nirvana: In Utero – 04/09/93 |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nirvana-7373-305610 |access-date=September 27, 2022 |work=NME |date=September 4, 1994}}</ref>

===Legacy===

In his review of Nirvana's [[Nirvana (Nirvana album)|eponymous greatest hits album]] in 2002, Will Bryant of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' wrote, "I've always considered 'Heart-Shaped Box', with its elliptical guitar figure and explosive choruses, to be one of Cobain's most accomplished compositions. For all its heavy-handed symbolism, the song strikes deepest to Cobain's preoccupation with birth, the menstrual cycle, and female anatomy, wound tightly with primal tension in the verses and released with sublime catharsis in the choruses." Andrew Romano of ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' called it "as close as Cobain ever got to a perfect song", with "a perfect music video to match".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Romano |first1=Andrew |title=How Nirvana Shot the 'Heart-Shaped Box' Video |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-nirvana-shot-the-heart-shaped-box-video |access-date=September 27, 2022 |work=The Daily Beast |date=September 13, 2013}}</ref>

In 1999, the song was voted number 10 in ''[[Kerrang!]]'' magazine's "100 Greatest Rock Tracks Ever!"<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://imgur.com/AdPV3Nm |title=100 Greatest Rock Tracks Ever |quote=As voted for by readers |magazine=[[Kerrang!]] |publisher=Wasted Talent Ltd.|location=London, England|date=April 17, 1999 |issue=746 |page=38 |access-date=August 26, 2019}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' and ''Kerrang!'' ranked the song number one and number two, respectively, on their lists of the 20 greatest Nirvana songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jun/20/nirvanas-20-greatest-songs-ranked|title=Nirvana's 20 greatest songs – ranked!|first=Alexis|last=Petridis|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=June 20, 2019|accessdate=May 3, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-20-greatest-nirvana-songs-ranked|title=The 20 greatest Nirvana songs – ranked|first=Sam|last=Law|website=[[Kerrang!|Kerrang]]|date=March 7, 2021|accessdate=May 3, 2023}}</ref> In 2022, ''Pitchfork'' readers voted it the 30th best song of the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |title=The 100 Best Songs and Albums of the 1990s, According to Pitchfork Readers |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interactives/1990s-readers-poll-results/ |access-date=October 26, 2022 |work=Pitchfork |date=October 26, 2022}}</ref> In November 2025, the song surpassed one billion [[Music streaming service|streams]] on [[Spotify]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Armstrong |first=Sam |date=November 11, 2025 |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/nirvana-heart-shaped-box-spotify-billions-club/ |title=Nirvana's 'Heart-Shaped Box' Joins Spotify's Billions Club |work=[[UDiscoverMusic]] |access-date=November 16, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251116165502/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/nirvana-heart-shaped-box-spotify-billions-club/ |archive-date=November 16, 2025}}</ref>

===20th anniversary version===

A second "Heart-Shaped Box" single was released in September 2013, to promote the 20th anniversary re-release of ''In Utero''. The three-track promo CD single was included with the first 2000 copies of the "Super Deluxe" edition of the re-issue, and featured Albini's original mix of the song and a remix prepared by Albini in 2013 as B-sides.<ref name="Discogs4">{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Nirvana-Heart-Shaped-Box/release/4955614 | title=Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box' (2013 20th Anniversary promo single). Companies, credits, notes, barcode |work=Discogs | date=September 23, 2013 |access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref><br />

==Music video==

[[File:Anton Corbijn (Berlinale 2012).jpg|alt=|upright|thumb| [[Anton Corbijn]], director of the "Heart-Shaped Box" music video, pictured in 2012.]]

===Preliminary work===

The "Heart-Shaped Box" video was the only music video made for ''In Utero'', and the last video released by the band. Cobain had originally approached American filmmaker [[Kevin Kerslake]], who had directed the band's last four music videos, for the songs "[[Come as You Are (Nirvana song)|Come as You Are]]", "[[Lithium (Nirvana song)|Lithium]]", "[[In Bloom]]", and "[[Sliver (song)|Sliver]]", to direct it. Five treatments were prepared by Kerslake between July 14 and August 12, and included scenes of Cobain kissing American author [[William S. Burroughs]], whom Cobain had wanted in the video, and the band hanging by their necks from tree branches. However, no shoot arrangements were made, and by the end of August, the group had elected to work with [[Dutch people|Dutch]] photographer and [[music video director|video director]] [[Anton Corbijn]] instead.

