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Through the Window Lyrics
Clouds that gathered turn to rain
A candle on your sill burned out
Weather on your face
Timed to match the mood outside
Reading the poems that you saved
That made the gloomy hours make sense
But do they lose their power
With the airing of age?
I saw you suffering
Through a foggy window in the rain
When you thought no one was watching, yeah
Going through your memories
Like so many prisons to escape
And become someone else
With another face
And another name
No more suffering
You sold the best of yourself out
On a chain of gray and white light
One syllable at a time
You should have made them pay a higher price
I saw you suffering
Through a cracked and dirty window pane
I was ashamed that I was watching, yeah
Going through your imagination
Looking for a life you could create
And become somebody else
With another face, yeah
And another name
No more suffering
I wish that I could find a seed
And plant a tree that grows so high
So that I could climb
And harvest the ripe stars
For you and I to drink in
Spit the ashes from our mouths
And put the gray back in the clouds
And send them packing with our bags
Of old regrets and sorrows
'Cause they don't do a thing
But drag us down
So far down
The past is like a braided road
Each moment tightly coiled inside
I saw you suffering
Through the yellow window of a train
With everybody watching, yeah
Too tired for imagining
That you could ever love somebody else
From somewhere far away
From another time, yeah
And another place
With another life
With another face
And another name
And another name
No more suffering
A candle on your sill burned out
Weather on your face
Timed to match the mood outside
That made the gloomy hours make sense
But do they lose their power
With the airing of age?
Through a foggy window in the rain
When you thought no one was watching, yeah
Going through your memories
Like so many prisons to escape
And become someone else
And another name
No more suffering
On a chain of gray and white light
One syllable at a time
You should have made them pay a higher price
Through a cracked and dirty window pane
I was ashamed that I was watching, yeah
Going through your imagination
Looking for a life you could create
And become somebody else
And another name
No more suffering
And plant a tree that grows so high
So that I could climb
And harvest the ripe stars
Spit the ashes from our mouths
And put the gray back in the clouds
And send them packing with our bags
'Cause they don't do a thing
But drag us down
So far down
Each moment tightly coiled inside
Through the yellow window of a train
With everybody watching, yeah
Too tired for imagining
That you could ever love somebody else
From somewhere far away
From another time, yeah
And another place
With another life
With another face
And another name
And another name
Song Info
Submitted by
mellow_harsher On May 19, 2017
More Chris Cornell
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Can't Change Me
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I think that Chris is singing about himself. He's looking back on his life and at his many sorrows and he's seeing and speaking to himself through the window of time. The storm clouds and rain are a metaphor for how he feels inwardly. The light of his countenance mirrors the gloomy weather he's grown accustomed to. As a writer he was able to convey his sadness through the written word and that would help him manage his pain but as he says, they've lost their power.
He's imprisoned by the memories of the past and to his many regrets. He wishes he'd gone another path... been another man entirely.
Instead, he chose his current path, the life of a rock star but that is only a persona, a lie. He feels like he gave himself away, sold out for fame but it's empty and wasn't worth the price.
He tried to find happiness and peace by creating a new life and persona, even adopting a new name, "Cornell". But the suffering continued.
"I wish that I could find a seed..." etc. He's looking for the key to Peace. Something to lift him out of sorrow and heal his pain. But his past regrets continue to haunt him. They're like a rope connected to the present, impossible to escape.
Finally, he's suffering in front of the entire world. His drug abuse, his sorrowful lyrics are all out there for everyone to see his true state of being.
Now he even feels too "tired" (sadly, these were similar to his last words to his wife) to muster up any hope in the possibility that he can be saved from his torment by someone he would need to love so that he could finally, once and for all receive a new life from somebody outside this time and from far away. Someone willing to truly give Chris, a new name.
I don't know if Chris, in his last moments might have reached out to that one who could give him a new name and take away his suffering. I hope and pray that he did. I think that Chris was writing about Jesus Christ in the final words of the song, Maybe without realizing it. Christian imagery is a common element within Chris' music over the years and though I'm certain he didn't write as a Christian of any stretch, I don't think it's far fetched to think that there might have been times of desperation, when Chris wondered if it was his answer. These are my thoughts on the song. It's a heart breaking listen now that Chris is gone and makes me wish I had had the opportunity to be a friend to him. There are a lot of hurting people in the world and this song fills me with the conviction to not let them suffer alone.
I echo a lot of what you wrote. Specifically as it pertains to this particular song. It hit me pretty hard when I first listened to but I didn't really hear until after 5/18/2017.
I echo a lot of what you wrote. Specifically as it pertains to this particular song. It hit me pretty hard when I first listened to but I didn't really hear until after 5/18/2017.