| Soundgarden – I Awake Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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This is a great song about chronic forms of depression. It's incredibly simple but vivdly illustrates two things that the loved-ones of sufferers need to understand. First, people tend to ask what happened to make someone feel depressed, but some people feel depressed because of a chronic medical condition that has little to do with events in their lives. "Woke up depressed" is about the simplest way to say this. This person began the day feeling depressed before anything could have happened to make them depressed. Second, misunderstandings about the cause of someone's depression can make others feel like they aren't appreciated or just aren't good enough themselves to make their relative or friend happy. In this song, the depressed person knows this and wants to explain: "It's not your fault. I know it hurts. Remember I love you." |
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| Soundgarden – Searching with My Good Eye Closed Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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Right away, the title suggests that Chris Cornell is somehow holding himself back. He's holding his “Good Eye” closed and making it difficult to find what he's looking for. It seems that he is reluctant to find it, whatever it is. The See 'n Say style voice-over at the beginning seems like some kind of joke that doesn't fit with the serious tone of the rest of the song, but it actually invokes the theme of enculturation. In addition to the sounds made by farm animals, this particular See 'n Say teaches children how to recognize “the devil,” or what is considered evil and forbidden. After this introduction, Chris announces that he has prepared for his search by putting on a linen blindfold. The significance of “Painted blue across my eyes” isn't clear, but blue is the color of the sky, which is mentioned repeatedly throughout the song. With the blindfold on, Chris is looking for the “paradigm,” the culture's model of what's acceptable, so that he can “pass it off,” or pretend to model his life based on that paradigm. This is where I begin to see the significance of the references to the blindfold and the “Good Eye Closed.” Chris' perception allows him to see things in his society's norms that he does not accept for himself. Remembering the devil from the See 'n Say, it seems that he feels he is being restricted. Others must be judging his behavior as evil in some way. He needs to dull his perception in order to conform, move forward with his life, and not be isolated from those who might judge him. But this leaves Chris feeling suspended and longing for something more. The album liner has the chorus as: “Is it to the sky; Looking to the sky and down; Searching for a ground; With my good eye closed.” I think the limitless sky represents what he can perceive with his full capabilities, and the ground is the safe place where people who accept society's norms live. But he doesn't seem sure about where his search will lead him even with his “good eye closed.” He still wonders “Is it to the sky?” They way he asks that question repeatedly throughout the song expresses his intense longing for something more. He starts to address someone else in the second verse; it could be an individual or society itself. He seems to be wondering how he will be treated by others if he tries to play along and stay on the ground with them. Even while doing this, he still feels that his future is uncertain, that he is moving in some direction, and that direction could be “to the sky.” |
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| Soundgarden – By Crooked Steps Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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To me, this song sounds like a letter addressed to someone very close to Chris Cornell. The song has some interesting references to addiction recovery. “I'm addicted to healing” is a statement that he is not addicted to any destructive behavior; he just needs love and affection like everyone else. That could be a rebuttal to someone trying to convince him that he has some kind of drug problem. He goes even further in turning recovery language around and using it against the person the song is addressed to with “I'm the shape of the hole inside your heart.” One of the big ideas in recovery culture is that everyone has a subconscious desire for God represented by a God-shaped hole in their heart. Some people try to fill this hole with drugs which supposedly leave them unfulfilled because drugs do not fit the shape of the hole. Chris is telling someone that she is the one with a problem and he can fulfill her needs if she would open her heart to him. This song also has a very confident and defiant tone expressed with lines like: stealing love isn't stealing; can't you see that I understand your mind; not looking for a brighter side; I don't care if you want to cry; killing all you admire; and you live in denial but that will change. The overarching theme is about a commitment to the person he is addressing and following her until she gets over whatever her problem is and surrenders her heart to him: “My crooked steps right behind you.” “Crooked steps will take me higher,” conveys that he knows the path ahead is difficult, but he believes it will lead them both to the right place. |
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| Soundgarden – A Thousand Days Before Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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Here are the lyrics printed in the liner notes and that are really close to what I actually hear Chris singing: Life a thousand days ago Hours sinking in a hole Try to melt into the walls Now I am here inside the bowl Here in the cold Where no one stands behind me Now a thousand days have gone Again like the sun and moon at war And give or take a thousand more Here in the cold Where no one stands behind me I'll be on my own side You know where to find me You know where to find me Born with a thousand little holes And a tear to fill up every one A thousand to ignore I'll be on my own side I'll be on my own side -Chris Cornell To me, this song is about coming to terms with a life-long struggle with depression and loneliness. King Animal was released around the time that I was coming to terms with such a struggle in my own life at age 30. To be more specific, I diagnosed myself with Avoidant Personality Disorder (I have no training in psychology, but this makes sense to me). This has been an unsolvable conflict between my intense desire for companionship and the crippling fear I have of other people that leads me to isolate myself. That experience weighs heavily on how I perceive these lyrics. The “thousand days” describes a person who has been stuck in a profound rut and has been counting the days long past the point a person usually begins counting months and then years. This and being “on my own side” are the two main themes of the song. Chris says he'll be alone “here in the cold” (not a pleasant place or where he wants to be) and the statement “you know where to find me” suggests that it is accepted as a fact that he will be alone. For me, this doesn't sound like whining but more like someone who is coming to terms with who he is and realizing that he can't change. The first verse has a very interesting coupling of trying to melt into the wall (feeling shy) with finding himself “here inside the bowl,” which I took to be a reference to the life in a fishbowl idiom (loss of privacy). The second verse has an interesting reference to the sun and moon at war (the eternal cycle of day and night). Then there is a bridge that is very powerful both musically and lyrically, “Born with a thousand little holes.” A little hole would seem minor to an observer (“A thousand to ignore”), but a thousand holes is a serious problem for the one who has to bear them. And being born with them implies that this condition was unavoidable and either attributed to genetics or fate (take you pick). “And a tear to fill up every one” is a classic Chris Cornell line expressing sadness and pain in a creative, thought-provoking, and powerful way. For me, this song is an even more powerful statement about chronic, severe depression than Fell on Black Days. Even though it may seem like it should be a big downer, and even though I did break down sobbing the first time I listened to it, this song has felt very comforting to me. It was comforting to know I'm not the only one who struggles as I do. It's also comforting to know my feelings aren't something to be ashamed of but something that can inspire some very powerful lyrics. |
