Miss World

Hole was fronted by Courtney Love, who wrote "Miss World" with the band's guitarist, Eric Erlandson (their only male member). The song draws on contrast between Love's sinful life in the public eye and the Miss World pageant, where contestants are always poised, wholesome, and well-spoken. Love had always owned up to her indiscretions, which is reflected in the line, "I've made my bed, I'll lie in it." And, she's willing to live with the consequences: "I've made my bed, I'll die in it."

In this song, Love cops to being the girl who will tell lies ("I am the girl you know I lie, I lie and lie"). By this time, she was a full-fledged celebrity, having married Kurt Cobain and borne his child. Her pursuit of fame started much earlier though: She traveled the world looking to make it as either an actress or musician, doing stints as a stripper along the way. In 1986, she got a part in the movie Sid And Nancy; in 1989, she formed Hole, which was already on the rise when she started dating Cobain in 1991. When Nirvana found sudden fame in 1992 with their album Nevermind, Courtney Love became a willing participant in the press frenzy. In interviews, she would tell lots of scandalous stories and drop a lot of names. When questioned later, she would sometimes explain that she made it up. So, she was a known liar, but a self-admitted one - a very curious type.

"Miss World" was Hole's first single from their Live Through This, their first major-label album. The single was issued ahead of the album in March 1994. On April 8, Kurt Cobain was found dead. The album was released on schedule, issued on April 12, but Hole were on hold, which killed any chance "Miss World" had of becoming a hit. The band suffered another tragic setback in June when their bass player, Kristen Pfaff, died of a drug overdose. In late August, with new bass player Melissa Auf der Maur, they hit the road and started promoting the album, which was well-received and ended up selling a million copies. The next single, "Doll Parts," was a modest hit.