Like A Stone

Album: Audioslave (2002)
Charted: 31
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  • On a cobweb afternoon
    In a room full of emptiness
    By a freeway I confess
    I was lost in the pages
    Of a book full of death
    Reading how we'll die alone
    And if we're good, we'll lay to rest
    Anywhere we want to go

    In your house, I long to be
    Room by room, patiently
    I'll wait for you there
    Like a stone
    I'll wait for you there
    Alone

    And on my deathbed I will pray
    To the gods and the angels
    Like a pagan to anyone
    Who will take me to heaven
    To a place I recall
    I was there so long ago
    The sky was bruised
    The wine was bled
    And there you led me on

    In your house, I long to be
    Room by room, patiently
    I'll wait for you there
    Like a stone
    I'll wait for you there
    Alone
    Alone

    And on I read
    Until the day was gone
    And I sat in regret
    Of all the things I've done
    For all that I've blessed
    And all that I've wronged
    In dreams until my death
    I will wander on

    In your house, I long to be
    Room by room, patiently
    I'll wait for you there
    Like a stone
    I'll wait for you there
    Alone
    Alone Writer/s: Brad Wilk, Chris Cornell, Timothy Commerford, Tom Morello
    Publisher: Hipgnosis Songs Group, Wixen Music Publishing
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 67

  • Ar From NzDid Chris visit heaven when he was younger? Some NDE's want to return to Gods love....
  • Andy Guebara from Wichita KansasAll these years I thought the song was about a man reading dantes inferno.
  • Val Vethody from India I will listen to this song till I am dead like a stone...
  • Kc from Cleveland OhWhen I first heard this song the lyrics blew me away because after my husband’s death I was stuck in the hospital a lot and my view from my room full of emptiness was the freeway. It spoke to me about wanting to be home (back in my husband’s, my family home) with him. I know it’s about God, the Bible and heaven. So many of the lines hit my personal experience at the time though that it’s hard for me to separate my initial take and the true meaning of the lyrics. Loved Chris Cornell and all he played with. I was very depressed back then and even though some lyrics are dark, I also see optimism for us in them. I could go on and on about personal feelings about his/their songs. Truly miss Chris’s presence on this planet.
  • Diyagi from Usa"To anyone who will take me to haven. To a place I recall, I was there so long ago. The sky was bruised, the wine was bled and there you led me on. "

