“Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden

Let it be known from the onset that if a listener decides to attribute a particular meaning to the lyrics of “Black Hole Sun”, that is his or her prerogative. Yet as for the writer himself, he did not mean for this song to have any type of particular meaning. Rather, the lyrics are more of just a hodgepodge of random musings that he put together after hearing the phrase “black hole sun”, which he thought sounded cool. So the wording may sound terribly-deep at certain points of the song. But Chris Cornell himself never meant for them to be taken literally.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun at Lyrics.org.

So on that note, we are not going to try to derive an understanding from this tune which may not actually be present. Yes, there is at least one passage which he ascribed a palpable explanation to. And that is when he says “times are gone for honest men”. What he was actually speaking to was the state of the music industry, which he described as being a cut-throat profession. But according to Cornell’s overall explanation of the lyrics, what they represent is him “playing with words for words’ sake”.

So yes, with “Black Hole Sun” we do in fact have an interesting tune on our hands, indeed Soundgarden’s signature song. And whereas comprehensively it possesses a brooding tone, for the most part its lyrical interpretation is very much left in the hands of the listener.

“Black hole sun, won’t you come?”

Facts about “Black Hole Sun”

“Black Hole Sun” was written by Soundgarden’s lead singer, the late Chris Cornell (1964-2017). He conceptualized the tune while driving home from work one day after mishearing a news anchor utter the words “black hole sun”. Moreover, upon actually sitting down to write it, the song only took him approximately 15 minutes to pen.

The track was originally released, by A&M Records, as part of Soundgarden’s fourth-studio album, which is entitled “Superunknown”. It was the third single from that project and was officially dropped on 4 May 1994.

The entire band produced this song in conjunction with Michael Beinhorn. And it went on to become what many people consider to be Soundgarden’s signature tune. For instance, it took home a Grammy Award in 1995 in the category of Best Hard Rock Performance. Moreover it topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and also was placed at number one on their year-end Alternative Songs chart for 1994. Outside of the US, it also charted in 15 other nations, including making an appearance on the UK Singles Chart and reaching number 1 in Iceland. And “Black Hole Sun” also managed to be certified Gold in Australia.

The track’s music video, which was directed by Howard Greenhalgh, also proved to be a hit. For instance in 1994 it won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Metal/Hard Rock Video.

Guns N’ Rose, Metallica and others performed this track during a posthumous tribute to Chris in 2017. And interesting to note is that Weird Al Yankovic also parodied the tune in 1996.

6 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:

    What did the characters in the black hole sun music video represent?

    • Leprechaun says:

      I think the song actually has deeper meaning than they’re leading on with, paired with the music video, THERES meaning too it!

  2. Match says:

    I believe the song has literal meaning and soon we’ll understand.

    • Anonymous says:

      You my man hit it right on the head. That song is about nother more then the end of the world very deep and knowing now what it is makes it even that much better of a song

  3. Wash Away the Reign of Man says:

    IMHO: No one says they ‘pen a song’ in 15 minutes unless they are lying about it or are channeling information from another source. Supposedly, the ‘Black Star’ or ‘Black Hole Sun’ is the dwarf star binary twin of our sun. Every 12,000 years or so, the two pass one another in their dual orbit causing a complete re-terraforming of Earth and a great reset of life. I don’t know if this is true, but if it is, it seems to be coming up. He committed suicide.

  4. Anonymous says:

    I guess I was wrong but, I always associated “Black Hole Sun (Son)” with Syd Barrett and the lost potential. Maybe that interpretation is more about me than the song. Either way, love the song and just about everything Chris touched. Ironic too, is he left us way too soon, RIP.

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