Fell on Black Days Lyrics
And whatsoever I've fought off became my life
Just when everyday seemed to greet me with a smile
Sunspots have faded, now I'm doing time
Now I'm doing time
I fell on black days
And whomsoever I've cradled, I've put you down
Search my soul they say
But I can't see it in the night
When I get it right
I fell on black days
That this could be my fate?
How would I know
That this could be my fate? Yeah
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Has made you blind
And what you wanted to be yours
Has made it mine
That you wanted to see fly
Hands are for shaking
No, not tying, no, not tying
I sure don't mind a change
Yeah, I sure don't mind, sure don't mind a change
I sure don't mind a change
I fell on black days
That this could be my fate?
How would I know
That this could be my fate?
That this could be my fate?
How would I know
That this could be my fate?
Although I think most of the posts prior to now really are pretty much right - the song captures extreme depression; however theres one piece of the puzzle I think your all but a few missing.....drug addiction. Theres a difference between a "depressing" song and a song that entails the darkest corner of earth that any human mind can possibly go. A depressing song is something like "Everybody Hurts" by REM......Fell on Black Days is a different monster. The two main reasons I think this is specifically talking about the angst that drug addiction brings you is A) The rock culture during the time this was a huge culture of revolution, change and innovation. Drug use/addiction was a huge part of the rock content during this time and always has been(keep in mind the work of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Layne Staley of Alice in Chains ) My second reason is the way he compares and contrasts a seemingly successful, functional and happy lifestyle to one that is absolutely decadent and full of agony. Being a former Cocaine addict I can tell you just how different being in a state of addiction is to being sober full time. Being addicted to a "hard drug" is just about the most bleak I have ever been emotionally, the way Chris describes "not seeing the light" and compares that to the common theme here which is "black" also echoes this theory. Also keep in mind drug addiction typically effects everybody around you especially the people you know which is also something Chris describes in this song. I cant say for sure if I think this is a PERSONAL song from Chris's point of view, it could also be from the point of view of someone he knew; which could have very well been someone like Kurt or Layne.
@Smolten Grove, spot on. Thanks to you I don't have to dissect the song word for word. The whole album is about heroin.. 3 down..
@Smolten Grove, spot on. Thanks to you I don't have to dissect the song word for word. The whole album is about heroin.. 3 down..
chris said it was about when he was a kid and he got really depressed and isolated himself. black days are just when you stop being happy for no reason and everything seems much worse than it usually does
@SludgeGarden13 do you have a source for his statement??
@SludgeGarden13 do you have a source for his statement??
Not to sound too depressing, but some days, this song feels like it's the soundtrack to my life.
Knowing that someone else made it through similar helps.
Ever wonder if the artists themselves read these little comments from time to time? Perhaps they post their own comments as well, without anyone ever being the wiser...
@WinterOnyx, I like the way you think, and yes I do wonder about that.
@WinterOnyx, I like the way you think, and yes I do wonder about that.
@WinterOnyx Chris?
@WinterOnyx Chris?
@WinterOnyx I know who you are, and I know what you done...
@WinterOnyx I know who you are, and I know what you done...
As a former heroin junkie myself, i have a different point of view to this song than some might- Ok, I think it's very generalized to say "it's about depression", and few people on this site got it right, at least in my opinion that is. Smolten Grove hit the points on the head, though. It makes perfect sense that it is about drug addiction- to ANY drug, but I think it may be heroin specifically, for a number of reasons. First of all, the point in time of this being written/released, it was a big epidemic, but especially in the grunge and rock scene! Think Kurt, Layne, Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone frontman), Scott Weiland, and MANY others! More rockstars than not, at that point in time! Heroin IS black (on the west-coast, it is..) so I can't help but wonder if it is almost to be taken LITERAL...Fell on BLACK days. People even CALL heroin "black" out here, so..And in a way it IS about depression, but more a more specific kind- addiction IS depressing! So yes. Also, Chris was very close to/and once was roommates with Andrew Wood, who died in 1995 from a heroin overdose, as did many other more high-profile rockstars that were acquaintances and friends. So it could be written from their point of view, or maybe Chris himself had delved into using it at some points..And I think what brings this point home is "I want to know, if this could be my fate"..because once you NEED a drug, especially a drug like heroin, you start to feel like it is inescapable no matter how bad you want to get away from it, and you can often end up feeling defeated enough that you just resignedly accept that this is how things are now and always will be, that this was your fate, you made your bed and will now have to lie in it forever. I know I felt that way, and I know most people do, sooner or later. You just reach that point where you can't help yourself, so you feel like it is fated.