Corbijn believes he was chosen to work on the video on the recommendation of Love, and cited his connection to [[Echo & the Bunnymen]], a rock band from [[Liverpool, England]] where Love briefly lived and whom Love admired. According to Corbijn, Cobain had asked to be sent the music videos he had directed for Echo & the Bunnymen shortly before receiving a fax from Novoselic with drawings and ideas about a Nirvana video.<ref name="auto4">Gaar, p. 88.</ref>

As Corbijn recalled, Cobain's proposed treatment for the video was "incredibly precise. More precise than I've ever had for a video. I loved it, but initially I was a bit taken aback that somebody came up with so many ideas, because generally my videos are my own ideas&nbsp;... But then I looked at it and I thought that actually it was pretty good. I was very amazed by somebody writing a song and having those ideas as precise as he did."<ref>Gaar, pp. 89–91.</ref> According to Novoselic, Cobain's original treatment was two pages long; Novoselic recalled typing it on his new [[laptop]] while Cobain dictated.<ref name="auto4"/>

===Filming===

The "Heart-Shaped Box" video was filmed on August 31 and September 1 at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles. Cobain had requested the video be shot in [[Technicolor]], but as Corbijn recalled, "somehow it was not possible; maybe the whole system had been sold to [[China]] or something." Instead, Corbijn and his producer came up with the idea to shoot the video in color, then convert it to black and white and have every frame hand-tinted. The process took weeks and led to the vivid brightness of the video's colors.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last1=Romano |first1=Andrew |title=How Nirvana Shot the 'Heart-Shaped Box' Video |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-nirvana-shot-the-heart-shaped-box-video |access-date=October 5, 2022 |work=Daily Beast |date=September 13, 2013}}</ref>

In a 2013 interview with Andrew Romano of ''[[Daily Beast]]'', Corbijn recalled "a really eerie moment" where the actor playing the video's elderly man, "fell down while walking, on the set. He had some kind of [[bowel cancer]], which he didn't know. Something broke open. There was blood everywhere. We had to get the ambulance, and he had to go to the hospital straight off. It was really severe." According to Corbijn, the old man was the most difficult to cast because finding "an old man who looked like an old man in L.A. was not so easy&nbsp;... In the end we found this fantastic man who had a jazz club or a jazz station on the radio, something like that."<ref name="auto"/> Cobain had originally wanted Burroughs to play the role of the elderly man, but Burroughs declined, although they later met and collaborated on the spoken word piece, "[[The "Priest" They Called Him|The 'Priest' They Called Him]]".

According to Corbijn, the two other characters in the video, the overweight woman and the young girl, were easier to cast, "although it was difficult sometimes I think for the child to act because there was blood coming out of her blouse at some point."<ref name="auto"/>

Corbijn remembered Cobain as "very alert. Smart boy. Very intelligent. He did everything I asked him to do."<ref name="auto"/> According to [[Cali DeWitt]], who briefly worked as the Cobains' nanny, Cobain and Love had fought on set, with Cobain putting out a cigarette on his forehead in retaliation to Love's repeated reminders that this was an "important video" and that he needed to "look good". As DeWitt told author [[Everett True]], "if you watch the video, there's a lot of make-up on his forehead because it was a really bad scab, big and in the center. In the close-ups, there's a strip of hair that never seems to move from the middle of his forehead. They had to paste some hair over it."<ref>{{cite book |last1=True |first1=Everett |title=Nirvana: The Biography |date=October 1, 2006 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn= 1844496406 |page=487}}</ref>

===Synopsis===

The "Heart-Shaped Box" video begins and ends with the band watching the elderly man on a hospital bed being administered medication through an [[Intravenous therapy|IV drip]]. Most of the video takes place in what Garr called "a surreal 'outdoor' setting; a field of bright red [[poppy|poppies]] with a large [[Christian cross|cross]] standing in the middle, adjacent to a wood of creepy old trees (both elements in key scenes in ''The Wizard of Oz'')."<ref name="Gaar, p. 90">Gaar, p. 90.</ref> During the song's first verse, the elderly man, wearing a [[Santa Claus]] hat and loincloth, climbs onto the cross, which is covered by crows. The second verse introduces the young girl in what appears to be a [[Ku Klux Klan]] robe and peaked hat reaching for human [[fetus]]es in a tree, and the overweight woman in a human organ body suit with angel wings affixed to her back, similar to the winged [[anatomical model]] on the cover of ''In Utero''. At one point during the second verse, the girl attempts to chase the three crows from the cross while the old man, now wearing a [[mitre]], is tied to it.

During the song's guitar solo, the girl's hat is blown off her head and falls into a puddle in the poppy field, where it turns black. A brief shot during the solo reveals a fetus in the IV drip. The third verse features Cobain singing directly into the camera without his guitar, while Grohl and Novoselic stand behind him in a room with stars on the walls. The room is actually a box designed by Corbijn with a large heart on top, but the band initially disapproved of the way it looked, and Novoselic asked that it not be filmed from a distance.<ref name="auto1">Gaar, p. 91.</ref> A brief shot of the box, with the heart above, appears at the start of the final chorus.

