Tom Morello recently spoke about his former Audioslave bandmate and friend Chris Cornell and revealed that one of his texts inspired him to write the song, ‘The Garden Of Gethsemane’ for his solo act The Nightwatchman.
Chris Cornell sadly passed away in 2017 after a Soundgarden show in MGM Grand Detroit, and his death was ruled as suicide by hanging. However, his widow Vicky couldn’t come to terms with the idea of suicide and blamed his doctor for prescribing him anxiety medicine which she claimed clouded his judgment and didn’t help him think clearly, which led to his death.
Aside from his widow, his fans and friends also had a hard time accepting his death. However, it seems like his Audioslave bandmate, Tom Morello, knew how Cornell was constantly battling his demons. In 2007, Morello released the song ‘The Garden of Gethsemane’ for his solo act, The Nightwatchman, and recently revealed that Cornell’s text message inspired the song’s lyrics.
Here is how Morello told the story of his song and revealed which text inspired him:
“The Garden Of Gethsemane was where Jesus had his moment of doubt before the crucifixion. Long before Chris passed, it was kind of a tumultuous time when he’d gone missing for a while.
In the middle of the night after being missing for a month or three months, or however long it was, he sent me a text that said, ‘If you swallow a coin from the wishing well, your dreams will come true in heaven or hell.’ I used that lyric as the centerpiece in this song for my friend who had one foot in the shadows.”
The text ‘If you swallow a coin from the wishing well, your dreams will come true in heaven or hell’ is a profound thought concerning darkness, heaven, and hell. Even though Cornell’s death was not until ten years later, Morello indicated that Cornell had one foot in the shadows, meaning that he had dark thoughts all along.