This is a special song to me. It came on the car radio when I was on my way home after a month alone in a spectacular fire lookout, back in 89 or 94 or whenever this song was new. A month alone always makes one sensitive. I was stunned, listening to this song. I was in tears. And then I couldn't find out who or what it was, not for months. I had listened to one of Soundgarden's early albums and I wasn't impressed; I'm still not, with their early work. It just isn't there yet. They're amateurish. So...
This is a special song to me. It came on the car radio when I was on my way home after a month alone in a spectacular fire lookout, back in 89 or 94 or whenever this song was new. A month alone always makes one sensitive. I was stunned, listening to this song. I was in tears. And then I couldn't find out who or what it was, not for months. I had listened to one of Soundgarden's early albums and I wasn't impressed; I'm still not, with their early work. It just isn't there yet. They're amateurish. So eventually I found out, and got the next two albums, and love them.
So when I first came to this thread and read it, I couldn't believe that no one but me hears the first stanza tell how things used to be fine, and "now I'm doing time," and no one but me thinks, "This is a convict singing." You know, as in "doing time?" That's where the expression comes from. Does anyone out there know that? Unable to fly? Hands tied?
Well, one person got it, he was reminded of when he was arrested, but wasn't clear that that's what the song is about.
So then I had to ask myself if it made any difference: either way, prison is being used as a metaphor for a bad time, so does it matter? My way, Chris Cornell who was never in prison is singing a song for millions of listeners who were never in prison, and he chooses to use prison as a metaphor which will help make it more vivid for us to think about depression.
Everyone else is just hearing the everyday cliche "doing time," which is most often used to say that a person is bored with their life and vaguely supposes that something may come along sooner or later to engage them fully in their own life. It hints at a bit of self-pity for a person who is merely unengaged in their life to use an expression originally used by convicts to describe prison terms. But the rest of the song offers plenty to convey the idea of deep failure and depression.
Still, I think it's more dramatic and poetic to hear a prisoner regretting a life fallen on black days, and its his own fault for having harmed others. And he remembers his early promise, his potential for good. The anguished chorus, How would I know that this could be my fate?
PS. I've never understood "Sure don't mind the change." What change? The change in his life that the whole rest of the song describes is tragic for him.
FYI, Andy Wood died in early 1990, and then Mother Love Bone's bassist and guitarist formed Pearl Jam. Not 1995.
FYI, Andy Wood died in early 1990, and then Mother Love Bone's bassist and guitarist formed Pearl Jam. Not 1995.
Very good explanation. So very true in my own mind. My wife loves this song, I on the other hand can no longer listen to it because of what it reminds me of. It among other bands like it remind me to much of the days i wanted to end it all. Actually just got into an argument about this band because she came in all hyped up because her friend is going to see them in NYC tonight and I don't care.
Very good explanation. So very true in my own mind. My wife loves this song, I on the other hand can no longer listen to it because of what it reminds me of. It among other bands like it remind me to much of the days i wanted to end it all. Actually just got into an argument about this band because she came in all hyped up because her friend is going to see them in NYC tonight and I don't care.
So what you wanted to see good has made you blind And what you wanted to be yours has made it mine So don't you lock up something that you wanted to see fly Hands are for shaking No, not tying These are the lines that make the entire song. I mean the song is good but these lines make it great. Also, the accoustic version is awesome. If you haven't heard it you should.
a great song, and the accoustic version is awesome and cool!
amazing amazing song, i love the last line about hands. i've put it in my away message and have actually gotten comments from people out of nowhere saying how good that line is.
@suckmykiss which line are you referring to? Please share.
@suckmykiss which line are you referring to? Please share.
@suckmykiss do you think it implies he wants change or not?
@suckmykiss do you think it implies he wants change or not?
@suckmykiss maybe it just implies he knows he's fucked up, and doing the wrong thing with his hands... Tying off..
@suckmykiss maybe it just implies he knows he's fucked up, and doing the wrong thing with his hands... Tying off..
It's about Chris being ihappy, and spreading the happiness before he discovered something that put him into depression and as he shared it with others, they too became depressed.
"Whatsoever I've feared has come to life Whatsoever I've fought off became my life"
To me this song is about self-inflicted wounds; making the very mistakes that he tried so hard not to make.
"Whomsoever I've cured I've sickened now Whomsoever I've cradled I've put you down"
And in making these mistakes, he has hurt the ones he loves most.