On a cobweb afternoon
In a room full of emptiness
By a freeway I confess
I was lost in the pages
Of a book full of death
Reading how we'll die alone
And if we're good, we'll lay to rest
Anywhere we want to go

In your house, I long to be
Room by room, patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there
Alone

And on my deathbed I will pray
To the gods and the angels
Like a pagan to anyone
Who will take me to heaven
To a place I recall
I was there so long ago
The sky was bruised
The wine was bled
And there you led me on

In your house, I long to be
Room by room, patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there
Alone
Alone

And on I read
Until the day was gone
And I sat in regret
Of all the things I've done
For all that I've blessed
And all that I've wronged
In dreams until my death
I will wander on

In your house, I long to be
Room by room, patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there
Alone
Alone


Lyrics submitted by pyledrvr, edited by Crasha360, ContentCop

Like a Stone Lyrics as written by Chris Cornell Timothy Commerford

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Hipgnosis Songs Group

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Like a Stone song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    @dookiedude8 Great analysis, but it's entirely possible that the cobweb is a descriptive term that simply enhances the overall image of a barren room. A room with a man inside waiting to die and nothing else. It could also be interpreted as a kind of metaphor for the unremarkable day that he is describing, as in life the day we day may not be symbolic or meaningful at all save for the fact that it is the day of our demise. I completely agree with your take on his relationship with God or spirituality in general, and the cobweb afternoon also potentially adds to the idea of a guy whose life has been empty of such meaningful things to that point. He has been devoid of something to believe in, and therefore the afternoon of his death is empty, the room or place where he is waiting to die is empty, and he waits alone because he hasn't committed himself to anything with enough sincerity to warrant any company as he waits for death to find him. He waits, hoping for death to bring with it redemption and a passage to a place akin to heaven, but his desperation is readily apparent and the only thing he is certain of is that death is coming. This in itself is very deep but unfortunately both poignant and thoroughly depressing. It encourages the idea of belief in the spiritual without the need to be given proof while at the same time reminding us that without such belief the only thing all of us can be completely certain of in this life is that it will end. Cornell is not only the greatest singer in rock music because of his absolutely phenomenal vocal range, but he is also a wordsmith whose ability to create meaningful and haunting verse is spectacular.

    chris16708on October 20, 2015   Link

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