The band is featured performing with their instruments during the first two choruses, and without their instruments in what appears to be the same star-decorated box, zoomed out to reveal a bed, nightstand with a lamp on it, and rocking chair, during the final chorus. Both the sky and the walls of the box are blue during the quieter verses, and red during their heavier choruses and the solo. During the video Cobain repeatedly charges the camera, and his face moves in and out of focus until he falls out of the rocking chair.<ref name="Gaar, p. 90"/>

As Garr pointed out, the Ku Klux Klan imagery recalled Cobain's original idea for the "In Bloom" video,<ref name="Gaar, p. 90"/> which was to feature a young girl born into the KKK who eventually rejects her parents as "evil".<ref name="azerrad291">Azerrad, p. 291</ref>

In his interview with ''The Daily Beast'', Corbijn estimated that he came up with "maybe 15 percent" of the video's ideas, with the rest being Cobain's. "The big woman, for instance, was my idea", he explained. "For me that was [[Earth goddess|Mother Earth]]. There were a few other things, like the mechanical birds and the fake butterflies and stuff."<ref name="auto"/> Corbijn also said the idea to have a crow [[lip sync]] parts of the first chorus was his, calling it an example of his "Dutch humor".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ducker |first1=Eric |title=Nirvana's 'In Utero' Is 20: Anton Corbijn On 'Heart-Shaped Box' Video, 'Ideal' Collaboration With Kurt Cobain |url=https://www.spin.com/2013/09/nirvana-in-utero-20-anton-corbijn-heart-shaped-box-kurt-cobain/ |access-date=October 12, 2022 |work=Spin |date=September 18, 2013}}</ref> According to Garr, Cobain had originally wanted to use real animals.<ref name="auto1"/> Corbijn also added the ladder that the elderly man used to climb up the cross, the box that the band performed in, and the road through the poppy field.<ref name="auto1"/>

==="Director's Cut"===

While editing the video, Corbijn was visited by Cobain and Love, and urged by the latter to use the extended shot of Cobain singing the third verse. As Corbijn later explained, "Kurt looked amazing, and Courtney wanted to keep that shot till the very end. It was a very long take, but she persuaded Kurt to go with that."<ref name="auto1"/> However, Corbijn then edited a different version which replaced this shot with additional footage of the young girl and woman, as well as scenes of Cobain lying in the poppy field, covered in mist.

According to Corbijn, "They used Courtney's edit initially, and then they put mine out as well. And my edit became the video in the end." This version also appeared on the DVD ''[[Directors Label#Volume 6: The Work of Director Anton Corbijn|The Work of Director Anton Corbijn]]'' in 2005.<ref name="auto2">Gaar, p. 93.</ref><ref>{{YouTube|UThKn_TmfmM|Nirvana – "Heart-Shaped Box" (Director's Cut)}}</ref> Both the "Original" and "Director's Cut" versions of the video appeared as bonus footage in 2013 on the ''[[Live and Loud (Nirvana video)|Live and Loud]]'' DVD, which was issued as a standalone release as well as part of the 20th anniversary ''In Utero'' "Super Deluxe" package.

===Lawsuit===

On March 9, 1994, Kerslake sued Nirvana over the "Heart-Shaped Box" video, alleging copyright infringement.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/1994/biz/news/nirvana-sued-over-box-vid-119152/ |title=Nirvana Sued Over Box Vid|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=March 10, 1994|access-date=August 25, 2018}}</ref> According to ''Nirvana: A Day by Day Eyewitness Chronicle'' by  Carrie Borzillo, Kerslake discovered that he would no longer be directing the video on August 28, 1993, and sent a letter to Corbijn to ensure that none of the images in his five treatments would appear in the final video. Kerslake's lawsuit stated that both Cobain and Nirvana's record company had approved Kerslake's third treatment for the video, with Cobain describing it as "Perfect".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Borzillo |first1=Carrie |title=Nirvana: A Day by Day Eyewitness Chronicle |date=January 1, 2000 |publisher=Carlton Books |isbn=9781842220245 |page=147}}</ref>

On September 1, 1993, Cobain called Kerslake and invited him to the [[1993 MTV Video Music Awards]] the following day, where Kerslake's video for "In Bloom" was nominated for [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video|Best Alternative Video]]. Kerslake accepted the invitation, and joined the band onstage after they won the award. Soon after Kerslake wrote Cobain a letter, addressed to "kurdt", thanking him for the invitation but expressing his unhappiness over reports that his alleged ideas had been used in Corbijn's shoot. Cobain did not respond, but a meeting was set up between attorneys and the record label to discuss the video.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Borzillo |first1=Carrie |title=Nirvana: A Day by Day Eyewitness Chronicle |date=January 1, 2000 |publisher=Carlton Books |isbn=9781842220245 |page=149}}</ref>

