Composition and lyrics Edit

Originally titled "Save Yourself" after a line in the song's chorus,[1] "Cochise" is named after Cochise, an Apache Indian chief "who declared war on the Southeast and drove out thousands of settlers".[2] Speaking about the eponymous subject, guitarist Tom Morello remarked that "Cochise the Avenger, fearless and resolute, attacked everything in his path with an unbridled fury", adding that the song "kinda sounds like that".[3] Despite this, the song's lyrics are generally unrelated to Cochise, and instead feature a number of religious references.[4]

Promotion and release Edit

Music video Edit

The music video for "Cochise" was directed by Mark Romanek and filmed near the Sepulveda Dam in Los Angeles, California on September 25 and 26, 2002.[2] The video begins with the band members arriving at a construction rig in a Chevrolet C/K pickup truck, symbolizing a band without a singer, while Chris Cornell waits alone atop the rig, symbolizing a singer without a band. The band members take the elevator to the top of the rig, where after joining Cornell, they play the song as a barrage of fireworks go off behind them. After the song, the fireworks cease and the band members hug, signifying that a new band had been formed. Cornell left rehab in a car which drove him to the set to film the video.[12] Due to the large number of pyrotechnics used in the video, local residents believed that the explosions were caused by terrorists; speaking about the filming process, Morello revealed that "The local police and news station literally received thousands of calls from people who thought the city was under siege ... All the freeways were blocked because they thought there was an attack occurring".[2] The extreme use of pyrotechnics and fireworks in the video also marked "Cochise" as a very expensive music video. A teaser trailer was released for the video in mid-October,[13] before the full video was made available for digital download later in the month.[14] It was later included on the band's first video album, Audioslave, released in July 2003.[15] The video was nominated for Best Video at the 2003 Kerrang! Awards,[16] and was included in the MTV2 Headbangers Ball "Best Metal Videos of the New Millennium" list in 2004.[17]

Reception Edit

Track listing Edit

All tracks written by Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk. CD single No. Title Length 1. "Cochise" 3:42 2. "We Got the Whip" 4:05 Total length: 7:47 Maxi single No. Title Length 1. "Cochise" 3:42 2. "We Got the Whip" 4:05 3. "Gasoline" Letterman) (live from 4:43 Total length: 12:30 Enhanced CD single No. Title Length 1. "Cochise" 3:42 2. "We Got the Whip" 4:05 3. "Gasoline" (live from Letterman) 4:43 4. "Cochise" (music video) 3:42 Total length: 16:12

Chart positions Edit