What if your biggest hit was a mistake?

Chris Cornell misheard a news reporter and then wrote Black Hole Sun

Since I talk a lot about self-doubt-related topics. My ears perked up when I heard the story of Chris Cornell writing Black Hole Sun after mishearing a news reporter.

Cornell never clarified what the reporter might have actually said, so I decided to take a guess…

And now here’s Blake Olson with the weather!

Chris Cornell imagines how much cooler Blake Olson will be when he finishes writing his song.

Make Your Own Meaning

He said he created the lyrics with mere wordplay and wanted to leave the meaning up to the listener. And he certainly succeeded! This openness to interpretation is part of what has made "Black Hole Sun" such a compelling and enduring song.

The lyrics to “Black Hole Sun” have intrigued and puzzled listeners ever since Soundgarden included it on their album Superunkown. Here are a few possible interpretations:

• Disillusionment with Society
  "Black Hole Sun" may critique societal corruption and emptiness, symbolizing a desire to escape or cleanse these negative aspects.

• Depression and Despair
  The song could reflect inner turmoil, using the black hole as a metaphor for overwhelming darkness and inescapable despair.

• Apocalypse or End Times
  The imagery might suggest an apocalyptic event, with the sun turning into a black hole symbolizing ultimate destruction.

• Catharsis and Cleansing
  Some see the "black hole sun" as a force for renewal, washing away the world's ugliness and pain, implying a desire for purification.

• Surrealism and Ambiguity
  Chris Cornell intended the lyrics to evoke a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere, open to interpretation rather than conveying a specific message.

• Loss and Grief
  The song might explore themes of loss and mourning, with the "black hole sun" representing an all-consuming sense of grief.

Seasoned Song-weaver

By the time Cornell wrote this song, he was at his peak vocally and as a masterful songwriter. He could craft a hit from almost any starting point. The key here was finding inspiration—whether real, accurate, or even a mistake. Cornell took a misheard phrase and, trusting his intuition, turned it into a mega hit. He didn’t need deep soul-searching for these lyrics; his artistry alone made it resonate with millions, even though they never misheard the newscast. The interesting part is that Chris knew it was a mistake but trusted it as a cool phrase and ran with it.

In the end, Black Hole Sun is far and away Soundgarden’s most popular song.

Black Hole Sun has 720 Million plays on Spotify, by far their biggest hit!

It's fascinating how a misheard phrase on a random newscast became the seed for their most popular song. How many artists would abandon an idea just because it started as a mistake?

Don’t Play the Butter Notes

Another example of mistaken hearing is a famous Herbie Hancock story. Herbie was playing with Miles Davis and having a rough time. He was feeling depressed about his own playing. At some point during the show, Miles leaned over and in his famous raspy whisper told Herbie to “Don’t play the Butter Notes.”

He figured that butter is fat and obvious. So he changed his whole approach that night spontaneously on the bandstand. The crowd and Miles loved what he did. It was a breakthrough moment.

He later learned that Miles said, “Don’t play the BOTTOM notes” meaning the roots of the chords or the lower register of the piano. Once again, a mistaken phrase created a complete turnaround in a musicians life.

Thought Exercise

Does this make you think differently about your creative work?

Might you consider working more actively with mistakes, whims, or unclear directions to see what you might make out of it?

What other mistakes do you know about that have created amazing results like this?