Soundgarden’s 1996 hit “Burden In My Hand” featured prominently during the ending and credits to the seventh and final episode of the second season of HBO’s hit post-apocalyptic drama TV series The Last Of Us which aired last night, May 25.
The song featured at the end of the highly dramatic series finale, an episode titled “Convergence,” which follows Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina’s (Isabela Merced) third day in Seattle to kill Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). They are joined by Jesse (Young Mazino), who seeks to regroup with Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and return home.
Last night’s episode was written by Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross, and Craig Mazin, and directed by Nina Lopez-Corrado. Druckmann and Mazin co-created the television series, while Druckmann co-directed The Last of Us Part II (2020), the video game on which the second season is based, and co-wrote it with Gross.
First released in 1996, “Burden In My Hand” was the second single from Seattle grunge stars Soundgarden’s fifth album Down On The Upside. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, the song’s lyrical content is not dissimilar to some of the content of The Last Of Us as it concerns a man who murders a woman he is in a relationship with and leaves her in the desert, not without regret.
On release, “Burden in My Hand” appeared on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 Airplay chart, reaching the top 40. It also became the most successful song from Down on the Upside on the American rock charts, topping the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for 5 weeks and peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The Last Of Us has become synonymous with its usage of memorable rock songs throughout the series. The second series has already used Nirvana’s “You Know You’re Right” and Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” during especially pivotal scenes. “Future Days” has a lengthy association with The Last Of Us as it features prominently in the 2020 sequel to the 2013 PlayStation game the TV show is based on.
Buy Soundgarden’s “Burden in My Hand” on vinyl now.
