Ty Cobb (song)

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“Ty Cobb”
“Ty Cobb” cover
Single by Soundgarden
from the album Down on the Upside
B-side "Rhinosaur" / "Big Dumb Sex" / "Rhinosaur" (The Straw That Broke the Rhino's Back remix)
Released April 1997
Format CD single
Recorded November 1995–February 1996
Genre Alternative rock, grunge
Length 3:05
Label A&M
Writer(s) Chris Cornell, Ben Shepherd
Producer Soundgarden
Soundgarden singles chronology
"Blow Up the Outside World"
(1996)		 "Ty Cobb"
(1997)		 "Bleed Together"
(1997)
Down on the Upside track listing
"Dusty"
(Track 4)		 "Ty Cobb"
(Track 5)		 "Blow Up the Outside World"
(Track 6)

"Ty Cobb" is the fifth track on Soundgarden's final album, Down on the Upside (1996). It would later appear on the band's greatest hits album A-Sides.

Contents

[edit] Origin and recording

The song features lyrics written by frontman Chris Cornell and music written by bassist Ben Shepherd. A mandolin is featured on the track.[1]

[edit] Composition

Kim Thayil said, "["Ty Cobb"] sounds like it may fall apart at any second but it remains intact. That is an element that a lot of rock bands neglected. But punk rock has always had that element of barely being able to hold on to the steering wheel."[2]

[edit] Release and reception

Interestingly, although "Ty Cobb" did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100, the US Mainstream Rock Tracks, or the US Modern Rock Tracks charts as the first three singles from Down on the Upside did, its B-side, "Rhinosaur", did chart on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart at number 19.

David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said, "With its frenetic mandolin, "Ty Cobb"...is something like metal bluegrass."[3]

[edit] Lyrical meaning

The track was originally titled "Hot Rod Death Toll", but the lyrics reminded Shepherd of the infamous baseball player Ty Cobb.[4] He holds the all-time career batting record (.367), but he is also well-known for his womanizing, alcoholism and racism.[1] The song is infamous for its 21 utterances of the word "fuck," second only to "Big Dumb Sex" (36 utterances) among Soundgarden songs. Chris Cornell on the song:

It was basically coming from the frame of mind of some sort of hardcore pissed-off idiot, and that's why we titled it that. We weren't writing the song about Ty Cobb at all - I didn't even know anything about him. I was just thinking of a character who was a combination of a lot of people I've met and didn't like.[5]

[edit] Formats and track listing

European Club Promo CD
  1. "Ty Cobb" (Chris Cornell, Ben Shepherd) – 3:05
  2. "Rhinosaur" (Matt Cameron, Cornell) – 3:14
  3. "Big Dumb Sex" (Cornell) – 4:11
  4. "Rhinosaur" (The Straw That Broke the Rhino's Back remix) (Cameron, Cornell)
Australian CD
  1. "Ty Cobb" (Cornell, Shepherd) – 3:05
  2. "Rhinosaur" (Cameron, Cornell) – 3:14
  3. "Big Dumb Sex" (Cornell) – 4:11
  4. "Rhinosaur" (The Straw That Broke the Rhino's Back remix) (Cameron, Cornell)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Soundgarden Sound Off". Melody Maker. March 23, 1996.
  2. ^ Cecolini, Vinny. "Soundgarden: To the Limit". Hit Parader. March 1997.
  3. ^ Browne, David. "Down on the Upside". Entertainment Weekly. May 24, 1996.
  4. ^ Cross, Charles R. "The Joys of Noise: Soundgarden Throw a High-Frequency Sludgefest". Rolling Stone. February 8, 1996.
  5. ^ "Gardener's Question Time". Kerrang!. March 1, 1997.
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