Uploaded June 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
"Life is What You Make it, and if you Make it Death, well Rest Your Soul Away"
I was writing a song about dying, when I noticed that everyone who writes or sings about death, dies ... and usually tragically.
Andrew Wood was the lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock band Malfunkshun, a glam rock band with Wood described as "a hippie, glammed-out rock & roll god, equal parts Marc Bolan and Jim Morrison." During his time in Malfunkshun, Wood started relying heavily on drugs, entering rehab in 1985.
In 1989, Wood formed Seatle's first true grunge band: Mother Love Bone, with guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament (formerly of the band Green River). The band's obvious talent earned them a recording contract, and Wood wrote several songs that referenced Death.
Wood's struggles with drug addiction continued and he checked himself into rehab again in 1989, hoping to get clean for the release of Mother Love Bone's debut album. In 1990, he died in Seattle at the age of 24, following a heroin overdose.
In 1991, Mother Love Bone's Ament and Gossard teamed up with Andrew Wood's room-mate Chris Cornell to form Temple of the Dog and recorded "Say Hello 2 Heaven" as a tribute to Wood.
Chris Cornell started the band Soundgarden then Audioslave, while Ament and Gossard started the band Pearl Jam.
Side Note: I quickly reworked the theme of my tune to be about returning home through space and time (totally not dying). I then dropped the lyrics and turned the melody into a guitar instrumental. That should be safe (youtu.be/1FuUKGrjEGY)!
"Life is What You Make it, and if you Make it Death, well Rest Your Soul Away"
I was writing a song about dying, when I noticed that everyone who writes or sings about death, dies ... and usually tragically.
Andrew Wood was the lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock band Malfunkshun, a glam rock band with Wood described as "a hippie, glammed-out rock & roll god, equal parts Marc Bolan and Jim Morrison." During his time in Malfunkshun, Wood started relying heavily on drugs, entering rehab in 1985.
In 1989, Wood formed Seatle's first true grunge band: Mother Love Bone, with guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament (formerly of the band Green River). The band's obvious talent earned them a recording contract, and Wood wrote several songs that referenced Death.
Wood's struggles with drug addiction continued and he checked himself into rehab again in 1989, hoping to get clean for the release of Mother Love Bone's debut album. In 1990, he died in Seattle at the age of 24, following a heroin overdose.
In 1991, Mother Love Bone's Ament and Gossard teamed up with Andrew Wood's room-mate Chris Cornell to form Temple of the Dog and recorded "Say Hello 2 Heaven" as a tribute to Wood.
Chris Cornell started the band Soundgarden then Audioslave, while Ament and Gossard started the band Pearl Jam.
Side Note: I quickly reworked the theme of my tune to be about returning home through space and time (totally not dying). I then dropped the lyrics and turned the melody into a guitar instrumental. That should be safe (youtu.be/1FuUKGrjEGY)!
