Written by frontman Chris Cornell, the song was released in 1994 as the third single from the band's fourth studio album Superunknown (1994).
"Black Hole Sun" was written by frontman Chris Cornell. 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.
Lyrics
In my eyes, indisposed In disguises no one knows Hides the face, lies the snake 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 sent 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 Till 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
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) Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun) Won't you come (black hole sun, black hole sun) Won't you come Won't you come
Songwriters: Chris Cornell
Black Hole Sun lyrics © BMG Rights Management