The case did not affect the video's distribution, and was ultimately settled out of court.<ref>Gaar, p. 94.</ref> In 2019, Cobain's former manager [[Danny Goldberg]] discussed the lawsuit in his Cobain biography ''[[Serving the Servant]]'', writing that "after the video was aired, Kerslake sued Kurt, claiming, absurdly in my opinion, that he was responsible for the idea of 'Heart Shaped Box.' Kurt was deeply offended. After he died the remaining members of Nirvana settled with Kerslake."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldberg |first1=Danny |title=Serving the Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain |year=2019 |location=New York |publisher=Ecco Press |isbn=978-0062861504 |edition=First}}</ref>

===Reception===

The "Heart-Shaped Box" music video was the number one most played music video for four weeks on [[MTV]] in the US as recorded by ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine.<ref>
*{{cite magazine |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1993/1993-10-30-Billboard-Page-0042.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=October 30, 1993 |page=44 |title=Video Monitor |access-date=February 11, 2024}}
*{{cite magazine |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1993/1993-11-06-Billboard-Page-0052.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=November 6, 1993 |page=54 |title=Video Monitor |access-date=February 11, 2024}}
*{{cite magazine |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-11-13-N.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=November 13, 1993 |page=47 |title=Video Monitor |access-date=February 11, 2024}}
*{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1993/1993-11-20-Billboard-Page-0039.pdf |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=November 20, 1993 |page=41 |title=Video Monitor |access-date=July 21, 2019}}</ref> It was also number one on Canada's ''[[Countdown (MuchMusic)|MuchMusic Countdown]]'' for two weeks in November 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hitsofalldecades.com/chart_hits/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1354 |title=MuchMusic (Canada) Weekly Single Charts for 1993 |website=hitsofalldecades.com |access-date=July 21, 2019}}</ref> The video won two [[MTV Video Music Awards]] in 1994, for [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video|Best Alternative Video]] and for [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction|Best Art Direction]]. Since the ceremony was held after Cobain's suicide in April 1994, the awards were accepted by surviving bandmembers Grohl, Novoselic and Smear.<ref name="auto5">Gaar, p. 95.</ref> "Heart-Shaped Box" also topped the music video category in the 1993 ''[[Village Voice]]'' [[Pazz & Jop]] critics' poll.<ref name="PazzJop">{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Christgau|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres93.php|title=The 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll]|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|publisher=Voice Media|location=New York City|date=March 1, 1994|access-date=December 7, 2008|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref> The video was also placed into active rotation on [[MTV Europe]] and power play on [[The Box (British TV channel)|The Box]] in the UK and Ireland.<ref>
*{{cite magazine |date=October 30, 1993 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-10-30-OCR-Page-0030.pdf |title=Station Reports, MTV Europe, The Box |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |page=30 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |quote=Active Rotation, Power Play}}
*{{cite magazine |date=November 13, 1993 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-11-13-OCR-Page-0026.pdf |title=Station Reports, MTV Europe, The Box |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |page=26 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |quote=Active Rotation, Breakin' Out Of The Box}}
*{{cite magazine |date=December 4, 1993 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-12-04-OCR-Page-0038.pdf |title=Station Reports, MTV Europe |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |page=18 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |quote=Active Rotation}}</ref>  It was also played on ''[[Rage (TV program)|Rage]]'' in Australia.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 24, 1993 |url=https://postimg.cc/ygztjpFt |title=Music Video Television Airplay |magazine=[[ARIA Report]] |page=15 |access-date=February 16, 2024 |quote=[[MTV Australia]] was discontinued in 1993 before being restarted in 1996 with the last MTV listings to appear in the ''[[ARIA Report]]'' in issue no. 168 dated April 25, 1993. p. 16}}</ref>

Cobain was pleased with the video, saying that it came "closer to what I've seen in my mind, to what I've envisioned, than any other video."<ref name="auto2"/> Novoselic agreed that "Anton did a beautiful job on that video."<ref name="auto2"/> Cobain later asked Corbijn to direct a video for "Pennyroyal Tea", but Corbijn refused, saying that he felt "the 'Heart-Shaped Box' video was so good, I could never make a video that was as good or better."<ref>Gaar, p. 94, 95.</ref> According to Corbijn, Cobain responded by telling him he would "never make another video if you don't do it. And he didn't."<ref name="auto5"/>

