Dusty

Album: Down on the Upside (1996)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This contains the lyrics that spawned the title for the album: "I think it's turning back on me, I'm down on the upside."

    The word "Dusty" does not appear in the lyrics, but that's what bass player Ben Shepherd called it when he wrote the music for the song. When lead singer Chris Cornell added the lyrics, he called the song "Down on the Upside," but since Soundgarden doesn't like to name albums after song titles, they decided to use that as the album moniker and keep the song "Dusty."
  • The Techno artist Moby did a remix of this song. His version appears as the B-side for "Blow Up The Outside World." Moby opened for Soundgarden on their 1996 tour.

Comments: 4

  • Man from CalWasn't Superunknown title of song and album?
  • Ryan from Plano, Txthe song sounds a little too upbeat to be about anything as big as the demise of an entire genre that the band is/was a part of
  • Daartist from Long Beach , CaI cant say if find the lyrics so cryptic marcos. The song seems to be fairly clear and simple at explaining that wierd system of karma that everybody seems to notice but nobody can quit predict or explain. Luck and fortune seem to come and go in waves. We all seem to go through our periods of dry spells and frustration..when we cant win for losing..and almost magically ..fortunes seems to change and lifes problems seem to sovled so easily..and i think the song hints at how your attitude has something to do with the change of fortune...daartist LBC CA
  • Marco from Stanfield, United Statesok after reading the lyrics i say that it means that he knew soundgarden was going under because of the different views of the band members. so in the song he says "i think its turning back on me" hes talking about the domise of all other grunge bands like nirvana and now it was happening to soundgarden. and he says "everythings real to me" hes saying mabe that he feels strongly about his view on the matter and that the others are not listening to him.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.