    I feel like Chris Cornell was a man of old renowned. He was an old spirit/fallen one, nephilim blood.. Many of his songs relate to the Word of God... I am the highway is a very intricate one as well.
  • Anonymous from EarthSo many interpretations of this song, coloured by every listeners experiences in life. To me who's always battled depression and am an atheist\agnostic (most atheists are), the message is to keep looking for answers and if there is more to experience once we die, then hopefully I find a way to access it. It hits hard this song though. I was raised as a Christian. Then once I could think for myself, I realised the bible is deeply flawed. How could it be flawed if God is infallible? Well, either God isn't infallible or the bible didn't come from him and is mostly lies based on some truths. So in the song where he cries out to the gods or angels or anyone who can take him to heaven hits me hard. I like to think I'm still looking for truths and hopefully I'll find it before my time comes. If not, then sadly I won't care will I
  • Circe801 from Somewhereupon first hearing this, i thought of "my father's house has many rooms", and that "the book" in which he "was looking at in the pages" was the bible.
    it seemed weird , but then, when it comes to the part about praying to "the gods and the angels, like a pagan to anyone who will take me to heaven", that seemed more "Chris" to me.
    regardless of what he's said about his lyrics, i see his emotions full in every song, probably because i know how he felt. and, depression sucks.
    i could say a lot more--and will likely comment on other songs, but will end this comment here...
  • Mark from Flushing Oh 43977The song refers to the man that's dieing, that has memories of a place he had once been and in that I can relate, making the memory Easter for me to believe in, because in his house I long to be!
  • Dan from Chicago My interpretation of the song is as an old guy talking to his love about their upcoming death. He's promising that his love for her will transcend their death. How is everyone reading this song as about religion? The way I read it he seems completely indifferent to religion and is only referring to it because he's near death. He doesn't care about any religion in particular he just wants them to be together on the other side. If anything God is what will separate them from each other which casts God as a villain.
  • Rickie G. from George Anonymous...until recently I was a die hard athiest.I do however keep an open mind as (much like a book) keeping it closed is a guarantee that ones
    intelligence or ignorance remains the same.After 2 yrs. living in the forrest along the river not only am I not a. Athiest(as Chris was) I would bet my children's lives there is a Devine Creator ! I assure you this is not faith based (I love my six children very much). Turns out (quite by accident) I discovered little by little the Spiritual belief is absolutely true.All things are connected from human molecules to distant galaxies. Physically and biologically..notice the pattern of tree bark.. same pattern is part of all natural things..your skin, a mushroom, sand dunes, leaves, human molecules, clouds..open minds have a better return trip for round two..Einstein, Tesla, Hawkins, and three more quantum physicists,all Nobel Prize Laureates believe it to be true.Now your assumption may still be correct, ok not really..!! Thinking I got sidetracked...Namaste
  • AnonymousPeople who have a god shaped hole in their heart will completely connect to this song. It’s an eternal despair. And eternal sigh. Knowing that you are missing something but also knowing that it cannot be filled. It’s the torment of wanting to believe and wanting to spend eternity with loved ones but knowing that door forever locked. Remembering as a child the awe and wonder of being introduced to “god,” that everything is “right” and then suffering the stains of life and that diminish any chance of ever connecting to god. Watching as religions fail at every turn. The connection has been severed. And before someone replies with finding faith or religion, know that that is impossible with some people. They are no wired that way.
  • David from Yuma a good musician will make you see yourself in the song. The song just like heaven is in the eye of the beholder. Finding your inner peace is what a good song should help you stride to do. Everyone is right and wrong.
  • Lisa from California Ok so I’m reading all these comments and I’m amazed at all the weirdness, who ever said that organs don’t believe in god does not understand or know what he is talking about this is not a love story, this is a letter not only to death but Ángels god and heaven, this song is beyond spiritually and absence of longing that a lot of people do not and will never understand, the book of death, not a lot of people have read and it’s real, something that a lot of people will not be able to understand much less have a chance to read, it is very much about death and life as well
  • M from San FranciscoThis song is clearly and only about his depression in life. He is clearly singing about a time as boy that he trusted fully in the Bible and God but later felt lead on by it all and faltered as so many of us do. After the fact he longs not to have a hardened heart and to find back that pure & faithful heart he had as a boy for God- sort of a salvation through experience in life.
  • Christina from Oklahoma The first time I heard this song I was 23. I thought this man voice has the perfect sound for rock. I could heard the word sung like they were meant to. I still can. It doesn't surprise me he passed away you can hear the pain in the song like it's all feelings. I love this song and it will never get old for me.
  • SpencerI took it as a heroin addict in a motel room, perhaps right before ODing read the Bible which is a common thing in a motel and praying to be forgiven for his choices in life.
