Angelo Badalamenti was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States to an Italian family. He began taking piano lessons at age eight and spent much of his childhood listening to opera and classical music. He studied at the Eastman School of Music and at Manhattan School of Music where he earned a master's degree in music. A classically trained performer, he spent the early years of his career playing the Catskills resort area, later writing and arranging for singers including Shirley Bassey and country star Mel Tillis. Under the pseudonym Andy Badale, he entered the film industry in 1973, debuting with the score to the action film Gordon's War. Despite subsequent work on such features as Law and Disorder (1974) and Across the Great Divide (1976), Badalamenti remained largely unknown.
In 1986, Badalamenti was hired to compose the score for David Lynch's Blue Velvet; subsequently, they continued their partnership, Badalamenti composing scores for films such as Wild at Heart and The Straight Story. Arguably the most famous collaboration of theirs was the cult hit television series Twin Peaks, for which Badalamenti created one of the most distinctive and evocative theme songs in television history. The duo also wrote and produced a pair of records for ethereal chanteuse Julee Cruise: Floating Into the Night (1989), which contained some songs from Twin Peaks, and The Voice of Love (1993). They also staged an avant-garde musical theater piece titled Industrial Symphony No. 1, which was shown onstage twice in 1989.
In 1996 collaborated with James vocalist Tim Booth, the fruits of their labors being the LP Booth and the Bad Angel. In 2005, Badalamenti composed part of the score for the video game Fahrenheit (known in North America as Indigo Prophecy), bringing his atmospheric ambience to a new medium.
On December 11, 2022, Badalamenti died at his home in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, aged 85.
Mulholland Drive
Angelo Badalamenti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Drive it home know how
Take it from the heart
You gotta tear yourself apart
From hell... sinking hell
Like disease where I dwell
Burning kidneys where I roam
Never taking you back home
Drive Drive it home right now
Drive it home know how
Told you from the start
tear your fucking heart apart
Drive me home right now
Drive it home right now
Take from my heart
Take me from my heart
Ground, turning ground burn it down burn it down
Crucify my nation Crucify the population
Time dollar sings my crime is my time
The dotted line try to find where you gonna hide
From my eyes from my mind
Into my children's faces... their faces
Stay away! Goddamn it Stay Away! never come back
Disintigrate, Decision and the popular creation
Let it out, let it out
So he lied and you lied and that bitch she knows she'd gonna die
Keep it hiding, deep inside, she lied to swallow her pride
That bitch knows where it goes, Down incineration
Incinerate My Mind
Incinerate My Nation
Punishment? Exiled. Punishment? Exiled.
Watch it fall.Watch it fall.Watch it fall...
Ride tonight
Drive Drive it home right now
Drive it home know how
Take me from the heart
You gotta tear yourself apart
Drive it home right now
Drive it home right now
Tear your fuckin' world apart
Drive it home right now
Drive it home right now
Take it from the heart
Take it form the heart
The song Mulholland Drive by Angelo Badalamenti is a hauntingly beautiful yet mysterious piece of music that conjures up images of darkness, despair, and desolation. The lyrics are cryptic and open to interpretation, but one possible reading is that they speak to the pain and anguish of the human condition. The repetition of the phrase "Drive it home right now" can be seen as a call to action, an urging to face one's demons and confront them head-on. The line "Tear yourself apart from hell" suggests that the singer is trying to escape from a state of torment and self-destruction, but is finding it difficult to do so. The references to disintegration and incineration underscore the idea of a breakdown or collapse, perhaps on a personal or societal level.
The song's overall mood is one of melancholy and foreboding, with a slow and deliberate rhythm and a mournful melody that seems to echo the desolate landscape of the Los Angeles hills that give the song its name. The use of electronic instrumentation creates an otherworldly feel that is both eerie and beautiful, and the lyrics add to this sense of disorientation and unease. There is a sense of urgency in the repeated refrain "Drive it home right now," but it is also tinged with despair and hopelessness, as though the singer is searching for a way out of a dire situation but has no idea how to escape.
