“Definitely not lyrically”: The song Chris Cornell called too weird to be a hit
Picture Chris Cornell, huddled over a pad of paper, penning lyrics based on a brief misunderstanding. He’s confessed previously that he got the title for ‘Black Hole Sun’ because he thought he heard it on the news, but it turned out to be something completely different. Regardless, that slight misunderstanding was all that was necessary for Cornell to pen the lyrics to Soundgarden’s most successful track.
The words came before the music did, which can be heard in the song, as Cornell seems more open to being experimental with what he writes and how the lyrics are composed. The outcome is quite bleak, shrouded in metaphor, making it brooding and mysterious.
Cornell admitted that writing songs which touch upon darker themes is akin to some kind of therapy, saying that the darkness in his lyrics acts as a means to bring brightness to his day. “If I write lyrics that are bleak or dark, it usually makes me feel better,” he said.
However, while the lyrics to ‘Black Hole Sun’ might have brightened his day, they also cast a shadow of doubt over how well he thought the song might do. When music was put to it, and the entire track came together, it was apparent to the band that they could be on the verge of releasing their biggest single to date, but Cornell worried the metaphorical nature of the lyrics could prove counterintuitive.
“It started to occur to us that it might be a single that would have broader appeal, but definitely not lyrically,” he said, “When I think of hit songs, they have to be somewhat anthemic in the world of rock, and I didn’t see ‘Black Hole Sun’ as being that.”
Cornell’s reservations made sense, but it turns out the lyrical depth nature of the track spurred it on to become a hit. People were drawn to the profound nature of the track, enjoying getting lost in the song and instrumentation but then also picking apart the words to get to the crooks of its meaning.
This was contrary to much of Soundgarden’s previous work. They had spent a lot of time refining their sound and were loved by fans because of how good they were as a guitar band. They would write instrumentation first, and their tracks’ sonic elements made things pop. ‘Black Hole Sun was a deviation from that, as the music took a backseat and allowed the start of the show to be the vocals. It was a risky move, sure, but one that paid off.
“We’d had singles before. But that was easily our biggest hit. That was more singer / songwriterish,” said Kim Thayll when discussing the success of the song. “Chris went that direction of singer / songwriter guy, and the band was more accepting because of the success of singer / songwriting stuff as opposed to more guitar oriented rock. It was more vocal accompaniment rock, some guitar. So we started utilizing a little bit more of that.”
