Lake of Fire (song)

"Lake of Fire"
Single by Meat Puppets
from the album Meat Puppets II and Too High to Die
Released March 12, 1994
Genre Cowpunk (1984 version)
Hard rock (1994 version)
Length 1:54 (1984 version)
Label London Records
Songwriter(s) Curt Kirkwood
Meat Puppets singles chronology
"Roof with a Hole"
(1994) 		"Lake of Fire"
(1994) 		"Scum"
(1995)

"Lake of Fire" is a song by the American alternative rock band the Meat Puppets. It appears on their 1984 album Meat Puppets II and also appears as a hidden track on their 1994 album Too High to Die.

The Meat Puppets have played this song at most of their concerts, and even after the Meat Puppets, Curt Kirkwood has performed this song himself at most of his concerts. "Lake of Fire" was notably covered by Nirvana on MTV Unplugged, in 1993.

Background

Curt Kirkwood said, "I lived with [bandmates] Cris and Derrick, and probably Cris' girlfriend, Kelly. ... They went to a Halloween party and I was disgruntled because I thought it was nonsense that adults should callously attempt to alter their appearances, that we are already sufficiently foul. ... I was younger then. I just said, 'Talk about man's fall from grace. This is it.'" He also described the song as a "toss-off" and a "cartoon".

Promo single

The fourth promotional release to boost the Too High to Die record. Released after they played on MTV Unplugged with Nirvana.

Track listing

(All songs by Curt Kirkwood unless otherwise noted)

  1. "Lake of Fire" (1994 version) – 3:12
  2. "Lake of Fire" (acoustic version) – 1:58
  3. "Lake of Fire" (live) – 2:56

Nirvana cover

"Lake of Fire"
Promotional single by Nirvana
from the album MTV Unplugged in New York
Released 1995
Recorded November 18, 1993 at Sony Music Studios in New York City
Genre Acoustic rock
Length 2:56
Label DGC Records
Songwriter(s) Curt Kirkwood
Producer(s) Alex Coletti, Scott Litt, Nirvana
Nirvana singles chronology
"Where Did You Sleep Last Night"
(1995) 		"Lake of Fire"
(1995) 		"Aneurysm"
(1996)
MTV Unplugged in New York track listing
13 tracks
  1. "About a Girl"
  2. "Come as You Are"
  3. "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam"
  4. "The Man Who Sold the World"
  5. "Pennyroyal Tea"
  6. "Dumb"
  7. "Polly"
  8. "On a Plain"
  9. "Something in the Way"
  10. "Plateau"
  11. "Oh, Me"
  12. "Lake of Fire"
  13. "All Apologies"
  14. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night"

Along with the Meat Puppets' songs "Plateau" and "Oh, Me", the popular grunge band Nirvana performed "Lake of Fire" for their MTV Unplugged appearance in 1993 and were joined by the Kirkwood brothers. This version appears on Nirvana's 1994 live album, MTV Unplugged in New York and was released as a promotional single in Australia, where it received some radio airplay.

Weekly charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM) 17
Canada Contemporary Album Radio (The Record) 31
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard) 22
US Rock Tracks Top 60 (Radio & Records) 18

Year-end charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
US Top Rock Tracks (Radio & Records) 92

Other covers

  • In 2020 Gramatik recorded a version featuring the vocals of Bill Burr titled "lake of fire flip".
  • Lena Hall recorded a live version of the song for her 2015 album Sin & Salvation: Live at the Carlyle.
  • In 2018, Eric Bachmann covered the song and released it as a single. His cover was also featured in the 2018 film Tag.

See also