By DONNA BALANCIA
The heartbreak is palpable in Toni Cornell’s new single “Far Away Places,” the new track released by the 15-year-old daughter of the late Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell.
Toni recorded her acoustic-style song three months before the passing of her father, the famous Soundgarden frontman on May 18, 2017. She wrote the song at the age of 12 and her father produced the track.
Toni Cornell’s song is a beautiful tribute, playing on a vulnerable and angelic quality that can only be successfully executed by someone so young and yet who has seen so much. There is a resonant sound that makes the listener wonder had her father not passed, would the song be as poignant and evoke such emotions? The accompanying lush guitar picking is also simple and appropriate in its steady quality.
As can be expected, it is easy to believe there are certainly “far away places” in the hearts of the family members and friends Cornell left behind. The echoing emptiness can be felt as well as heard on this elegant track that takes the listener along on some unexpected and original turns.
While “Far Away Places” is ripe for harmony, the effective single vocal track leaves the listener with the lingering sense that this arduous solo voyage for Toni may continue for some years yet to come. The simple structure of the song takes a cue from the folk songs of the 1960s, but adds a resonant and melodic pop flair, sure to bring tears of remembrance and hope.
“Far Away Places” by Toni Cornell
I’m building a house inside my heart
The windows and the doors lock from the inside
I’m building a house inside my heart
And sitting in the dark, where it used to be daylight
Who will I give a key?
Who will be there for me?
Who’s gonna show me how
To trust?
To trust somebody
To trust
To trust somebody
To trust somebody else
Without losing myself?
I’m building a boat inside my mind
Drifting to far away places
And no one will know where I have gone
I’ll be all alone imagining their faces
Who’s gonna sail the sea
To come and rescue me?
Who’s gonna show me how
To trust?
To trust somebody
To trust
To trust somebody
To trust somebody else
Without losing myself?
Now I’m on my own, just me, drifting in my boat
Who’s gonna sail the sea
To come and rescue me?
Who’s gonna show me how
To trust
To trust somebody
To trust
To trust somebody
To trust somebody else without losing myself?
With songs like this, fans will wish there is more music from Toni Cornell on the way. The song gives hope that there is still original talent out there.
For someone so young, Toni Cornell has great poise and is no stranger to the microphone as evidenced in a post-GRAMMY interview earlier this year.
Last February, Christopher Jr. and Toni Cornell were interviewed backstage at the GRAMMYs after their father won for Best Rock Performance for “When Bad Does Good.”
“He was always working, he was always doing what he loved the most,” Toni told Stryker the DJ. “It was his passion, to see that and then see him win it was so rewarding I just wish he was there to see this”
Brother Christopher said: “I was proud and honored.”
Toni said: “He was always there. There was never a time when he wasn’t there. Even when he was on tour we would always speak to him. He was always hands on … He was always an involved father.”