Say Hello 2 Heaven

Say Hello 2 Heaven

Temple of the Dog

“Say Hello 2 Heaven” is a song by the American rock band Temple of the Dog. Released in 1991, it was the second single from the band’s sole studio album, “Temple of the Dog” (1991).
Chris Cornell wrote the song as a tribute to his friend Andrew Wood, vocalist and frontman of Mother Love Bone, who at the time had recently died of a heroin overdose.
Cornell stated: “Right after Andy died, we [Soundgarden] went to Europe, and it was horrible, because I couldn’t talk about it, and there was no one who had loved him around. I wrote two songs, "Reach Down” and “Say Hello 2 Heaven”. That was pretty much how I dealt with it. When we came back, I recorded them right away. They seemed different from what Soundgarden naturally does, and they seemed to fit together. They seemed like music he would like. I got the idea to release them as a single, and to get at least Stone and Jeff, or all of Love Bone, to play on it. I had the idea for a couple days, then, with an artist’s lack of self-confidence, I decided it was a stupid idea. Somehow those guys heard the tape, and they were really, really excited. Stone and Jeff and our drummer, Matt, had been working on a demo for what ended up being Pearl Jam, so we had the idea that we would make an EP or a record, and maybe even do some of Andy’s solo songs.“
Later, in a 2016 interview, Cornell said: "With all that’s been written about Temple of the Dog recently, it’s reminded me of the original meanings of those songs. "Say Hello 2 Heaven”, for example, was one of the songs I wrote directly for Andy Wood and the amount of times someone has requested I play that song for someone else who’s died have been numerous. That’s great that it’s become this anthem that makes somebody feel some comfort when they’ve lost someone, but recently I’ve become a little more possessive of the idea that this song was actually written for a specific guy and I haven’t forgotten that person. So I’ve been reminding myself and those in the audience where that song came from."