Here is some background information about "Serve the Servents" from songfacts.com : This is Kurt Cobain's most autobiographical song. The lyrics contain references to his father ("I tried hard to have a father but instead I had a dad"), his wife Courtney Love ("If she floats, then she is not a witch") and his own success. The witch reference about Courtney Love in the first verse was Cobain's frustration with the press for constantly vilifying Love as a horrible wife, mother, drug addict and detriment to Nirvana. The divorce of Cobain's parents inspired the line, "That legendary divorce is such a bore." This is a very personal song, which is not unusual, but the fact that it is so direct is unusual for Nirvana. It discusses many topics that were important in Kurt's life and was a perfect album opener. The line "if she floats, she is a witch" is one of the many examples of Courtney's influence on Kurt's lyrics on In Utero, as she had always had an obsession with the Salem witch trials. It is also a reference to the "witch hunts" in the media against her, portraying her as an awful person.
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