You have this certain song you can spontaneously connect to deeply from inside your heart?
You can connect to the songwriter and are able to decrypt what he actually meant?
You can read between his metaphorical words? Let it flow.
There was this one song yesterday. I heard it kind of accidently because I let run some youtube playlists. I feel its words so strong. Soundgarden named it "Burden In My Hand". First of all R.I.P. Chris Cornell.
To finally begin with here the original video and songtext (© 1996 A&M Records)
Follow me into the desert
As thirsty as you are
Crack a smile and cut your mouth
And drown in alcohol
'Cause down below the truth is lying
Beneath the river bed quench yourself and drink the water
That flows below her head
Oh no there she goes
Out in the sunshine
The sun is mine, sun is mine
I shot my love today
Would you cry for me
I lost my head again
Would you lie for me
Close your eyes and bow your head
I need a little sympathy
'Cause fear is strong and love's for everyone
Who isn't me
Kill your health and kill yourself
And kill everything you love
And if you live you can fall to pieces
And suffer with my ghost
I shot my love today
Would you cry for me
I lost my head again
Would you lie for me
I left her in the sand
Just a burden in my hand
I lost my head again
Would you cry for me
Just a burden in my hand
Just an anchor on my heart
It's just a tumor in my head
And I'm in the dark
So follow me into the desert
As desperate as you are
Where the moon is glued
To a picture of heaven
And all the little pigs have God
Oh no there she goes
Out in the sunshine
The sun is mine, the sun is mine
I shot my love today
Would you cry for me, yeah
I lost my head again
Would you lie for me
I left her in the sand
Just a burden in my hand
I lost my head again
Would you cry for me
Would you cry for me
So here my 2 cents:
I feel Chris Cornell was singing here for all the people he could actually connect in real life as they are highly sensitive as he was. Most of the people arent fully aware that they have this kind of personality or even surpress it because they learned so. He is in my opinion singing about his god given gifts like his voice and charisma which enables him to make people "follow" him "in the desert" even if they are thursty. I can see a connection to the bible, especially the story of the burning thornbush because he uses this particular picture of the desert in connection with his statements. He speaks of it as a burden in his hand as the title of the song says - he could mean the influence he has on millions of people with his music. He might be talking 100% of himself. The fans of his music are the ones who most likely buy it for a certain reason, they connect to his music and the way hes writing his texts. He earns millions of dollars with this fans that consume his music and will never understand what he means with his words 100%. So he cant help them but give them some music they enjoy and can relate to from their heart. He is like a fata morgana for his fans and a cashcow for music industry so he sees himself sometimes like a traitor that "shot [one of his] love[s] again" and asks another one to "cry for" him as he indirectly manipulates them to do so with his cryptic songs about this particular situation he is in. His texts move the people that can connect to the certain lines but they often dont even understand why. He is expressing his feelings through his music as a sender but it doesnt change anything of the current state of society. Its a burden he carries inside because society disables him to really change something with what he likes most , music. It leaves him torn inside.
He has found a way to become a superstar with tons of money and a followership only biggest idols have but he cannot use it to change the world as he would secretly like to.
What do you think?