Alice In Chains’ Beautiful Tribute Ballad “Black Gives Way To Blue”

“It’s a really intense song and a really open-hearted song because of Layne and the experience that we all went through,” said Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell of the band’s song “Black Gives Way to Blue,” from their album by the same name. “Black Gives Way To Blue” was written about the death of the group’s lead vocalist, Layne Staley, whose long struggle with drug addiction led to his 2002 death.

In an interview with Inked Magazine, Cantrell revealed that during the recording of the track, the band was so emotional that they had a hard time finishing it. But in the end, they felt that recording the song was a cathartic experience that helped Cantrell let go of a “huge chunk of grief” he said he’d been holding on to for a long time. “I dropped a record right when he died, and I had to go on the road, so I was probably carrying a s–tload of stuff around,” Cantrell said, speaking of the grief that he’d had to repress while he was touring.

Cantrell’s voice has an unmistakable ache to it as he sings the “Black Gives Way to Blue” lyrics. “I don’t wanna feel no more/It’s easier to keep falling,” he sings in the heartwrenching first lines. “Emptiness all tomorrow/Haunted by your ghost,” he adds, speaking directly to Layne.

The haunting piano that moves the track is played by no-other than Elton John. The band sent John the track, and he responded by saying that he thought the song was beautiful and wanted to play on it. Having Elton John play on the track was particularly meaningful for Cantrell, whose father gave him John’s Greatest Hits album — the first album he would ever own — upon returning from serving in Korea. And the first concert Staley ever attended was an Elton John concert. His mother remembers him being “blown away” by it.

Credit: encartespop.com

The band performed “Black Gives Way to Blue” live for the first time on July 14, 2009 during a listening party at the Ricardo Montalban Theater in Los Angeles. When the band toured that year, they ended their performances with a photo of Layne Staley projected on a screen. “Lay down, I’ll remember you,” sings Cantrell in the songs’ refrain. The band honored their promise to remember their friend in this beautiful tribute song.

If you’d like, you can read the full lyrics here.