  • Dan Mahoney from Rockville, MdThis is a love song, but a love song for God, not for woman. Many have already commented here, but the "many rooms" is a biblical reference; "book full of death" is a biblical reference; "the sky was bruised" (the sun went out at Christ's death) is a biblical reference; "the wine was bled" is so obviously a biblical reference (spear in Christ's side; Matthew 26:28-30); "To a place I recall, I was there so long ago" is, again, a reference to God, and returning to him as we all do. So those who want to call it a love song, indeed it is - but nothing so crass as for another earthly creature and the "eros" involved - but a unification with a pure love, which we rarely see on this planet - and much less rarely between so-called "lovers."
  • Apotasy Lost from OregonThis is about a man who after reading a book, learned that everyone he loves will go to the "house" of god. But since he wasn't a believer, "like a pagan", even on his death bed, he desperately prays to be with them, but recognizes that because he had no faith before, he will await them forever in the house of his own heaven, and forever he will wait because they are in the house of their gods belief. Patiently, he will wait for them there, like a stone, and he will wait for them there, alone.
  • Danielle from Pennsylvania U.s.a.Hearing this song for the first time after Chris Cornell's death led me to read between the lines, it was his desire to be with God much sooner than later, and he was probably so lost in his life and wanted to be happy again. I don't mean any disrespect to his family, friends or fellow band mates, but NO one really knows what is going on in the minds of others, unless you are in their shoes. I have been a fan of Chris Cornell since his death and believe the world lost a great soul. <3
  • Nicole from Long Island, NyI love this song, and now, after Chris Cornell's death, it is beautifully painful to hear.
  • Dee from Los AngelesI don't want to say too much but I will say this song has a much deeper connection to the bible than you think. "To a place I recall, I was there so long ago the sky was bruised the wine was bled and there you led me on." Audioslave definitely performs the hell out of this song but they did not write this song. Bob Dylan knows!
  • Shan from Saint Clair Shores, MiI watched an interview with Brad Wilks and Tom Morello and they didn't know for the longest time what the song was about and finally asked Chris, they thought it was a love song and Chris said no... it's about an old lonely man waiting to die and go to heaven... "In your house I long to be (God's house). Room by room patiently I'll wait for you here like a stone, I'll wait for you there alone...and on his deathbed he'll pray to anyone who will take him to heaven? And on he read til the day was gone and sat in regret of all the things hes done and all that he blessed and all that he wronged? Love it. Wish I could find that interview again!
  • Ryan from Winterpeg, Mb"dfa" from Richland, WA.. you'd really benefit from talking to Jehovah's Witnesses, my friend. They changed my life for the better. They practice what the bible really teaches.. please don't let rumours you hear about them turn you away, they aren't true anyways. You genuinely crave understanding of the bible's teaching, then that's where you'll find it. Matthew 5:3 - “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them."
  • Bruce from Millville, NjDear death, In your house i want to be, room by room patiently, ill wait for you their, like a stone, Ill wait for you their, alone.
  • Tony from Rome, ItalyThis song stands alone, at a musical & meaningful level that will last eternally. Regardless of one's spiritual beliefs...GOD BLESS Audioslave and everything they represent. Chris states it's about dying, but the incredible realization is that everyone has their own personal interpretation!! Most of us have experienced some type of death during our lifetimes, but this song emphasizes how we must all check our own personal inventories, knowing what goes around and will definitely play a part when we leave this earth!!
  • Michael from Owingsmills , Mdi want this song played at my funnel when i die i love this song my fav talks about the ultimate wait dearth it self what could be much better then going to heaven in the sky i know i have a place up there just waiting for my number to come up ps i thinking of getting a tattoo of that song on my back
  • Dave from Melbourne, AustraliaThis song is amazing. I love the guitar solo also.
  • Jenna from Souptown, WiI believe that this song begins with a man who is dreaming of his death. He begins (in a cobweb afternoon in a room full of emptiness.) - that is the place where he dreams he dies, alone. (by a freeway i confess i was lost in the pages of a book full of death, etc.) - he is in a hearse in his coffin holding his bible telling him (if were good were laid to rest when and where we wanna go.) He then explains that he wants to go in her house when he is a ghost. (To a place i recall i was there so long ago.) - He used to always be with her in her home, when they were in love (and there you led me on, in your house.) He wants to be in her house, patiently waiting for her to die so they can reuinte. In the end, he wakes up from his dream and reads the bible. Then he realizes he's screwed, because he was not living good. (And on i read until the day was gone, and i sat in regret of all the things ive done.) And in the beginning it says "if we're good were laid to rest when and where we want." So he has to keep on dreaming about what he wishes to happen when he dies.
  • Mel!ssa from Pittsburgh, PaI'm not a religious person AT ALL. However, this is my favorite song of ALL TIME! I just love it. I means a lot to me and puts things into perspective about my first love who died.
  • Alex from Columbus, OhI have the dvd of audioslave's and Tim talks about how he thought it was a love song and then he asked Chris about it and he said "Its about dying"
  • Le Roy from Oakland, CaThe song Like A Stone refers to