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| Soundgarden – Mind Riot Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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@[GetyourselfCtrl:22384] I have always loved Mind Riot, especially the line "I'm luck's last match struck in the pouring down wind." I love the way everything builds to that moment and the way Chris delivers it. You can feel the emotion through his voice without needing to understand what exactly he is trying to say with those words. Probably because I was so young when I first heard it, I never really tried to understand what those words could have meant. Then, on May 26, 2017, it just hit me. I was at a candlelight vigil for Chris with a crowd of people who were supposed to see Soundgarden that night. This song was already on my mind just because of the idea of lighting candles for the dead, but the experience became really intense when we started to light our candles. I realized that the wind was blowing so hard that everyone had to shield their flame to keep it from dying. I watched as people lit and re-lit their candles, and, when it was my turn to light mine, I was determined to keep it lit for as long as possible. It might seem like a silly thing to do, but I was very serious at the time. I'm holding back tears even now as I type this. These weren't random words that Chris strung together. No one else writes stuff like that. I have no doubt that he felt very fragile for a long time and attributed his survival to luck, but he wasn't afraid to confront what haunted him with a full-throated scream from the bottom of his soul. In the first few days after Chris' passing, some people were writing about how Chris sung about what haunted him with a courageous scream that made other sensitive artists sound like they were just whimpering. I had never thought about it that way before, but now I think his courage must be the reason all of his darkest songs have always felt so comforting to me. I hope he will always be remembered in this way and that he will continue to comfort new fans the way he has comforted me. |
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| Soundgarden – Mind Riot Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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In the first verse, Chris Cornell places himself in a chaotic and precarious situation (“I was tightrope walking in two-ton shoes”). Next, the chorus introduces the theme of death, which Chris develops further in the second verse. He reveals that he has been affected by the death of someone, possibly the “best friend” from the chorus: “And I sharpened my wits on a dead man's skull, I built an elevator from his bones.” The song builds to a climax that starts with the line “I'm tied within.” But the first time Chris sings that line is just a tease. For those already familiar with the song, the tease creates more anticipation for the big payoff: “I'm tied within…I'm luck's last match struck in the pouring down wind.” Chris is comparing his life to a small, fragile flame struggling to stay lit in a precarious situation. He seems to be making sense of how he has survived when another has died, and he attributes his survival to luck. I have seen the video of Chris claiming that he was inspired to write this song by the first Gulf War. That may have been the initial spark, but it seems obvious to me that he ended up writing about some very personal feelings here. For a better example of Chris deliberately writing about war, see “Beyond the Wheel.” |
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| Soundgarden – Mind Riot Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| @[Fred39:22369] Yes. | |
| Soundgarden – Superunknown Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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First of all, I don't think of the Superunknown as super (adjective) plus unknown and meaning “more unknown than unknown.” I think of it as one word with the prefix super-, which means above or beyond. To me, the Superunknown is a state of elevated consciousness that is superior to a more common state of confusion. To me, the song's first line, “If this isn't what you see, it doesn't make you blind,” isn't about each person's entitlement to their own truth based on their personal perceptions. It's more like encouragement for those who haven't discovered the Superunknown yet. If you don't see this truth, there is nothing wrong with you that prevents you from seeing it. You are not blind, and you could see it if you would just make the an effort to do so. Until recently, the picture I imagined when thinking about this song was one of little clouds of ignorance floating around in a vast space. The Superunknown lies above and separate from the clouds. Closed-minded people are trapped in these little clouds. They don't even realize how much their perceptions are ruled by their biases. If they would only have the courage to doubt their biases and perceptions, they could escape their clouds and reach the Superunknown. There, they would be free from the confusion and fear one usually feels when confronted with the unknown. There was just one line in the song that I could never fit into this picture: “Where the river's high.” I have always wondered what the author meant by that. I finally found a solution to this soon after Chris Cornell's tragic passing. As I spent countless hours searching for information about him online, I came across an interview where he mentioned that he was a fan of the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. I then began reading about Krishnamurti and found a passage from his own writing about the “River of Life.” He describes a picture similar to mine, but he uses stagnant pools and a nearby river instead of clouds and a space above. He says that people dig pools for themselves and their biases because they feel safe in there, but they don't realize that there is no life in these isolated, stagnant pools. On the other hand, the river is not only being constantly replenished but also flowing to deeper and wider waters. You could say that seeking the Superunknown is like crawling out of a pool, diving into the river, and allowing the current to take you to “where the river's high.” Of course, I don't know if Cornell was really thinking about any of this when he wrote “Superunknown,” but I am very satisfied with my new interpretation. The Superunknown means much more to me now than it ever did. Chris Cornell interview: https://www.yahoo.com/music/straight-talk-philosophical-musings-chris-cornell-052120473.html Krishnamurti, River of Life": http://www.jiddu-krishnamurti.net/en/think-on-these-things/1963-00-00-jiddu-krishnamurti-think-on-these-things-chapter-17 |
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