“Burden in My Hand” by Soundgarden
Written by Chris Cornell
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 riverbed
So quench yourself and drink the water
That flows below her head
Oh no there she goes
Out in the sunshine the sun is mine
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
Close your eyes and bow your head
I need a little sympathy
cause fear is strong and loves for everyone
Who isn’t me
So 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
Just a burden in my hand
Just an anchor on my heart
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
Song Analysis:
In the song Burden in my hand by Sound Garden, the artist conveys the meaning of a relationship and the constant pull from each person within it. “Follow me into the desert” is referring to the mysteries of love and romance, he makes the desert and her thirst a metaphor for love, because when he says “as thirsty as you are” it means she desires romance. She “cracks a smile and cut your mouth” which is like opening up in a relationship, it is very hard to do and sometimes you have to break down barriers that are built up for so long, it may cause you harm. “Drown in alcohol” is love itself, he is saying to get love drunk. Everything about love can make you feel a completely different way and make you act different as if you are drunk. The line” cause down below your truth is lying” means that he doesn’t want her to hide her feelings. “So quench yourself and drink the water that flows below her head” means to just let the feelings take over and don't dehydrate yourself from it. In the chorus “ I shot my love today, would you cry for me”, he is referring to the way he messed up the relationship. In verse two he states “close yur eyes bow your head/ I need a little sympathy/ cause fear is strong and loves for everyone/ who isn’t me”. He let fear out of some things outweigh everything else, so he doesn’t want anyone to say anything, he just wants everyone to close their eyes and bow their heads and show him sympathy. Then he says love is for everyone who isn't me so everyone except for him can love. He then follows by saying “so kill your wealth and kill yourself/ and kill everything you love/ and if you live you can fall to pieces/ and suffer with my ghost”. He is now talking about himself and thinks he should just drop everything. He doesn’t want to love because he thinks he will just ruin it again. She can live and fall to pieces with the memory of him in her brain. This song has literary devices in it to help get the meaning across easier. There are many signs of personification, metaphors and a lot of symbolism.
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