Temple of the Dog began when Chris Cornell of Soundgarden wrote two songs in honor of his good friend Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose in March 1990. Wood was kept on life support for three days after he overdosed, during which time Cornell and his band mates came to see him. Wood was in a promising Seattle band called Mother Love Bone with Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, who were forming their new band that would become Pearl Jam. Cornell teamed up with them and guitarist Mike McCready with the intention of recording some of Woods solo songs along with Cornells two tribute tracks. Responding to concerns that they were somehow exploiting Woods work, the guys decided to release an album of all original material in tribute to Wood, and called the band Temple of the Dog after a Mother Love Bone lyric from their song “Man of Golden Words.” “Hunger Strike” was the last song recorded for the album; Chris Cornell wrote it because they had only nine tracks and he has a compulsive distaste for odd numbers. Describing the song in the Pearl Jam Twenty collection, he said, “I was wanting to express the gratitude for my life but also disdain for people where thats not enough, where they want more. Theres no way to really have a whole lot more than you need usually without taking from somebody else that cant really afford to give it to you. Its sort of about taking advantage of a person or people who really dont have anything.”
The same verse is repeated twice in this song, as Cornell felt he had said everything he could on the subject with those words. Once these verse lyrics are out of the way, its all chorus and bridge, which works thanks to the second vocalist on the song: Eddie Vedder. Temple of the Dog recorded the song on the very day Vedder flew in from San Diego to meet with his new bandmates in what would become Pearl Jam: October 8, 1990. It was the first time he met any of the guys, and for most of the sessions, he kept to himself (Vedder was chosen based on a tape he sent to the guys where he added vocals to some of their tracks). Chris Cornell planned to sing both the high and low parts of the “Going Hungry” chorus by himself with the help of overdubs, but he was struggling with the low register. In a defining moment, Vedder stepped up to the microphone and sang the low parts of the chorus, which made the song click for Cornell. With two distinct voices, Cornell could now sing the verse lyrics at the beginning of the song, and Vedder could follow with the same lyrics, giving it a different sound. With both voices on the chorus, the song really came together and became the highlight of the album. It was a huge moment for Eddie, as he interjected himself into Cornells song without coming off as arrogant, and gained the respect of his new bandmates in the process. It was Vedders first recorded vocal for a major record, and it proved to those in the room that he understood their sound and was willing to contribute any way he could, even if it wasnt for his band.
The video for the song was shot in Discovery Park in Seattle. The western view at sunset with band members backs to the camera facing Bainbridge Island, home of Andrew Wood, was a symbolic goodbye to their friend. The clip was directed by Paul Rachman, who did the Alice in Chains video for “Man In The Box” and later made the documentary American Hardcore. Chris Cornell had done plenty of music videos and knew how to sell his performance, but Eddie Vedder had never appeared in a video and was uncomfortable lip-synching, so Rachman coached him to find a spot in the distance to look at while he sang. Vedder pulled this one off, but spent the rest of his career dodging any lip-synch scenarios. As for Cornell, hes the one who chose the location. In a 2017 interview with Paul Rachman, the director told Songfacts: “It was truly inspiring to collaborate with him on the creative, and then when we went out to shoot, as you can tell in the video, he was a pro. I told him, Use your guitar and go stand here. Im going to shoot from the back of you and just look out towards this great vista. Its not the most comfortable thing to do, to kind of fake it with a guitar as a rock star out on a sand dune, and he just nailed it every time. He really was able to let the music transcend his actions in those moments, and in the playback he becomes Chris Cornell. In all those shots, hes giving it, hes putting out. It was amazing footage to work with. The Pearl Jam guys were in there, too, but you could tell in the video that they were less experienced at music videos and in terms of being big rock stars. Chris was solid. He was really great, too. He was kind, he was collaborative. He was a pleasure to collaborate with.”
Matt Cameron, who was with Soundgarden at the time, was the drummer for Temple of the Dog. He ended up joining Peal Jam a few years later.
Cornell has joined Pearl Jam on several occasions onstage to perform this song.
