Soundgarden: Black Hole Sun Meaning
Song Released: 1994
Covered By: Brandi Carlile (2020)
Black Hole Sun Lyrics
Indisposed
In disguise
As no one knows
Hides the face
Lies the snake
The sun
In my disgrace
Boiling heat
Summer stench
’neath the black
The sky looks dead
Call my name
Through the cream
And I’ll hear you
Scream...
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I'm usually Long winded and anonymous with my interpretations on this forum... But I'm feeling really good... and bad, of course, about my interpretation of this Soundgarden song. BLACK HOLE SUN is definitely a cryptic suicide note deciphered through semantic ambiguities, puns, and imagery... The Image of the Black Hole represents the dark hole going down the barrel of a gun. The Sun is the Bright Flash of Redish-White Light that comes out of that darkness when the weapon is discharged. The BLACK HOLE SUN is really a metaphoric Image of the Bullet leaving the barrel of a gun to end his mental pains and depression. Although it wasn't the method of Chris Cornell's suicide, a pistol pointed against the temple of one's head is the most widespread mental picture of suicide. Amazingly, Cornell alludes to the true method of his suicide (successfully hanging himself twenty-two years after writing the lyrics.) The last four lines of the song are very telling:
"Hang my Head
Drown my Fear
Till you All just
Disappear..."
'Hang my head' is a physical expression where a person literally bows their head in defeat. Here, Cornell has actually flipped the literary use of figurative language from a play on words. This expression is so commonly used in everyday dialogue and in the general English dialect that no one appreciates or recognizes the opposite, literal meaning: To Hang from his head till death and the subsequent disappearance of everyone from his 'world.'
With the exception of intentional overdose, jumping from a great height, and purposefully cutting one's viens followed by bleeding to death; Cornell makes reference to the three most popularized methods of suicide: Gunshot wound in the Head, Loss of oxygen or breaking of the neck bone from a neck-strangling device, such as a rope or belt(in the case of Cornell) tightened by the gravity forces of our planet and aforementioned said person's body weight, and drowning oneself which is a common occurrence and is mostly caused by jumping from a bridge.
I understand that Cornell had repeatedly and vehemently denied that there was no known or intended meaning in Black Hole Sun, but if you take a step back and look at the entire collection of song lyrics, especially up to the point of writing the lyrics to Black Hole Sun and the SuperUnknown album.
Cornell writes lyrics that provide powerful insights into universally hard-pressed, pent-up feelings that cater to the music and these songs were crafted through aesthetically chosen words into clever, cohesive ideas that complimented each song's emotional tone. Some songs he wrote were very detailed and visual and were less cryptic when involving the songs purpose. Rusty Cage is a perfect example of this more obvious, yet color-formated, heart-felt dream of freedom and victory.
On the other hand, he has displayed perfect poetic expression using basically metaphors, repetition and only a few additional literary devices to compose his lyrics, but while Cornell deceptively achieves a more musical entanglement between melodies and lyrics that seem pointless until you physically read the words like in 'To The Sky!' 'To the sky' might be another prelude for suicide or death (I believe that there are many more reoccurring examples of suicidal themes throughout all his work!)
He has also mastered a perfect prosaic mix of meaning, feeling, and imagination through a multitude of poetic devices and literary tools from simple metaphors to complex allegorical ciphers, yet somehow the songs purpose is thematically intact and relatively not convoluted. The songs, 'Mind Riot,' 'A Room A Thousand Years Wide', and Seasons' are great examples of Cornell's diversity in the art of writing music to/and lyrics.
Following this train of thought his skill as a songwriter was peaking around the time he wrote BLACK HOLE SUN. Doesn't it seem a little strange that he repeatedly, through decades, denounced any meaning whatsoever to the most popular and known song by the band? A song that made them one of the most known bands of all time? The cadence, lyrically, lends itself to a myriad of words and meanings. He said the title and most repeated line from any Chris Cornell song ever... was just some words that fit? But they don't really actually logically fit together with each other?! I'll make up something else in that cadence right now that will fit and probably gonna be stupid but I bet it fits:
"Don't be Dumb
I'm not dumb
I'm just going insane
Don't be dumb
You ain't fun
When you're dumb...
That was really stupid, and it was NOT an insult to Chris or his music. Just trying to provide an example of how idiotic we are to think he wrote nothing BUT brilliant songs, but then he, oops! Drops the ball on the goal line during the Super Bowl. Sure are a lot of purposefully sounding words and lines from start to finish in the song
I would like everyone to have a moment of introspective thought for the loss of great musician and poet.
R.I.P. Chris Cornell
PS if you have depressing thoughts or think about suicide, the worst thing you can do is nothing. It's not your fault it's just a disease. Try not to get isolated from everyone who loves you in your life. Reaching out to someone you trust is the best thing you can do. If you can -
This song is about heroine.
Heroine is the black hole sun. The feeling of heroine is the most content warmth.
