ABC/Randy HolmesTwo months before his death, Chris Cornell released what would be his final song, a track called “The Promise.” The late Soundgarden frontman recorded the song for a film also called The Promise, which was set during the Armenian genocide.
The video for “The Promise” premieres today via RollingStone.com. Today is also World Refugee Day, which is when Cornell had wanted the video to make its debut.
The clip finds Cornell performing the track from a studio in Brooklyn, New York, intercut with real footage of refugees trying to escape Syria, Libya and other war-torn countries.
It ends with a message of hope, showing refugee rescue missions and reunited families.
Eric Esrailian, a producer of The Promise film, tells Rolling Stone, “Chris had the idea of, ‘How can we bridge the video…with fear-inducing images of what people have to deal with as well as messages and images of hope and perseverance and resilience and survival,’ which is what the song is also about.”
“I hope [the video] provides a wider human context for the tragedy of his death,” adds its director, Meiert Avis. “I hope it creates something with purpose because Chris had purpose and to lose your purpose is a terrible thing.”
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