The song was written by guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell for his father, Jerry Cantrell Sr., whose childhood nickname was "Rooster" and served with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
In a 1992 interview with Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine, in response to the question "Do you feel you communicated with [your father] with this song?", Cantrell said:
Yeah. He's heard this song. He's only seen us play once, and I played this song for him when we were in this club opening for Iggy Pop. I'll never forget it. He was standing in the back and he heard all the words and stuff. Of course, I was never in Vietnam and he won't talk about it, but when I wrote this it felt right...like these were things he might have felt or thought. And I remember when we played it he was back by the soundboard and I could see him. He was back there with his big gray Stetson and his cowboy boots — he's a total Oklahoma man — and at the end, he took his hat off and just held it in the air. And he was crying the whole time. This song means a lot to me. A lot.
Every time I watch it....I cry......God turned his head “just right”...
“Yeah, they come to snuff the Rooster”
Rooster really works for that video. Thanks for sharing the backstory. I never heard it before.