Context

This line is from the song "Lithium" by Nirvana, from the album Nevermind (1991).

Do you hear voices? Hmm. Dr. Shmoop will give you a prescription for lithium and… poof! All your friends will leave your head and you'll be wandering in the land of the sane. Thanks a lot!

Well actually, the lithium referred to in this song is religion. Kurt Cobain said, "The story is about a guy who lost his girlfriend… and he's going around brooding and he turned to religion as a last resort to keep himself alive."

Since religion probably won't kill you if you overdose on it, this is pretty good insight from Kurt. But we gotta run now. Voices are calling us.

Where you've heard it

We use this line when we're on the phone with our moms. "Did you make any nice friends, dear?" "Yeah mom. I've found friends." We just don't mention that they're in our heads. You know how moms worry.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Since you are who you hang out with, it's probably better to be polite but keep a bit of distance between you and the guy who tells you that his friends are in his head. Unless he's a ventriloquist. Then stick around. That could be fun.