    someone who is approaching death. The

    lyrics mention a person lying in bed 'Lost In A Book full of Death." This may refer to the Old Testament in which there are numerous accounts of warfare, death and disease which is visited upon the inhabitants of the earth as punishment for sin, which is a topic visited in the latter portion of the lyrics when the author referes
    to "His regret for all the things he has done in life, to include all that he has blessed and wronged."The phraase "In your house I long to
    be, room by room, patiently," is possibly a reference to the New Testament where Jesus states to His disciples, "I go to my father's house, where there are many rooms. I go there to prepare a place for you, and then I will return and take you there, where you will dwell forever" (paraphrased).
  • Dfa from Richland, WaThis song does effect me on a deeply emotional level. My personal interpretation on the song - not meant to be glamorized as the artist's inspiration - is the feeling that I've studied several religious dogma hoping to find absolute truth only to be let down - something didn't add up or I felt like I was being conned. I have a deep longing to be whole and fulfilled spiritually. The bible says we were made to worship God and have a relationship with Him. If that's true it can sure get twisted up because we will worship anything to try and fill that void. There have been times when I was so hungry I would pray to anyone - good, bad or indifferent, it didn't matter. That's what the song means for me... to be fulfilled spiritually and return to my loved ones that I've lost and be forgiven completely by any means necessary, including desperation. The yearning I have for it at times is unbearable; I simply can't ignore it. So I will keep calling out until I get an answer. At times it seems like I'm wandering from room to room and some part of me is waiting "like a stone".
  • Steven from Winnipeg, CanadaCan people just say they like the song or something instead of a pointless argument on what the song is about?
  • Mona Juneja from New Delhi, IndiaOhh...it took me ages to learn the lyrics of this song....i just love " like a stone "!!!!!
  • Sean from Melbourne, AustraliaGreat sing-along song! love them!
  • Josh from Salem, OrWow, the people below me! I guess it's because none of them are from the Northwest. I seriously think you people are way overthinking this. It's people like this that make an artist that just threw some paint on a canvas famous. OK, Nykole isn't stupid, she gets it. "Praying to anyone who will take me to heaven," a person afraid of nothingness after death trying to make amends at the last minute. It's really not that hard to grasp people. P.S. - a can of Campbell's soup, c'mon people, Andy Warhol isn't a very creative artist, but thanks to over anylizing morons, he's a genius.
  • Raquel from Southwestern Part Of, MiI think most people have it right here. Chris wrote the song with something specefic in mind (whether it was an event, a person, or just a general feeling) but as with any good piece of writing the reader (or listener) will be able to internalize it and identify it with their own feelings or musings.
    TO Heather from Mead: When I first read your comment I was like "come ON! He says it in the DVD! It's about DEATH!" Then I shoved my ego back down where it belongs and realized the way you felt waiting for your boyfriend is a little taste of how it feels to wait for death sometimes. You are tired, anxious and just want it to get here.....so sorry for being all snobbish when I read your comment =^_^=
  • Stacey from London, EnglandFor me this song is about a person who believes that heaven is whatever you want it to be. So for this person heaven would be where ever his loved one is. I love this song.
  • Spencer from Los Angeles, CaI LOVE THIS SONG. One of the few hard rock songs that can invoke catharsis in me.
  • Len from Raleigh, NcI write alot of songs about spirituality and I say this song means he knows he is gonna die and he wants to be with god.We came from God in the beginning so we where ther long ago if not just by being a thought in gods mind we where there.Like a stone is saying when im just laing there buried.We are like stone when we are buried and we are also alone ,atleast in our physical form.Cornell is one of my favorites,and can definitely tell he was influenced by the Beatles.
  • Jeff from Quebec, CanadaSorry for Greg, San Antonio, TX who said with a lot of humility that the meanings of the songs are personnal to the people who listen to it. These words have a common sens. People like to learn too when they're listening to music. If you take it with a selfish mind the song means anything you want it to say and you don't learn anything. That's the easy way... If you really want to know the message the singer wants to transmit, you got to know what he's talking about. Since a long time, Chris Cornell talks about spiritual things. We can suppose he's based on specific situations when he writes something and it's good to know the context. At last, we can transpose it to our lives...
  • Matt from Johnstown, PaWell I think Chris Cornell is talking about how he wants to be with god, because in the bible theres a scriputure that says in heaven there is a house with many rooms and he has one saved for you already. Thats not the actual scripture but it does go sumthing like that. and the chorus is, In your house, i long to be, room by room, patiently.
  • Brandon from Saskatoon, Canadaexcellent guitaring in this song. not one of my favs, but i really like cornell's singing and he probably has the best voice in rock, i like his "louder than love" wailing though. if u like audioslave, then try out soundgarden
  • Heather from Irving, Txthis song is good when you just want to sit back and chill this is the type of song that you listen to when you have a hangover and such.
  • Dude from Hometown, WyClassic good vs. evil: 'Waiting like a stone"-Satan waiting for the final battle with Jesus. "Book full of death" i.e.: Bible. "In your house I long to be"- Satan envies Jesus' position in heaven. "I was there so long ago"- Jesus and Satan were once brothers. "The wine was bled"-Jesus' sacrifice in which His blood(wine)was spilled."In dreams until my death"-Satan is prophesised to be destroyed. I believe that this entire album (and the second)revolves around a central theme that incorporates this idea and other more specific and detailed info that relates to the Bible. (And no I'm not a Bible thumping fanatic!)Just a possibility!!??
  • Melissa from Melville, Ny"On a cobweb afternoon
    in a room full of emptiness,
    by a freeway, I confess
    I was lost in the pages
    of a book full of death.
    Reading how we'll die alone.
    If we're good, we'll lay to rest
    anywhere we want to go." and then somewhere it states that it's your house I want to go. It sounds like a man just waiting to die, then live back past good memories, possibly the ones he had with a loved one.
  • Steven from Harrison, OhI personaly Think that this song is a man who is about to die telling a loved one that he will wait for her/him in death wondering through the rooms of their home, and this is why he prays to go to heaven because he knows this is where the loved one will go.
  • Greg from San Antonio, TxMost of the commentators here are probably not song writers by trade. If they were, they'd know that artists are often plagued by the interpretation of the consumer who forces this on others. Did you watch the DVD? Out of his own mouth he said that the images you get are your own. Why would he share every single meaning of every song? The poet will know that a piece of writing is not only for the consumer. Some have died never sharing the meaning of their most valued work. What you get from it is for you, what he got from it (he said, "I know how I feel about it. I know what it means.") may never be revealed, other than what Tim Commerford explained in the DVD. Spend maybe 15 years or so writing for the masses and you'll see things differently.
  • Kamooztross from Belleville Ont, CanadaLIke a stone is an amazing song
  • Marco from Stanfield, United Statesthe song does have meaning but what cornell was saying is how you interperate the actual meaning is your own way of seeing it, and no one can make u change it
  • Marco from Stanfield, United Statesthat is NOT true, chris cornell is a very spiritual man with deep songs, have you not herd any of the soundgarden songs?? theyr realt deep and sometimes confusing! I listen to cornells songs over and over just to get a vague picture of what his songs mean! Like a stone is one of the best songs he has ever wrote, its honest and has a very deep meaning. When they say that he isnt trivial it mens that he does not sing about stupid stuff (unlike "big dumb sex"-soundgarden) he sings about stuff that has deep spiritual meaning.
  • Tim from Pittsburgh, PaThank you Angie. Perfectly put.
  • Angie from North Branch, MnThis song means whatever you want it to mean. Thats the whole point of it. Whether you take it literally on waiting like a stone forever or taking a spiritual adventure to greater enlightenment. Mostly its about finding yourself and discovering your well being.
  • Michael from Columbia, MoIts actually 'On my deathbed I will pray to the gods and the angels, Like a Pagan to anyone who will take me to heaven.' I thought it was obvious. Tim C. says that from working with Cornell, there is nothing trivial about his lyrics, Cornell sings everything literally. Cornell is just deep. His lyrics are deep, but simple, there is no need to closley analyze his songs, he means what he says.
  • Karan from Bangalore, IndiaAm a lil confused!! is the song bout someone waiting for his death or is it bout him waiting for his loved one forever??
    and what does this line "Like a pagan, I will pray to the gods and the angels..." mean??
  • Tim from Kilkenny, IrelandThis song just reminds me of being in an attic - locked up with all the dust - on a summer's day and wondering what it's all about. Just . . . the thoughts that go through your head when you let your mind wander - like what happens on the other side and deep stuff like that that no-one really talks about.
  • Greg from Wjkf, PaDeath? It doesn't make any sense. My own interpretation of this song is that the man about to die, and is singing to a loved one. He's telling her he'll wait for her in death, since they weren't together in life. The man can be of any age... and it's a love song to a girl, telling her that even though they aren't together in life (like there might have been a fight, see verse three) that he'll wait for her in death, and that he's sorry. "your house" would be her burial plot, room by room would mean next to each other, waiting like a stone is pretty obvious... since he'll be dead. I interpret it as a love song from one person to another explaining how they were meant for each other (the line in verse two about being in heaven before, and having her lead him in heaven)

