It starts with that weird, off-kilter guitar riff. Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell playing in 15/4 time, a signature move for a band that never quite fit the "grunge" label people tried to slap on them. Most rock songs live in 4/4. They’re safe. They’re predictable. But Soundgarden The Day I Tried to Live isn't safe. It’s a jagged, nervous piece of music that feels exactly like the mental state it’s trying to describe. If you’ve ever woken up and decided that today—finally—you were going to be a "normal" person, only to have the world kick your teeth in, this song is your anthem.
Honestly, it’s a miracle it became a hit. It’s heavy, it’s technically complex, and the lyrics are basically a diary entry about social anxiety and the crushing weight of expectation. Released in 1994 on the massive Superunknown album, it arrived right when the Seattle scene was peaking. But while other bands were leaning into angst for the sake of it, Cornell was doing something different here. He was being vulnerable.
He once told Rolling Stone that the song was actually about trying to step out of a self-imposed isolation. It wasn't about suicide, despite what the dark title might suggest to a casual listener. It was about the attempt to be part of the world again. To be "normal." And, as the lyrics suggest, the spectacular failure that often follows that attempt.
The Technical Weirdness of Soundgarden The Day I Tried to Live
You can't talk about this track without talking about the time signature. Most people just nod their heads to it, not realizing they’re actually counting a pattern that shouldn't work in a mainstream rock song. 15/4? That’s prog-rock territory. Yet, Soundgarden made it swing.
Matt Cameron, arguably the best drummer of that era, is the reason the song doesn't collapse under its own weight. He keeps the backbeat steady even when the guitars are spiraling. Ben Shepherd’s bass follows that same jagged line, creating a foundation that feels like walking on uneven pavement. It's unsettling. It’s meant to be.
The tuning is another rabbit hole. Soundgarden was famous for "messed up" tunings that gave them that thick, sludge-like resonance. For this track, they used a variation of EEBBBB. Yes, four B strings. It creates this massive, droning wall of sound that allows the melody to pierce through like a needle. When Cornell screams "One more time around," he isn't just singing; he's fighting to be heard over a literal wall of noise.
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What Chris Cornell Was Actually Trying to Say
There is a massive misconception that this song is a "downer." People hear the title and think it’s a suicide note set to music. It’s actually the opposite. It’s a song about re-entry.
Cornell lived a lot of his life in a sort of quiet, observant shell. He struggled with depression, sure, but he also just struggled with the performative nature of being a human being in a social setting. He wrote this song after a period of being a recluse. It’s about that specific Monday morning when you tell yourself, "I'm going to go out, I'm going to talk to people, I'm going to be productive, and I'm going to enjoy it."
Then you get outside and realize the world is loud, people are difficult, and your internal battery is already at 2%.
The "mistake" mentioned in the lyrics—The lives I've led, the ones I've shed, like the skin of a snake—is the mistake of thinking you could ever just "be" like everyone else. It’s a cynical take, but a deeply relatable one. It acknowledges that trying to live is exhausting. It’s a chore. But the song implies you’re going to try again tomorrow anyway. That’s the "one more time around" part. It’s a cycle.
Impact on the Seattle Scene and Beyond
By the time Superunknown dropped, the "Grunge" label was already becoming a corporate joke. You had bands like Silverchair and Bush popping up, refining the sound for radio. But Soundgarden stayed weird. Soundgarden The Day I Tried to Live proved that you could have a Top 20 rock hit that was rhythmically complex and lyrically dense.
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It didn't have the immediate "pop" appeal of "Black Hole Sun," but it had more teeth. It was the "musician's song" on the album. To this day, if you talk to guitarists or drummers, this is the one they want to learn. It’s a benchmark of 90s technical proficiency.
- Chart Performance: It hit #13 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks.
- Production: Produced by Michael Beinhorn, who pushed the band into a more polished, yet somehow heavier, sonic space.
- Video: Directed by Kevin Kerslake, the video uses distorted visuals to match the song's disorienting rhythm.
Why We Are Still Listening to It 30 Years Later
Music from the mid-90s often sounds dated. The production styles, the specific "growl" of the vocals—it can feel like a time capsule. This song doesn't. Part of that is the production quality of Superunknown, which remains one of the best-engineered rock albums in history. But mostly, it's the honesty.
We live in an era of "curated" lives. Instagram, TikTok, the constant pressure to look like you're winning. Soundgarden The Day I Tried to Live is the antithesis of that. It’s the sound of someone admitting they aren't winning, but they're still in the game.
Chris Cornell’s vocal performance here is peak-era. He hits those high notes with a grit that sounds like his vocal cords are made of sandpaper and silk. When he sings I learned that I was a liar, he isn't playing a character. You can hear the self-indictment in his voice. That kind of raw truth doesn't age.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Musicians
If you want to truly appreciate this track or apply its lessons to your own creative work, here is how to dive deeper:
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For the Listeners:
Listen to the song on a high-quality pair of headphones. Pay attention to the stereo separation of the guitars. One guitar is often playing the main riff while the other is feeding back or playing a counter-melody. It’s a masterclass in "controlled chaos." Notice how the tension builds during the verses and only truly releases during the "One more time around" chorus.
For the Musicians:
Stop playing in 4/4 for a day. Try to write a melody over a 7/4 or 15/4 beat. The goal isn't to be "smart" or "technical"; the goal is to see how a different rhythm changes the emotional weight of your words. Also, experiment with drone tunings. Tuning multiple strings to the same note (like the B strings in this track) creates a natural chorus effect that no pedal can truly replicate.
For the Mental Health Aspect:
Understand the context. Cornell’s lyrics serve as a reminder that the struggle to "fit in" or "be normal" is a universal one, even for rock stars who seem to have it all. If you’re feeling the weight of the world, this song is a validation that it’s okay to find the process of "living" difficult. It's a reminder that "trying" is the victory, even if the day ends in a "mistake."
The legacy of this song isn't just in its riffs or its chart positions. It’s in the way it gave a voice to the specific, quiet desperation of trying to participate in a world that feels alien. It’s heavy. It’s weird. It’s perfect.
How to Deepen Your Appreciation of Soundgarden
To get the most out of this era of music, you should:
- Listen to the 20th Anniversary Remaster: The dynamic range on the Superunknown remaster brings out the low-end frequencies of Ben Shepherd’s bass that were often lost on older speakers.
- Watch the Live Performances: Seek out the 1994-1995 live bootlegs. The band often played this song slightly faster live, giving it an even more frantic, desperate energy.
- Read Kim Thayil’s Interviews on Gear: If you’re a gearhead, look up how he used the Guild S-100 to get the specific feedback heard on the bridge of this track. It’s a specific combination of high-gain amps and guitar resonance that defines the "Soundgarden sound."
- Compare it to "Fell on Black Days": Listen to these two tracks back-to-back. While "The Day I Tried to Live" is about the attempt to rejoin the world, "Fell on Black Days" is about the moment you realize you've lost your way. They are two sides of the same psychological coin.
By understanding the technical precision and the raw emotional intent behind the music, you move past being a casual listener and begin to see why Soundgarden remains the most sophisticated band to ever come out of the Seattle grunge movement.