10 Classic Rock Songs That Mean Absolutely Nothing

The entire ethos behind Soundgarden felt like a throwback in the age of grunge. Since most of the bands at the time were writing the sludgiest riffs they could muster, here was a frontman that seemed to be channeling the soul and grit of Robert Plant, only with a more artsy approach in the lyrics. And while it's pretty easy to see their influences on a track like Black Hole Sun, the absolutely nutty lyrics is something entirely their own.

Granted, no one was really coming to a song like this to be blown away by Cornell's lyrical prowess, especially since the last song that was released as a single was literally about a guy who could play the spoons in Seattle. When Cornell sat down to write this psychedelic piece of alternative rock, he said that he was looking to paint with words, just taking little turns of phrase and putting them in the right places to put an image in your mind.

If you look at it that way, every line has some significance even if they don't really connect all that well. You aren't going to get much explanation from the music video either, which looks something that's ripped right out of a David Lynch fever dream. Whether he knew it or not, Cornell did drop one line that ended up being prophetic of his death decades later: no one sings like you anymore.