| "Burden in My Hand" | |||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Soundgarden | |||||||||||||||||
| from the album Down on the Upside | |||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Karaoke" | ||||||||||||||||
| Released | September 18, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, Vinyl | ||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | November 1995 – February 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Grunge, blues rock | ||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:50 | ||||||||||||||||
| Label | A&M | ||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Chris Cornell | ||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Adam Kasper, Soundgarden | ||||||||||||||||
| Soundgarden singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||
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"Burden in My Hand" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Burden in My Hand" was released on September 18, 1996 as the second single from the band's fifth studio album, Down on the Upside (1996). The song topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it spent a total of five weeks at number one. The song was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album, A-Sides.
Contents |
"Burden in My Hand" was written by frontman Chris Cornell. It was written in C-G-C-G-G-E tuning.
The lyrics of 'Burden in My Hand' suggest the song is about a man who murders a woman he is in a relationship with and leaves her in the desert, not without regret. Some fans believe the lyrics are 'deeper' than the surface and indicative of something such as drug abuse or an abusive relationship; however, guitarist Kim Thayil called the song "the "Hey Joe" of the '90s."[1]
"Burden in My Hand" was released as a single in 1996 in various versions with the previously unreleased B-sides "Karaoke" and "Bleed Together", the latter of which can also be found on the band's greatest hits compilation, A-Sides (1997). "Burden in My Hand" appeared on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 Airplay chart, reaching the top 40. "Burden in My Hand" became the most successful song from Down on the Upside on the American rock charts. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song spent a total of five weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Outside the United States, the single was released in Australia and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top ten on the Canadian Singles Chart, and later it charted on the Alternative Top 30 chart where it reached number one and became Soundgarden's second single to top that chart. "Burden in My Hand" also reached number one on the Canadian Year End Alternative Top 50.
The music video for "Burden in My Hand" was directed by Jake Scott, who had previously directed the "Fell on Black Days" music video for the band.[2] The video features the band members walking through what appears to be the Kelso Dunes of the eastern Mojave Desert. The fighter aircraft seen in the video can be identified as a J 35 Draken, apparently operated out of the Mojave Air & Space Port. The video was released in June 1996.[3]
"Burden in My Hand" was performed on Saturday Night Live in May 1996 in support of Down on the Upside.
All songs written by Chris Cornell, except where noted:
Peak chart positions
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End of year charts
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| Preceded by "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" by Stone Temple Pilots |
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single August 31 – October 4, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Test for Echo" by Rush |
| Preceded by Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart by Stone Temple Pilots |
Canadian RPM Alternative 30 number-one single August 12 - August 26, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Who You Are" by Pearl Jam |
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