===Legacy===

In 2011, ''[[NME]]'' ranked the song's music video at number 22 on its of the "100 Greatest Music Videos".<ref>{{cite web | date = July 15, 2011 | title=NME's 100 Greatest Music Videos | website=[[Stereogum]] | url= http://www.stereogum.com/749221/nmes-100-greatest-music-videos/top-stories/lead-story/ | access-date=October 7, 2013}}</ref> That same year, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine placed "Heart-Shaped Box" on its list of "The 30 All-Time Best Music Videos", where it was described as "beautiful and&nbsp;... terrible".<ref>{{cite magazine |author=ldetmer1271 | date = July 26, 2011 | title=The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos - Nirvana, 'Heart-Shaped Box' (1993) | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |publisher=[[Time, Inc.]] |location=New York City| url= https://entertainment.time.com/2011/07/28/the-30-all-time-best-music-videos/slide/nirvana-heart-shaped-box-1993/ | access-date=October 19, 2024}}</ref>

In February 2016, Grohl reunited with actress Kelsey Rohr, who played the girl in the "Heart-Shaped Box" music video 23 years earlier, at the age of six.<ref name="Rohr">{{cite news|first=Jack|last=Shepard|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/dave-grohl-met-up-with-the-girl-from-nivana-heart-shaped-box-music-video-23-years-later-a6873551.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/dave-grohl-met-up-with-the-girl-from-nivana-heart-shaped-box-music-video-23-years-later-a6873551.html |archive-date=May 9, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Dave Grohl meets the girl from Nirvana's 'Heart-Shaped Box' music video 23 years later|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|publisher=Independent Print Ltd.|location=London, England|date=February 14, 2016|access-date=February 15, 2016}}</ref> Rohr stated that "Today reminded me that I peaked at 6 years old but I was the most badass kid on the playground. Today was the absolute coolest. Or in Dave's words seeing each other today was a 'historic moment'! What a legend!"<ref name="Rohr"/>

In 2024, the song was featured in the ending of the [[The Boys season 4|Season 4]] [[Season Four Finale|finale]] of ''[[The Boys (TV series)|The Boys]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team News |date=2024-07-18 |title=Nirvana's 1990s Classic Song "Heart Shaped Box" Heard in The Season 4 Finale of "The Boys" |url=https://ghostcultmag.com/nirvanas-1990s-classic-song-heart-shaped-box-heard-in-the-season-4-finale-of-the-boys/ |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=Ghost Cult Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Track listing==
All songs were written by [[Kurt Cobain]] except where noted.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
'''CD single and 12" vinyl'''<ref name="Discogs1">{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Nirvana-Heart-Shaped-Box/release/3543682 |title=Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box'. Companies, credits, notes, barcode and all the versions released |work=[[Discogs]] |access-date=July 17, 2013}}</ref>
#"Heart-Shaped Box"&nbsp;– 4:39
#"Milk It"&nbsp;– 3:52
#"[[Marigold (Dave Grohl song)|Marigold]]" ([[Dave Grohl]])&nbsp;– 2:33

'''Cassette and 7" vinyl'''<ref name="Discogs2">{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Nirvana-Heart-Shaped-Box/release/1167834 |title=Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box' (cassette version). Companies, credits, notes, barcode |work=Discogs |date=1993 |access-date=July 17, 2013}}</ref>
#"Heart-Shaped Box"
#"Marigold" (Grohl)
{{col-break}}
'''US 12" vinyl promo single'''<ref name="Discogs3">{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/Nirvana-Heart-Shaped-Box/release/610581 |title=Nirvana – 'Heart-Shaped Box' (US 12-inch vinyl promo version). Companies, credits, notes, barcode |work=Discogs |date=1993 |access-date= June 4, 2015}}</ref>
#"Heart-Shaped Box"
#"[[Gallons of Rubbing Alcohol Flow Through the Strip]]" (Cobain, Grohl, [[Krist Novoselic|Novoselic]])

'''2013 20th Anniversary promo CD single'''<ref name="Discogs4"/><br />
(Released with first 2000 copies of the 20th Anniversary "Super Deluxe" edition of ''In Utero'')
#"Heart-Shaped Box" (Original 1993 album version, mixed by [[Scott Litt]])
#"Heart-Shaped Box" (Previously unreleased 1993 [[Steve Albini]] mix)
#"Heart-Shaped Box" (Previously unreleased 2013 Steve Albini mix)
{{col-break}}
{{col-end}}

==Personnel==
*[[Kurt Cobain]] – vocals, guitar
*[[Krist Novoselic]] – bass 
*[[Dave Grohl]] – drums