    Well anyway, thanks a lot songfacts for ruining this interpretation of the song.
  • Lau from Winnipeg, CanadaThis song doesn't have to be religious to mean something to everyone who's ever heard it. The lyrics explain it all. Best song.
  • Nykole from Dillsburg, PaThe lyrics "Like a pagan, I will pray to the gods and the angels..." Is about the truest line of any song I've ever heard. On your deathbed you'll do anything to make it right.
  • Paulo from New York, NyAudioslave's "Show Me How to Live" also seems to be about God.
  • Chris from Sea Cliff, NyIn the dvd, he says it is about a man who is waiting to die...it describes him in a house of death waiting for the end
  • Heather from Mead, Nethis song doesnt remind me of god or anything but it reminds me of going to my boyfriends house when he wasnt there and waiting for him to get home.
  • Matt from Necedah, WiI think it's really neat how they wrote the lyrics for this song.
  • Daisy from Ikast, DenmarkI love this track! Its so good. I can't stop playing it.
  • Jess from Springfeild, IlWhen Audioslave bassist Tim C. asked Chris what he was waiting for ("I'll wait for you there...like a stone) he responded by saying "death".
  • Toni from Roanoke, VaI agree with Joel. Chris Cornell has one of the best voices! Like a Stone is my favourite Audioslave song.
  • Joel from Wyongah, AustraliaThis is the best song off their album and Audioslave rule!
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