"Won't you come and wash away the rain." I've always thought that Cornell was asking the Black Hole Sun to come and wash away his sadness, meaning that he wanted to shoot himself to end his pain. When a gun goes off, there is a black hole in the middle of a ring of fire, which is exactly what a "Black holed Sun" would look like. I've always thought that a Black Hole Sun was referring to the way a gun barrel looks when it goes off. He's always depressed, but no one knows but him. It hides behind his eyes, but is omnipresent in his mind. His eyes are indisposed, and the snake (his depression or sadness) is in disguise. The first lines describe how the character hides his sadness. The verses are a little vague, but the chorus is a tell tale sign to me that this song might be, or at least can be, about suicide. My InterpretationI've always thought that this song is a reference to suicide. Part of it was because of our own tenacity, and part of it was because we were lucky. We've been so lucky that we've never had to do that. There's so much stepping on the backs of other people in our profession. 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. It's really difficult for a person to create their own life and their own freedom.
But because the melody is really pretty, everyone thinks it's almost chipper, which is ridiculous." When asked about the line, "Times are gone for honest men," Cornell said: There was no real idea to get across." Commenting upon how the song was misinterpreted as being positive, Cornell said, "No one seems to get this, but "Black Hole Sun" is sad. I was just sucked in by the music and I was painting a picture with the lyrics. Other than that, I sure didn't have an understanding of it after I wrote it. The chorus lyric is kind of beautiful and easy to remember. I guess it worked for a lot of people who heard it, but I have no idea how you'd begin to take that one literally." In another interview he elaborated further, stating, "It's funny because hits are usually sort of congruent, sort of an identifiable lyric idea, and that song pretty much had none. I pulled this from an article, "Regarding "Black Hole Sun", Cornell stated, "It's just sort of a surreal dreamscape, a weird, play-with-the-title kind of song." He also said that "lyrically it's probably the closest to me just playing with words for words' sake, of anything I've written. General CommentI know I new to the site, but damn.do some research before you assume Check out our main music and culture hub here.Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun) To quote "Black Hole Sun" in honor of a legend: "No one sings like you anymore." Part of it also may have been the fact that Chris Cornell had one of the sharpest and most jaw-dropping voices in rock 'n' roll that somehow could make Soundgarden's evil riffs seem sweet.
Much of the song's tension seems to hinge on one lyric: "Times are gone for honest men." Cornell had a lot to say about that line in a 1995 Rolling Stone interview: It's really difficult for a person to create their own life and their own freedom. What are the most meaningful lyrics in “Black Hole Sun”?