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+1993 weekly chart performance for "Heart-Shaped Box"
!scope="col"|Chart (1993)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Australia|21|artist=Nirvana|song=Heart-Shaped Box|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|Australia Alternative ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 3, 1993 |magazine=[[ARIA Report]] |title=ARIA Alternative Charts Top 20 |url=https://i.postimg.cc/VvsdZw9P/ARIA-Alternative-Charts-3rd-October-1993.jpg |issue=191 |page=11 |access-date=November 22, 2021}}</ref>
|align="center"| 1
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|31|artist=Nirvana|song=Heart-Shaped Box|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium ([[Radio 2 (Belgium)#Charts|VRT Top 30]] Flanders)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radio2.be/top-30/1993/10/02|title=Radio2 top 30: 2 October 1993|publisher=[[Radio 2 (Belgium)|Radio 2]]|access-date=March 5, 2023|language=nl|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305034942/http://www.radio2.be/top-30/1993/10/02|archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref>
|align="center"| 18
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|17|chartid=2319|rowheader=true|access-date=November 5, 2016}}
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Contemporary Album Radio (''[[The Record (magazine)|The Record]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |date=November 8, 1993 |url=https://postimg.cc/94y7wDvQ |title=Contemporary Album Radio |magazine=[[The Record (magazine)|The Record]] |page=17 |access-date=August 31, 2023}}</ref>
|align="center"| 21
|-
!scope="row"|Denmark ([[North Jutland County|ANR North Jutland]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://anrhitlisten.dk/artist.php?artistid=599 |title=ANR-Hitlisten, artistside, Nirvana |website=anrhitlisten.dk |quote=chart was then based on physical sales |access-date=August 31, 2019 |archive-date=October 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008181113/http://anrhitlisten.dk/artist.php?artistid=599 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|align="center"| 28
|-
!scope="row"| East Central Europe Airplay (''[[Music & Media]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 23, 1993 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-10-23-OCR-Page-0035.pdf |title=Regional EHR Top 20 - East Central |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |page=35 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |quote=Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland}}</ref>
|align="center"| 9
|-
!scope="row"| [[European Hot 100 Singles]] (''[[Music & Media]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 18, 1993 |title=Eurochart Hot 100 Singles |url=https://americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-09-18-OCR-Page-0014.pdf#search=%22eurochart%20hot%20100%20singles%20september%2018%201993%22 |magazine=[[Music & Media]]| page=12 |access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref>
|align="center"| 16
|-
!scope="row"| Finland ([[The Official Finnish Charts]])<ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 9, 1993 |title=Top 10 Sales in Europe |url=https://americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-10-09-OCR-Page-0013.pdf#search=%22top%2010%20sales%20in%20europe%20october%209%201993%22|magazine=[[Music & Media]]| page=13 |access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 2, 1993 |title=Top 10 Sales in Europe |url=https://americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-10-02-OCR-Page-0014.pdf#search=%22top%2010%20sales%20in%20europe%20october%209%201993%22|magazine=[[Music & Media]]| page=14 |access-date=March 23, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Pennanan">Pennanen, Timo. ''[http://suomenlistalevyt.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/new-njo.html Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972]''. Otava Publishing Company Ltd, 2003. {{ISBN|951-1-21053-X}}.</ref>
|align="center"| 9
|-
{{single chart|France|37|artist=Nirvana|song=Heart-Shaped Box|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"| Iberian Airplay (''[[Music & Media]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 25, 1993 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-09-25-OCR-Page-0025.pdf |title=Regional EHR Top 20 - Southwest (Iberia) |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |page=31 |access-date=March 19, 2023 |quote=Spain, Portugal}}</ref>
|align="center"| 7
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|6|artist=Nirvana|song=Heart-Shaped Box|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|32|artist=Nirvana|song=Heart-Shaped Box|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|36|artist=Nirvana|song=Heart-Shaped Box|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|9|artist=Nirvana|song=Heart-Shaped Box|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"| Portugal ([[Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa|AFP]])<ref>{{cite magazine |date=October 16, 1993 |title=Top 10 Sales in Europe |url=https://americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-10-16-OCR-Page-0018.pdf#search=%22top%2010%20sales%20in%20europe%20october%209%201993%22|magazine=[[Music & Media]]| page=18 |access-date=July 27, 2018}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
{{single chart|Sweden|16|artist=Nirvana|song=Heart-Shaped Box|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"| UK Singles ([[MRIB]])<ref>{{cite magazine |date=September 18, 1993 |title=Top 10 Sales in Europe |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/93/MM-1993-09-18-OCR-Page-0017.pdf#search=%22nirvana%20mrib%22 |magazine=[[Music & Media]] |page=15 |access-date=June 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 11, 1993 |work=[[Melody Maker]] |title=Charts |url=https://postimg.cc/8JG35BHJ |agency=[[MRIB]] |page=28 |access-date=June 28, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 11, 1993 |work=[[NME]] |title=Charts |url=https://postimg.cc/K1ZRnd8J |agency=[[MRIB]] |page=60 |access-date=June 28, 2022}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
