Soundgarden are associated with grunge, a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle. After releasing two EPs on the Seattle-based label Sub-Pop in 1987 and 1988, their debut album, Ultramega OK was released on the California-based independent label SST Records in 1989. While the album did not sell well nationally, it gained critical acclaim and was nominated for a Grammy award in 1990. They recorded their second album, Louder Than Love, independently but had signed with major label A&M Records in the interim, and released the album as their major label debut. Unlike their debut, which had failed to chart, Louder Than Love peaked at number 108 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Released the same day as fellow Seattle grunge act Nirvana's album Nevermind, their third album Badmotorfinger would bring Soundgarden to national acclaim for the first time, buoyed by the popularity of the singles "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined", and "Rusty Cage", the album would reach number 39 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA. Soundgarden was one of the seminal creators of grunge, a style of alternative rock that developed in Seattle, and was the first of a number of grunge bands to sign to the record label Sub Pop. Soundgarden was also one of the first grunge bands to sign to a major label (A&M Records in 1989), though they did not achieve commercial success until they popularized the genre in the early 1990s with Seattle contemporaries Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana.
Soundgarden achieved its biggest success with the 1994 album Superunknown, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and yielded the Grammy Award-winning singles "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun". In 1996, the band experimented with new sonic textures on their follow-up album Down on the Upside, which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned several hit singles of its own, including "Burden in My Hand" and "Blow Up the Outside World". In 1997, the band broke up due to internal strife over its creative direction and exhaustion from touring. After more than a decade of working on projects and other bands, Soundgarden reunited in 2010, and Republic Records released their sixth and final studio album, King Animal, two years later.
As of 2019, Soundgarden sold more than 14 million records in the United States, and an estimated 30 million worldwide. VH1 ranked Soundgarden at number 14 in their special 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundgarden
Studio albums
Ultramega OK (1988)
Louder Than Love (1989)
Badmotorfinger (1991)
Superunknown (1994)
Down on the Upside (1996)
King Animal (2012)
Half
Soundgarden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I hand my love in I'll be done
A handed glove hides the door
Half a chance
Half a chance
We still have a chance
Mr. Full, Mr. Have
Kills Mr. Empty Hand
Half a chance
Half a chance
We still have half a chance
In Soundgarden's song Half, the lyrics are quite cryptic and open to interpretation, but the general feeling conveyed by the song is one of despair and resignation. The lines "When I hand my love in I'll be done/A handed glove hides the door" suggest a finality - the singer is giving up on love and closing the door on that chapter of their life. The metaphor of a "handed glove" is interesting because it implies that love was something that was handed to the singer, perhaps by someone else, and they are now returning it, unable or unwilling to keep it.
The chorus, with its repeated "Half a chance/We still have a chance" seems to be both hopeful and hopeless at the same time. It's as if the singer is acknowledging that there's still a possibility of salvaging the relationship, but they're not holding out much hope.
The final lines, "Mr. Full, Mr. Have/Kills Mr. Empty Hand" seem to be a commentary on the power dynamics of relationships. The people who have it all - money, status, power - are able to take advantage of those who don't. The metaphor of the "empty hand" suggests vulnerability and dependence, and the implication is that the singer has been taken advantage of in some way.
Overall, Half is a bleak, but intriguing song that leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
Line by Line Meaning
One, two, three, four
Counting down before the start of the song
When I hand my love in I'll be done
When I give up on love, it's the end for me
A handed glove hides the door
A glove left behind means someone has left and won't be back
Half a chance
We don't have much of a chance
Half a chance
We're not completely hopeless
We still have a chance
We haven't given up yet
Mr. Full, Mr. Have
Those who have it all
Kills Mr. Empty Hand
Leaves those who have nothing behind
Half a chance
We may not have much, but we're not completely without hope
Half a chance
We're still in the game
We still have half a chance
We're not hopeless, but it's still an uphill battle
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Hunter Shepherd
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stevenconnell5628
Black hole sun is about Satan returning In an end of the world scenario. (Rapture)
Cornell said it was a play on words but look at the lyrics.
Here's one for you that everyone loves to quote but doesn't have an idea what they're saying.
Heaven send hell away
No one sings like you anymore
Satan was the choir director in heaven and was cast out into what some believe to be the sun.
He is supposedly waiting there until his return in which he will rule for a short amount of time. The sun will become a black hole and suck everyone into hell.
Black hole sun won't you come and Wash away the rain
is saying to end it all and destroy all of the sinful people left on the planet
Which it also talks about when it says times have gone for honest men sometimes far too long for snakes. (Satan and his followers have been portrayed as snakes)
In which if I remember he says
In disguises no one knows
Lies the face lies the snake
(Probably speaking of the Antichrist)
Anyways I know Chris said it was a play on words but hell the video goes along with it.
@Pride317
Lyrics
I woke up with
My feet nailed down
And my head moving
The speed of sound
Had a dream I was
Caught in a maze
And I couldn't find
My way back out
Some were born to
Move mountains around
And some to rot away in jail
I get an itch and
When I am scratching
Everything can go to hell
And how far is
Halfway there?
I didn't see you
On the trail
Did almost become
Good enough?
Should a good life
Be so hard won?
Is that what our
Dreams have become?
Sometimes when you're
Shooting an arrow
It can fly across
The sky so proud
I would go all
The way to the sun
If I didn't have to
Come back down
And how far is
Halfway there?
I didn't see you
On the trail
Did almost become
Good enough?
Should a good life
Be so hard won?
Is that what our
Dreams have become?
[Guitar Solo]
Have you got a car?
Somewhere to sleep?
Someone who loves you?
Something to eat?
I would say you're
Doing better than most
Though maybe not
As well as some
And how far is
Halfway there?
I didn't see you
On the trail
Did almost become
Good enough?
Should a good life
Be so hard won?
Is that what our
Dreams have become?
@jake_plays_bass
I have never felt so affected by a celebrity's passing before. This song has always been special to me, but it brings a tear to my eye now that Chris is gone. We lost rock and rolls greatest singer on that fateful night. May Chris, his soul, his friends, and his family be at peace.
@JDela-le2kp
Jake Lodico same here only cobain when I was 15 but even this is different because he seemed like he had it all together had a will to live
@JRSRLN
He's not a celebrity. Chris Cornell is a Musician.
@andrewdods2236
Been crying on and off ever since ... RIP good soul. Only the good die young ....
@robertmaharrey7220
Same here
@tinat1971
Same! It shook the whole world! I still miss him! RIP CC!😭💜💫💛
@kevinokeefe5709
One of the “happier” songs Chris ever wrote- telling us not to settle for mediocrity and to strive for a better life- while at the same time saying to be grateful for the things you do have. R.I.P. Chris.....
@lorinegrangy5501
There's something really weird with Soundgarden's songs. From Black Hole Sun to this one, each time i was like "oh well another soundgarden song" and tried to go back to work, but i simply couldn't. Because there are such strange chord combinations, such great melodies and rhythms from the beginning to the end of each song, it makes me wanna stop everything and just L I S T E N. Their songs make me feel good and i can't really explain why, i guess that's simply what happens when you listen to very talented people.
@robertmurry1442
And dont forget cryptic lyrics that can have you pondering for years...
@rodneysrecreations469
I feel the same way! It makes me feel....weird. But its so amazing! I just sit for a damn long time just Listening and not wanting to think about anything else. It feels as if I heard the songs before, in a past life or something and im listening again in this life. I dont know how to explain it. It is just amazing music that makes you feel amazing.