Your Time Has Come Lyrics
Now one fell asleep in the street and he never woke up
Now one died in pieces in his bed with the mouth full of gold
And one threatened me long ago when I saw him
Melt in the bright light of day
And one laid to rest in a field under starlings and crows, hey
[Chorus]
I've been wandering sideways
I've stared straight into the sun
Still, I don't know why you're dying
Long before your time has come
Your time has come
[Verse 2]
Now one took some bullets in the chest in a deal gone wrong
One got a little too depressed and he went and jumped the gun
One got shot right in the face and he somehow survived
But he doesn't know my name or who I am
And I'm not surprised, hey
[Chorus]
I've been wandering sideways
I've stared straight into the sun
Still, I don't know why you're dying
Long before your time has come
I've been wandering sideways
And I've stared straight into the sun
Still, I don't know why you're dying
Long before your time has come
Your time has come, yeah
[Bridge]
I've seen 50,000 names all engraved on a stone
Most of them, met an early grave
Years before I was born
All of them left brothers and sisters and mothers behind
And most of their family and friends alive, doing time
[Chorus]
I've been wandering sideways
I've stared straight into the sun
Still, I don't know why you're dying
Long before your time has come
I've been wandering sideways
I've stared straight into the sun
Still, I don't know why you're dying
Long before your time has come
[Outro]
Long before your time has come
Long before your time has come
And your time has come
About
The song was inspired by the 1980s song “People Who Died,” by The Jim Carroll Band, an emotional salute to the casualties of New York drug culture written by poet and singer Jim Carroll..
Chris Cornell expanded about the song meaning:
It’s a bunch of references to people that I knew that were younger than me who’ve been dead for years and years, up to a couple of years ago… it is also about people who killed themselves before their time has come… And then just kind of that juxtaposition of, even though it seems a lot for one person, a young healthy person, to have lost all these friends through various means of stupidity and other things, then making reference to the Vietnam War Memorial and the sheer numbers of dead. And remembering that and pointing out that each one of them has a family, each one of them has friends that are sitting around thinking about the same stuff that I did. But the numbers are astounding and, in a sense, kind of criminal. And that’s what the song’s about."
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Your Time Has Come
- 2.Out of Exile
- 3.Be Yourself
- 7.The Worm
- 10.Dandelion
- 11.#1 Zero
- 12.The Curse
- 13.Super Stupid
- 14.Like a Stone (Live) (Missing Lyrics)