Black Hole Sun

Song Meaning of Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden, and what it is about

"Black Hole Sun" is a song by American rock band Soundgarden and was written by frontman Chris Cornell and released in 1994.

It was the third single from the band's fourth studio album, Superunknown and is considered to be the band's signature song,

In 2014, Cornell explained the song's origins to Uncut Magazine:

I wrote it in my head driving home from Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, a 35–40 minute drive from Seattle.

It sparked from something a news anchor said on TV and I heard wrong.

I heard 'blah blah blah black hole sun blah blah blah'. I thought that would make an amazing song title, but what would it sound like?

It all came together, pretty much the whole arrangement including the guitar solo that's played beneath the riff.

I spent a lot of time spinning those melodies in my head so I wouldn't forget them. I got home and whistled it into a Dictaphone.

The next day I brought it into the real world, assigning a couple of key changes in the verse to make the melodies more interesting.

Then I wrote the lyrics and that was similar, a stream of consciousness based on the feeling I got from the chorus and title.

Cornell said that he wrote the song in about 15 minutes, and "I wrote the song thinking the band wouldn't like it—then it became the biggest hit of the summer."

Cornell came up with the song while using a Leslie speaker. Guitarist Kim Thayil said that the Leslie model 16 speaker was perfect for the song as "it's very Beatlesque and has a distinctive sound. It ended up changing the song completely."

Appearing on The Pods & Sods Network in July 2017, the song’s producer Michael Beinhorn detailed the process of recording Superunknown and shared his reaction to first hearing "Black Hole Sun":

"I think for the rest of my entire life, until I draw my last breath, I'll never ever forgot how I felt when they started playing that song. From the very first few notes, I felt like I'd been hit by a thunderbolt. I was just absolutely stunned. What in the world is this? I get goosebumps thinking about it now."

The song topped the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, where it spent a total of seven weeks at number one. Worldwide, the single reached the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, and Ireland, while in Iceland, it reached number one.

Lyrics of the song Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden

In my eyes

Indisposed

In disguise

As no one knows

Hides the face

Lies the snake

And 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 again

Black hole sun

Won't you come

And wash away the rain?

Black hole sun

Won't you come?

Won't you come?

Won't you come?

Stuttering

Cold and damp

Steal the warm wind

Tired friend

Times are gone

For honest men

And sometimes

Far too long

For snakes

In my shoes

A walking sleep

And my youth

I pray to keep

Heaven send

Hell away

No one sings

Like you anymore

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

'Til you all just disappear

Black hole sun

Won't you come

And wash away the rain?

Black hole sun

Won't you come?

Won't you come?