{{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|5|artist=Nirvana|artistid=23268|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|UK Airplay ([[Spotlight Publications#Entertainment Research & Analysis|ERA]])<ref>{{cite news |date=September 18, 1993 |title=AIRPLAY |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-09-18-I.pdf |work=[[Music Week]] |agency=[[Spotlight Publications#Entertainment Research & Analysis|ERA]] |page=22 |access-date=July 2, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=September 18, 1993 |title=Radio Activity - Airplay 100 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Hit-Music/1993/Hit-Music-1993-09-18.pdf |work=[[Hit Music]] |agency=[[Spotlight Publications#Entertainment Research & Analysis|ERA]] |page=21 |access-date=June 17, 2023}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|14
|-
!scope="row"|[[UK Rock & Metal Singles and Albums Charts|UK Rock & Metal Singles]] ([[Chart Information Network|CIN]])<ref>{{cite news |date=September 11, 1993 |title=Heavy Rock Singles 20 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Hit-Music/1993/Hit-Music-1993-09-11.pdf |work=[[Hit Music]] |agency=[[Chart Information Network|CIN]], [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] |page=14 |access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardalternativesongs|1|artist=Nirvana|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardmainstreamrock|4|artist=Nirvana|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"| US [[Album-oriented rock|AOR]] Tracks (''[[Radio & Records]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=AOR Tracks |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-RandR-IDX/IDX/90s/93/RR-1993-10-29-OCR-Page-0056.pdf#search=%22nirvana%20heart%20shaped%20box%22 |magazine=[[Radio & Records]] |publisher=Radio & Records |date=October 29, 1993 |page=56 |access-date=February 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=AOR Tracks - Songs Reaching Top 15 in 1993 |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-RandR-IDX/IDX/90s/93/RR-1993-12-10-OCR-Page-0060.pdf#search=%22nirvana%20heart%20shaped%20box%22 |magazine=[[Radio & Records]] |publisher=Radio & Records |date=December 10, 1993 |page=60 |access-date=February 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=November 1, 1993 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Pollstar/90s/93/Pollstar-1993-11-01.pdf |title=Radio Pulse |magazine=[[Pollstar]] |page=4 |access-date=December 7, 2024}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+1995–1996 weekly chart performance for "Heart-Shaped Box"
!scope="col"|Chart (1995–1996)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|Denmark ([[Tracklisten]])<ref>{{cite magazine |date=January 20, 1996 |title=Top National Sellers|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/90s/96/MM-1996-01-20-OCR-Page-0015.pdf|magazine=[[Music & Media]]| page=15 |access-date=June 2, 2019}}</ref><br /><small>''Charted on the singles chart as part of the [[Singles (Nirvana box set)|Singles]] box set''</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
!scope="row"|France ([[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|SNEP]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Nirvana&titel=Singles&cat=s |title=Nirvana - Singles (Chanson) |website=lescharts.com |access-date=June 2, 2019}}</ref><br /><small>''Charted on the singles chart as part of the [[Singles (Nirvana box set)|Singles]] box set''</small> 
| style="text-align:center;"|17
|}
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ 2013 20th anniversary release chart performance
! scope="col"|Chart (2013)
! scope="col"|Peak<br>position
|-
!scope="row"|UK Physical Singles Sales ([[Official Charts Company|OCC]])<ref>{{cite web |date=September 22, 2013 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/physical-singles-chart/20130922/1/ |title=Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100 |website=officialcharts.com |access-date=July 30, 2023}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|97
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Year-end chart performance for "Heart-Shaped Box"
!scope="col"|Chart (1993)
!scope="col"|Position
|-
!scope="row"| US Album Rock Tracks (''Billboard'')<ref name="BillboardYearEnd1993">{{cite magazine |date=December 25, 1993 |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-12-25.pdf |title=The Year in Music |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |volume=105 |issue=52 |page=YE-39 |access-date=April 3, 2025}}</ref>
|align="center"|35
|-
!scope="row"| US Modern Rock Tracks (''Billboard'')<ref name="BillboardYearEnd1993"/>
|align="center"|10
|-
!scope="row"| US [[Album-oriented rock|AOR]] Tracks (''[[Radio & Records]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=AOR Tracks - The Top 93 of 1993 |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-RandR-IDX/IDX/90s/93/RR-1993-12-10-OCR-Page-0059.pdf#search=%22nirvana%20heart%20shaped%20box%22 |magazine=[[Radio & Records]] |publisher=Radio & Records |date=December 10, 1993 |page=59 |access-date=February 20, 2019}}</ref>
|align="center"|28
|}
{{col-end}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Heart-Shaped Box"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Platinum|number=3|relyear=1993|certyear=2024|access-date=March 8, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|type=single|artist=Nirvana|title=Heart-Shaped Box|award=Gold|relyear=1993|certyear=2024|access-date=July 5, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Nirvana|title=Heart Shaped Box|award=Gold|relyear=1993|certyear=2023|id=11374|access-date=September 19, 2023|note=Sales since 2009}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Nirvana|title=Heart Shaped Box|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=2024|relyear=1993|access-date=December 18, 2024|source=radioscope}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|artist=Nirvana|title=Heart Shaped Box|award=Gold|relyear=1993|certyear=2024|access-date=September 2, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Nirvana|title=Heart Shaped Box|award=Platinum|relyear=2004|certyear=2024|id=14867-602-1|access-date=January 19, 2024|note=Sales since 2004}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Platinum|number=3|type=single|artist=Nirvana|title=Heart-Shaped Box|certyear=2024|access-date=December 9, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==Other releases==

