It begins with Cobain playing an unaccompanied guitar riff for eight seconds. The song alternates between the chords of Em 5 and D 5 during the verses and E sus4 and G in the pre-chorus, while at the refrain it changes to the chord progression of A–C 5. 'Come as You Are' is composed in the key of E minor, while Kurt Cobain's vocal range spans one octave and one note, from a low of F ♯ 3 to a high of F ♯ 4. According to the sheet music published at by BMG Rights Management, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a heavy rock tempo of 120 beats per minute. 'Come as You Are' is an alternative rock song that lasts for a duration of three minutes and thirty-eight seconds.

The Morck was one of many places Cobain stayed in after leaving home for a time while he was seventeen years old. Cross speculated the song may have been named after a motto used by the Morck Hotel in Cobain's hometown of Aberdeen, Washington. The origin of the song's title is unclear, but Charles R. The recording later appeared on MTV Unplugged in New York in November 1994. The band also performed an acoustic version of the song on MTV Unplugged on November 18, 1993. Vig sampled Cobain singing 'memoria' from the middle of the song and placed it in the background of the song near the end twice. When this mistake was discovered, Cobain decided to keep it in the final recording. During the harmony overdub session, Cobain accidentally sang the phrase 'And I don't have a gun' too early, appearing the fourth time he sings the word 'memoria' after the guitar solo. Vig then asked Cobain to double track his vocals throughout the entire song. Cobain recorded his guitar solo in two takes, as well as three takes of vocals, of which the first was used. The group recorded the song with Vig during album sessions at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, in early 1991. 'Come as You Are' was one of the few new songs Nirvana recorded onto the rehearsal tape the group sent to producer Butch Vig prior to the recording of Nevermind in 1991. Rolling Stone ranked 'Come as You Are' 445th on its list of ' The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time', and it placed 452nd on the 2010 edition of the list.

The music video for 'Come as You Are' was directed by Kevin Kerslake, who drew inspiration for it from the cover artwork of Nevermind. Similarities between 'Come as You Are' and 'Life Goes On' by The Damned have also been noted. Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker was said to be upset about the whole situation, and he felt that Nirvana (which according to Walker denied the connection between the songs) handled the matter poorly. Killing Joke were upset over the song, and there were rumors that a lawsuit had been filed over the song, though the suit never materialized. After some persuasion by the management company, Cobain agreed to release 'Come as You Are' as the second single because of its commercial potential. Following the album's release, the band and its management company debated whether to release 'Come as You Are' or ' In Bloom' as the next single from the album due to Cobain's concerns over similarity of the former with the Killing Joke song ' Eighties' (1984). The unexpected success of the album's lead single, ' Smells Like Teen Spirit' drew Nirvana to mainstream success, with Nevermind being released two weeks after the single's release. The single reached the top 10 in eight countries and the top 40 in eleven further countries. It was the band's second and last American top 40 hit, reaching number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and second UK top 10 hit, reaching number nine on the UK Singles Chart. It is the third track and the second single from the band's second studio album Nevermind, released in March 1992. ' Come as You Are' is a song by American grunge band Nirvana, written by frontman and guitarist Kurt Cobain.

Life goes on lyrics