After all, it is an odd combination: a baby would not understand the concept of money - yet big business aims to 'hook each and everyone of us from as early an age as possible. The image of an innocent baby swimming underwater greedily grasping after a one dollar bill on a fish-hook is difficult to reconcile. The baby symbolises innocence and the dollar bill, grubby temptation. Kurt Cobain wanted to shock and surprise audiences by creating a memorable image which would challenge business values. As with many bands who promote their albums with challenging album covers and music videos, they wanted to 'push the envelope' of might be accepted by mainstream audiences while holding onto their old independent audiences. Cobain's team wanted to enter the mainstream music world by offering their old and new fans an image of new birth, symbolising the band's transition from independent to the mainstream. At the time of its reception (the early 1990s) the main issue for Walmart wasn't the baby eagerly trying to grasp a dollar from a hook under water, it was that the baby's penis could be seen in clear view.

Nirvana nevermind cover explained