*A live version, from the band's performance for ''MTV'' at [[Central Waterfront, Seattle|Pier 48]] in Seattle on December 13, 1993, appeared on the ''[[Live and Loud (Nirvana video album)|Live and Loud]]'' DVD, released in September 2013.

*A live version, recorded at the [[Great Western Forum]] in [[Inglewood, California]] on December 30, 1993, appeared on the live compilation, ''[[From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah]]'', released in October 1996. The full concert will be released on the 30th anniversary "Super Deluxe" edition of ''In Utero'' in October 2023.<ref name="Monroe">{{cite news |last1=Monroe |first1=Jazz |title=Nirvana Reissuing In Utero With 2 Unreleased Live Albums for 30th Anniversary |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/nirvana-reissuing-in-utero-with-unreleased-tracks-for-30th-anniversary/ |access-date=8 September 2023 |work=Pitchfork |issue=5 September 2023}}</ref>

*The 30th anniversary "Super Deluxe" ''In Utero'' reissue also includes the band's concert at the [[Mercer Arena|Seattle Center Arena]] in Seattle on January 7, 1994, which featured a version of "Heart-Shaped Box."<ref name="Monroe"/>

*A live version, recorded at [[Palaghiaccio di Marino|Palaghiaccio]] in [[Marino, Italy]] on February 22, 1994, appears as bonus material on the 30th anniversary "Deluxe" and "Super Deluxe" reissues of ''In Utero'' released in October 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last=Deaux |first=John |date=September 5, 2023 |url=https://allabouttherock.co.uk/nirvana-in-utero-30th-anniversary-multi-format-reissues-arrive-october-27-2023/ |title=Nirvana In Utero: 30th anniversary multi-format reissues arrive October 27, 2023 |work=allabouttherock.co.uk |access-date=September 7, 2023 |archive-date=April 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250411191505/https://allabouttherock.co.uk/nirvana-in-utero-30th-anniversary-multi-format-reissues-arrive-october-27-2023/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Monroe"/><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Kaufman |first1=Gil |title=Nirvana's 'In Utero' 30th Anniversary Remastered Collection to Feature 53 Unreleased Tracks |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/nirvana-in-utero-30th-anniversary-collections-details-1235406026/ |access-date=8 September 2023 |magazine=Billboard |issue=5 September 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

'''Other sources'''
* [[Michael Azerrad|Azerrad, Michael]] (2013) {{bracket|[[Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana|1st ed. 1993]]}}. {{cite book |title=Come as You Are. The Story of Nirvana |date = January 23, 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qrSDPW6G5ZIC |publisher=[[Random House]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-30783373-0 }}
* [[Charles R. Cross|Cross, Charles R.]] (2012) {{bracket|[[Heavier Than Heaven|1st ed. 2001]]}}. {{cite book |title=Heavier Than Heaven. A Biography of Kurt Cobain |date = November 22, 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XkiEP8JeIz8C |publisher=[[Hachette Book Group USA|Hachette]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-1-44471712-9 }}
*{{cite book |last=Gaar |first=Gillian G. |title=Nirvana's in Utero |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BfSoAwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]] |location=London |year=2006 |isbn=1-44118609-3 }}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikiquote|In Utero (album)}}
* {{YouTube|id=UThKn_TmfmM|title="Heart-Shaped Box" (Director's Cut)}}
* {{Discogs master|42466|type=single}}
* [http://www.allmusic.com/song/heart-shaped-box-mt0005462008 "Heart-Shaped Box" review] by Marc Deming on [[AllMusic]]
* "[http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2012/03/still-moving-photographers-music-videos.html Still Moving: Photographers' Music Videos]" – ''[[The New Yorker]]'' article featuring commentary by Anton Corbijn about "Heart-Shaped Box" video
* Usage in film and television: see [https://web.archive.org/web/20050320141237/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1110321/ "Nirvana – Soundtrack. 'Heart-Shaped Box'"]at [[IMDb]]

{{Nirvana (band)}}
{{MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1993 singles]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn]]
[[Category:Nirvana (band) songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Steve Albini]]
[[Category:Songs written by Kurt Cobain]]
[[Category:Songs involved in plagiarism controversies]]
[[Category:1993 songs]]
[[Category:DGC Records singles]]