The Meaning Behind Patience By Chris Cornell
Singer-songwriter and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell died by suicide in May 2017 (via Billboard). To honor what would have been his 56th birthday on July 20, 2020, the singer's estate decided to share Cornell's previously unreleased cover of Guns N' Roses' 1989 song "Patience."
A statement posted on Facebook about the posthumous release read, "One of Chris's engineers recently reminded me of Chris's recordings from sessions in 2016, which he still had. "Patience" was one of them." The post went on to reveal that Cornell's recording of the song was inspired by his daughter Toni, who was a "huge" Guns N' Roses fan and had once asked her father to teach her to play the song on the guitar. "His cover is so hauntingly beautiful; it brought it all back in a rush of bittersweet memories," the statement continued.
As for the original track, Guns N' Roses' "Patience" was released in 1989 as the second cut from the band's sophomore album "G N' R Lies". The song peaked at No. 4 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100.
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What is the real meaning behind the song?
Per Rolling Stone, Guns N' Roses' "Patience" is a ballad and one of the band's most famous releases. The lyrics tell the story of a man who misses his ex-girlfriend and lets her know that the problems they once faced will eventually work themselves out with patience (via Genius).
Commenting on the track, Guns N' Roses bass guitarist, Duff McKagan, revealed, "Axl came up with a great lyric seemingly out of nowhere, that, of course, became the story and melody of that song."
The lyrics in question read, "Shed a tear 'cause I'm missin' you / I'm still alright to smile / Girl, I think about you every day now." The song's chorus continues, "Said, woman, take it slow and it'll work itself out fine / All we need is just a little patience / Said, sugar, make it slow and we'll come together fine / All we need is just a little patience."
According to Genius, it has also previously been stated that band member Izzy Stradlin penned the ballad about his ex-girlfriend, Angela Nicoletti McCoy.