Spoonman (1994) – Soundgarden

Spoonman is one of the most emblematic pieces of the grunge movement in the early 90’s. The band led charismatically by the late Chris Cornell was characterised by its heavy sound and introspective lyrics. Spoonman in particular combines a powerful guitar riff with a lyric that pays homage to an actual street musician whose real name was Artis the Spoonman who played the spoons as a musical instrument in Seattle, the home city of the band. The repeated call for the Spoonman to ‘come together with your hands‘ and ‘save me‘ is like a plea to enable the healing and unifying power of music and restore its community.

I remember when we heard this song come on in my early adulthood, my mate Mal would produce his pair of spoons and try to replicate their usage in the song. There is a drum solo using pots and pans which I always considered the crowning jewel of musicianship in Spoonman. I never get tired of them beats. The rhythm throughout is driving and relentless, powered by a syncopated groove that mirrors the percussive clatter of spoons, giving the song a raw, primal energy capturing the essence of the Spoonman’s artistry. The intensity culminates by the repeated lines ‘come on while I get off‘ which may suggest a release of energy or emotion through the act of musical performance.

[Verse 1]
Feel the rhythm with your hands
(Steal the rhythm while you can)
Spoonman
Speak the rhythm on your own
(Speak the rhythm all alone)
Spoonman

[Chorus]
Spoonman, come together with your hands
Save me, I’m together with your plan
Save me, yeah
Save, oh

[Verse 2]
All my friends are Indians
(All my friends are brown and red)
Spoonman
And all my friends are skeletons
(And beat the rhythm with their bones)
Spoonman, ohoh, mmm

[Chorus]
Spoonman, come together with your hands
Save me, I’m together with your plan
Save me
Save, save me
Save me, yeah
Save

The following information contain extracts from the Wikipedia reference below:

Written by the band’s frontman, Chris Cornell, Spoonman was released on February 14, 1994, as the first single from the band’s fourth studio album Superunknown. Spoonman is credited as one of the songs that launched Soundgarden’s career into the mainstream. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

Spoonman was originally written for the soundtrack to the 1992 film Singles. At that time, Soundgarden, along with Pearl Jam, were working on the soundtrack for the film. Pearl Jam’s bass guitarist, Jeff Ament, had been put in charge of creating the name for a fictional band that would appear in the film. Before finally choosing Citizen Dick for its name, Ament had compiled a list of potential names, which included the name Spoonman.

Soundgarden’s vocalist and songwriter, Chris Cornell, eventually used the names on the list to create songs for the film. Spoonman was among these, and an acoustic version was created from it. This early version of the song is played during a scene in the film in which a poster advertising a Citizen Dick show is stapled to a lightpost. Rather than just leave the song on the film’s soundtrack, Soundgarden began working on an electric version of Spoonman. 

The song’s inspiration, Artis the Spoonman, played a prominent role in the song. The final version of the song featured Artis the Spoonman playing his spoons as part of the song’s bridge. Drummer Matt Cameron also plays pots and pans on the song. The music video features Artis prominently, making him the focus of the video instead of the band, who are shown only in black-and-white still photographs.

References:
1. Spoonman – Wikipedia

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