I know there's always religious connotations to Cornell's lyrics, but this one strikes me as being one of his more or less straightforward songs. I think it's not so much about greed or capitalism, but more about a person's power to do good, especially when put alongside some of the other songs on the album (we're thinking of "What You Are", "I Am the Highway", "The Last Remaiing Light" and "Light My Way" here). I was playing the CD on shuffle today and those four songs and this one all came up together, so I think there's something of a theme running across them about a person choosing to do decent things or being forced to do them.
It's especially noticeable in these lines:
"All you got to do is share the wealth."
Which I read as choosing to do something decent ...
"But if you want to live to see the morning."
... Or you can have no choice in the matter and be forced into it.
I know there's always religious connotations to Cornell's lyrics, but this one strikes me as being one of his more or less straightforward songs. I think it's not so much about greed or capitalism, but more about a person's power to do good, especially when put alongside some of the other songs on the album (we're thinking of "What You Are", "I Am the Highway", "The Last Remaiing Light" and "Light My Way" here). I was playing the CD on shuffle today and those four songs and this one all came up together, so I think there's something of a theme running across them about a person choosing to do decent things or being forced to do them.
It's especially noticeable in these lines: "All you got to do is share the wealth." Which I read as choosing to do something decent ...
"But if you want to live to see the morning." ... Or you can have no choice in the matter and be forced into it.