“Pennyroyal Tea” was due to be released as the third single from In Utero in April 1994. However, after the death of Cobain in the same month, the planned release was abandoned. The song did get plenty of airtime on MTV, however, and a lot of attention due to Cobain’s solo rendition on Unplugged in New York.

According to Michael Azerrad’s 1993 Nirvana biography, Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, “Pennyroyal Tea” was written by Cobain in 1990 in an Olympia, Washington apartment he shared with drummer Dave Grohl. “Dave and I were screwing around on a 4-track,” said Cobain, “and I wrote that song in about thirty seconds. And I sat down for like half-an-hour and wrote the lyrics and then we recorded it.” The band played the song live many times in 1991 and 1992. However, it didn’t receive studio treatment until 1993, when it was recorded by Steve Albini for In Utero.

A remix by Scott Litt appears on the censored Wal-Mart and Kmart versions; this remix is also available on the band’s 2002 best-of compilation, Nirvana, and is, incidentally, the same mix that was to appear on the single.