Quotes by Chris Cornell

“And if you dont believe the sun will rise, stand alone and greet the coming night in the last remaining light.”

“I dont think there are too many rock bands in history that can look at the beginning and middle and ending of themselves and see what I see when I think of Soundgarden. I think from the beginning through the middle and the end it was such a perfect ride and such a perfect legacy to leave,”

“Its great when you play to an audience that knows the words to all your songs, and sings them back to you.”

“Most of the time, reading through treatments, its like it could be any band, any song -- it doesnt matter that its you or your song. The ideas are completely disconnected from the music and the image of the band.”

“Probably before that record comes out well be out playing shows again. The idea is just to break down what has been the normal cycle of a year and a half on the road, a year and a half making a record, not get so far away from one world or the other world. I think that that makes better music, I think it makes for a better live show, I think it makes a better band.”

“He just complained and complained the whole time we were there...But it didnt make any difference in terms of how our day went, because nobody there cared where we were from.”

“When I was maybe nine years old, I listened to the entire Beatles catalogue, non-stop, for about a year,”

“First and foremost, it was a lesson in propaganda. We were wound up, thinking we might be under surveillance, there would be hidden cameras in our hotel rooms, our phone lines would be bugged, theyd go through all our stuff. As Americans, we really arent allowed to know much about Cuba or the people there.”

“The show was very emotional. We all have so much experience that we were trying to trick ourselves into believing we werent nervous. Afterward, we were sitting around saying the normal things you say after a show. Then suddenly we all became quite overwhelmed as it dawned on us that we had just done a very special thing.”

“Actually, thats not true,”

Worried moonIm afraid of whats to comeWorried moonYeah, tell me what you knowWorried moonYou see further down the roadWorried moon

Hip-hop kind of absorbed rock in terms of the attitude and the whole point of why rock was important music. Young people felt like rock music was theirs, from Elvis to the Beatles to the Ramones to Nirvana. This was theirs; it wasnt their parents. I think hip-hop became the musical style that embraces that mentality.

I wasnt good in school. I didnt do sports. I sat in the bedroom and listened to records. Because the Beatles did whatever they wanted to, I took that as a kid and said, Thats what rock is.

Ive always liked depressing music because a lot of times, listening to it when youre down can actually make you feel less depressed. Also, even though a person may have problems with depression, sometimes you can actually be kind of comfortable in that space because you know how to operate within it.

When I was eight, my piano teacher played seven or eight notes, and I sang them. She stopped and looked at me in shock! That was the first time Id gotten that reaction. Id had looks of horror, but never shock in a positive way.

I had kind of a mean piano teacher. I went to Catholic school, so it was like the typical thing you would imagine - a little kid with a white-haired teacher frowning at the fact that I didnt practice.

Im not a lyric writer to make statements. What I enjoy doing is making paintings with lyrics, creating colorful images. I think thats more what entertainment and music should be.

I think Freddie Mercury is probably the best of all time in terms of a rock voice. There was a vulnerability to it, his technical ability was amazing, and so much of his personality would come out through his voice. Im not even a guy to buy Queen records, really, and I still think hes one of the best.

I think that one of the main privileges of what I do, which I am just starting to learn, is to have the ability to travel all over the world and experience different cultures.

Theres sadness to anyone that dies before their time, and specifically ones that seem to affect people in a positive way. It doesnt matter if its Whitney Houston or a nameless, faceless person on the street. Thats just as big of a tragedy for me.