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Song · Nirvana

“You Know You're Right” by Nirvana

Released 2002

“You Know You're Right” by Nirvana appears on 47 radio countdowns from 26 stations between 2002 and 2026. It was first released in 2002. Its best result is #1 on The End Top 107 Songs of 2002, and it was voted number one on two countdowns in total. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #6 alternative song of 2002, #1,239 alternative song of all time and #48 of the '00s.

47countdowns
26stations
#1best position
2#1 finishes
8top 10 finishes
2002–2026years charted

Watch

Nirvana - You Know You're Right (LP Version)

Video from YouTube (NirvanaVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"You Know You're Right" was the last song Nirvana recorded before Kurt Cobain's death in April 1994, and it finally surfaced in 2002 as the opening track of the greatest hits collection Nirvana on DGC. Cobain wrote it and sang it over his own guitar, with Krist Novoselic on bass and Dave Grohl on drums, and Adam Kasper recorded, mixed and produced it.

For years the only way to hear it was a bootleg of a live version taped at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in October 1993, or Hole's cover. Grohl and Novoselic wanted the studio take on a box set; Courtney Love, Cobain's widow, blocked that in 2001, and the song sat in limbo during a legal fight between them that was settled in 2002. Then it leaked online in September 2002 and radio grabbed it, ignoring cease-and-desist orders from Geffen.

It was worth the wait. The song lurches between a hollowed-out murmur and a raw, shredded howl, the quiet-loud trick stretched to the breaking point, and it sounds like a band at the end of its rope. It went to number one on both Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2002 12 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2002 107
2002 3 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2002 91
2002 33 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2002 106
2002 52 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101
2002 7 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2002 100
2002 47 K-Rock New York, NY K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2002 92
2002 12 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2002 100
2002 1 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 2002 107
2002 43 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2002 89
2002 11 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101
2002 3 Y100 Philadelphia, PA Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2002 100
2002 1 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2002 99
2002 18 WCCC The Rock Hartford, CT WCCC Top 106 Songs of 2002 106
2002 57 Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2002 105
2002 15 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 2002 104
2002 31 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL Buzz 103.1 The 103 Most Played Buzz Cuts of 2002 103
2002 6 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2002 103
2002 12 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2002 100
2002 57 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2002 99
2003 49 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003 107
2003 53 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2003 106
2003 36 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2003 101
2003 5 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 2003 104
2003 45 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 50 Songs of 2003 50
2003 21 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2003 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2002 1989 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 527 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2003 1885 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 72 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 1885 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 69 WBCN WBCN Grunge Top 104 (2004) 104
2005 1871 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 939 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 10 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the Millennium (December 2006) 107
2007 363 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 380 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 54 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 2009) 101
2009 361 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 383 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 23 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 200
2010 389 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 394 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 396 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 397 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2020 280 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2022 420 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2026 476 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: You Know Your Right.

Charting alongside it in 2002

Best songs of 2002 →
  1. 1By the WayRed Hot Chili Peppers
  2. 2AerialsSystem of a Down
  3. 3ToxicitySystem of a Down
  4. 5All My LifeFoo Fighters
  5. 6SweetnessJimmy Eat World
  6. 7The MiddleJimmy Eat World

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