This was the first single from the album and by far the most famous song by Temple of the Dog. The follow-up single, “Say Hello 2 Heaven,” is a song Chris Cornell wrote for Andrew Wood.
Temple of the Dog got back together for a tour in 2016. Around this time, Chris Cornell told Rolling Stone: “Hunger Strike and Wooden Jesus were ideas that might have been a few months old, but I had never really finished writing or fully realized them. They didnt feel like Soundgarden, so I didnt really pursue them. But Hunger Strike came about because of an existential crisis that Soundgarden faced at that moment. We were sort of the first band [from Seattle] that had attention from labels in a meaningful way. There was a bidding war, which was unusual for any band from Seattle. We were living our dream, but there was also this mistrust over what that meant. Does this make us a commercial rock band? Does it change our motivation when were writing a song and making a record? Hunger Strike is a statement that Im staying true to what Im doing regardless of what comes of it, but I will never change what Im doing for the purposes of success or money.”
The Soundgarden guys in Temple of the Dog, Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron, had little interest in appearing in the video, but the Pearl Jam guys wanted the exposure since their band had recently formed.
When Chris Cornell toured with Linkin Park on the Projekt Revolution festival in 2008, Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington would join Cornell to perform this song, and Cornell would return the favor by singing on Crawling during Linkin Parks set. Cornell and Bennington were very close, and when Cornell committed suicide by hanging in 2017, Bennington did the same two months later.
The American rock band known as Daughtry released a cover of this classic in 2021. The said cover can be found on Daughtry’s “Dearly Beloved” album of 2021.
Accordingly it charted in at least four countries, including New Zealand, US and UK. In the latter country, it reached 51. In US, it entered multiple Billboard charts, including the Mainstream Rock charts at No. 4.
The song outlines how some people have to work extremely hard before they can fend for themselves while others just have everything on a silver platter. The writer suggests that this inequality and unfair distribution of resources is probably as a result of greed on the side of people who already have enough. He admonishes people like himself and the well-to-do in the world to go on a proverbial hunger strike until everyone rightfully gets the wages they deserve and live equally.
Writing: Chris CornellProduction: Temple of the Dog in collaboration with Rick ParasharAlbum: Temple of the Dog’s only studio album titled after themselvesReleaseYear: 1991
Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” sees the narrator adapt a Robin-hood mindset where he is comfortable stealing from the rich in order to feed the poor. The underlying message of this song is that of equality in the world. It expresses the writer’s desire to see an end to the suffering and poverty of certain people.
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The song clearly is not just about being literally hungry –not with ample sociopolitical ry such as “farming babies, while the slaves are all working.” But while it may present as an abstract statement about wealth and poverty, a little research reveals a more personal meaning:
In other words, does the band take a big contract from a commercial label (“bread from the mouths of decadence”) and does that imply selling out, maybe even becoming party to exploitation (“I cant feed on the powerless when my cups already overfilled”)? Its all a bit overdramatic, but it comes out of a time and place in music where authenticity was prized above all else, and where the prospect of mainstream success raised powerfully ambivalent feelings among formerly “indie” groups that werent sure they wanted it. The title of the song announces his intentions to turn down his shot at wealth and fame. Perhaps he would have been happier if he had stuck with that original commitment.
I BElieve song is referencing human trafficking, and farming REAL human babies and wealthy deranged evil people abusing and eating the babies. They are going hungry because they want nothing to do with this practice and they are speaking out against the perverted disgusting action.
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FAQ
What is the meaning behind Temple of the Dog Hunger Strike?
“Hunger Strike” is a statement that I’m staying true to what I’m doing regardless of what comes of it, but I will never change what I’m doing for the purposes of success or money.
Why did Chris Cornell write Hunger Strike?
“Hunger Strike” is a song by the American rock band Temple of the Dog. Written by vocalist Chris Cornell, it was released in 1991 as the first single from the band’s sole studio album, Temple of the Dog (1991). It was the band’s most successful song, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
