Chris Cornell recently discussed Andrew Wood, Pearl Jam, and Temple of the Dog in a new Independent interview.
“With all that’s been written about Temple of the Dog recently, it’s reminded me of the original meanings of those songs. Say Hello 2 Heaven, for example, was one of the songs I wrote directly for Andy Wood and the amount of times someone has requested I play that song for someone else who’s died have been numerous. That’s great that it’s become this anthem that makes somebody feel some comfort when they’ve lost someone, but recently I’ve become a little more possessive of the idea that this song was actually written for a specific guy and I haven’t forgotten that person. So I’ve been reminding myself and those in the audience where that song came from.”
“There’s no doubt that Pearl Jam were going to form regardless of whether [the Temple of the Dog record] had come out,” he says. “Although they wouldn’t have formed if Andrew hadn’t died and I think that’s something that we’ve probably all pondered over at one time or another. It’s easy to look back at it romantically and say that Pearl Jam coming out of Mother Love Bone was in some way righteous or it was making the world right again. But as someone who doesn’t particularly believe in fate, I just think that’s bulls**t. I never really believed that it was time for one of our young friends to go, I just look at it as an accident, with some people moving on and that turning out well.”