Line by Line Meaning
Drive Drive it home right now
Urge to take immediate action and accomplish the goal swiftly
Drive it home know how
Have the proficiency to complete the task at hand
Take it from the heart
Extract from deep emotions and feelings
You gotta tear yourself apart
Put in a lot of effort and go through tough times to achieve success
From hell... sinking hell
Referring to a negative and unpleasant experience
Like disease where I dwell
Something that is infectious and destructive where the singer resides
Burning kidneys where I roam
Experiencing pain and discomfort wherever the singer travels
Never taking you back home
Not able to return to the peaceful and safe place
Let it out ride tonight
Release emotions and go wild once in a while
Told you from the start
Warned beforehand
tear your fucking heart apart
Suggested to go through harsh experiences that would inevitably lead to pain
Drive me home right now
Ask for an urgent action
Take from my heart
Extract from deep emotions and feelings
Ground, turning ground burn it down burn it down
Destroying the foundation and base of something, eliminating it entirely
Crucify my nation Crucify the population
Subjecting a group of people to extreme pain and punishment
Time dollar sings my crime is my time
Life revolves around work and there are consequences for one's actions
The dotted line try to find where you gonna hide
No escape from the future consequences of present actions
From my eyes from my mind
Directly from the singer's thoughts and perception
Into my children's faces... their faces
Focusing on the future generations and the impact of present actions on them
Stay away! Goddamn it Stay Away! never come back
Warning to keep distance and never return
Disintigrate, Decision and the popular creation
Destroy and remove the conventional/common methods and create new ones
Let it out, let it out
Relax and release inner tension or frustration
So he lied and you lied and that bitch she knows she'd gonna die
Mention of deceitful and manipulative people who would soon face their consequences
Keep it hiding, deep inside, she lied to swallow her pride
Choose to keep shameful incidents secret rather than accepting and repenting for them
That bitch knows where it goes, Down incineration
The deceitful person knows they are going to face severe punishment
Incinerate My Mind
Burn and eliminate unwanted or negative thoughts or memories
Incinerate My Nation
Referring to eliminating the negativity that exists in the society or nation
Punishment? Exiled. Punishment? Exiled.
Punishment would be removal from the society
Watch it fall.Watch it fall.Watch it fall...
Witness the downfall of something in front of one's eyes
Tear your fuckin' world apart
Go through intense and difficult times that leads to transformation
Take it from the heart
Extract from deep emotions and feelings
Writer(s): David K. Lynch, Angelo Badalamenti Copyright: Bobkind Music, Anlon-music Co.
Contributed by Adalyn D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Weird Verma
@catwashinitiative(CWI) Mani Kaul's 'Duvidha' was based on an Indian folklore. It had some elements that could define surrealism but to speak of those surreal features that I have mentioned, they are as follows -
Om dar ba dar
No Smoking
Urf Professor
Gaja Gamini
Cape Karma
There are a few more but pretty unknown and insignificant
Myles Minott
RIP Angelo. This theme tune haunts me every day. It’s stunning.
yunikage
When this movie came out I was 17 and I had just moved out of my parents place and moved across the country to San Francisco. I went to a movie theater after work and I watched Mulholland Drive. And then the next day I did the same thing. And then the next day I did the same thing. I saw it 10 times in 10 days. It changed my life. It was then and remains the greatest film I've ever seen.
Lyuben Lyubenov
I watched it one Sunday evening and since I got that everything is interconnected, but did not get how exactly, I said 'what the hell' and re-watched it again.
Foxybingo111
Tim e-Runner Both fair responses.
Foxybingo111
ourworlds atwar She was? I mean it makes sense with Camilla but I never really saw Betty as anything more than miss sweet and innocent
My log has something to tell you
That doesn't mean that interpretation is 'right'. People can think whatever they want about the film, that's the beauty of it.
Jeremy Trager
Betty is just a waitress at a diner. The main character of Betty does not exist.
tonitsi78
Angelo Badalamenti is the most underrated composer ever. What an atmosphere he creates with just sound!
CHINASAUR SHOW
Rest in peace!
Jodienda
Rest In Peace Angelo. Truly a masterful composer 💔