If you've ever had an opiate addiction this makes perfect sense. Aside from the fact that addiction, particularly heroine, is a common grunge theme,these lyrics couldn't be any clearer.
Stuttering, cold and damp is a horrible withdrawal feeling.
Steal the warm wind tired friend. Times have gone for honest men and, sometimes, far too long for snakes.
Heaven, send hell away
No one sings like you anymore. -
I have heard him say numerous times on stage and in interviews that there is no literal meaning. Just stringing words together to go with the music.
I myself have always associated with depression and very sexual. Weird I know. -
I saw Sound Garden live two years ago and this was the last sone they played. Before Chris started to sing he said, "I have no idea what the fuck this song means". I personally think we over analyze meanings to song. Sometimes words just come together. A lot of his songs had a message, sometimes a deep dark message but I am sure there where some he just wrote.... this could have been a hallucination from an acid trip he was on.... now we will never know for sure.
-
This song is about whatever it means to you, just like life!
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Here goes my attempt. Look for words within square brackets "[]"!
In my eyes, indisposed [my perception's ill]
In disguises no one knows [avoidance; guilt]
Hides the face, lies the snake [concealed peril]
The sun in my disgrace [contempt revealed]
Boiling heat, summer stench [repressed emotions, passion of passed experiences]
'Neath the black the sky looks dead [mystery of imagination absent]
Call my name through the cream [give me money]
And I'll hear you scream again [I'll acknowledge your anger, frustration, and/or fear]
Black hole sun [death; oblivion]
Won't you come [satisfaction]
And wash away the rain [rid of my sadness]
Black hole sun
Won't you come
Won't you come (won't you come)
Stuttering, cold and damp [insecure, detached, and cleansed]
Steal the warm wind tired friend [remove apathy/shame]
Times are gone for honest men [corruption will prevail]
And sometimes far too long for snakes [esp. for threatening men]
In my shoes, a walking sleep [exhaustion from his perspective]
And my youth I pray to keep [enthusiasm preserved]
Heaven sent hell away [hope removed distress]
No one sings like you anymore [emotions digress]
Black hole sun
Won't you come
And wash away the rain
Black hole sun
Won't you come
Won't you come
Black hole sun
Won't you come
And wash away the rain
Black hole sun
Won't you come
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Hang my head, drown my fear [change my thoughts and emotions]
Till you all just disappear ['til negatives diminish]
Black hole sun
Won't you come
And wash away the rain
Black hole sun
Won't you come
Won't you come
Black hole sun
Won't you come
And wash away the rain
Black hole sun
Won't you come
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun)
Won't you come
Won't you come
Hope this helps! -
It's about the rapture, you idiots.
-
Well, it sounds like they're just putting emotion in the tune. They even admitted that the song was mostly focused on the tune, not the lyrics. But when I hear the song, it reminds me of when I'm just kind of feeling bleak, like a void.
-
Poiuy is right. Black Hole Sun means butt hole. Black hole sun is somewhat sexual. It means doing her woman back door.
Black Hole Sun means the ass hole. Picture it why it's called Black Hole Sun. A Black Hole Sun shaped. As the lyrics says "Call my name
Through the cream
And I’ll hear you
Scream..."
In my eyes
Indisposed
In disguise
As no one knows
Hides the face
Lies the snake
The sun
In my disgrace
Boiling heat
Summer stench
’neath the black
The sky looks dead
Call my name
Through the cream
And I’ll hear you
Scream...
By: Poet -
Listen to the song backwards, then decide what u think the meaning is.
-
To start out, great song but definitely not my favorite soundgarden song
Recently I went to a concert from the Soundgarden Nine Inch Nails joint tour and before soundgarden started playing the song Chris Cornell said "this is a song that well we really don't know what it's about" then they started playing Black Hole Sun.
So I think that it is just that, they came up with some great lyrics and a great tune but it didn't have any major meaning behind it, I'm sure some verses have some meaning but are unrelated to one another.
If I had to pick a meaning I guess I would say it's about a man fed up with his life and wants something to come and take everything away all the people and buildings and just suck up the world and ultimately destroy it. But that would be majorly influenced by the music video -
Chris Cornell's own words:
It's really difficult for a person to create their own life and their own freedom. It's going to become more and more difficult, and it's going to create more and more disillusioned people who become dishonest and angry and are willing to fuck the next guy to get what they want. There's so much stepping on the backs of other people in our profession. We've been so lucky that we've never had to do that. Part of it was because of our own tenacity, and part of it was because we were lucky.
I think that pretty much says it all. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Well all y'all seem to have put a lot of thought but ill share this with y'all I dropped some Lsd and most the stuff in the video I tripped before ever watching this video I also saw the snake tongue in one of the gorrilaz music video. However hopeless this song is it really isn't I believe hes describing an ancient human psycosis. Its really hard describing a mass psycosis and saying its wat ever you make makes him full of Shit cause that's not the truth he knew wat he was describing. By the way hes the snake
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Song...is...what you want it to be. A picture has a thousand words. A song has a thousand pictures.
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