Frank Black is American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Charles Michael K… Read Full Bio ↴Frank Black is American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965). After releasing three albums with this name, he formed the band Frank Black and the Catholics. He returned to using the name Black Francis, the name he uses as vocalist of the Pixies, in 2007.

Lead songwriter and vocalist of the now reunited Pixies, Frank Black adopted a reversal of his former alias, Black Francis, and embarked on his solo career after the 1992 breakup of Pixies. He released his debut self-titled album, Frank Black in 1993. It contains his biggest rock radio hit, Los Angeles (#4 US Modern Rock). A year later came the critically acclaimed Teenager of the Year.

Frank Black's solo career covers a much more diverse range of styles and genres compared to his time with The Pixies. His works have feature a much more melodic touch, yet his lyrics are still often spiced with his quirky and inventive touch.

Frank Black regularly posts and responds to questions on the forums of his official fan site, frankblack.net, under the alias "frnck blck".

He began recording and touring as Black Francis in 2007, with the album Bluefinger, an album about the late Dutch musician and painter Herman Brood, and the mini album Svn Fngrs in 2008. On this tour he abandoned encores in favour of precores; a free mini gig at a public location earlier in the day. The gigs proper featured only current songs, the precores being more flexible.

Black Francis released NonStopErotik in March 2010.

The Pixies, minus original bassist Kim Deal, reunited for a United States and world tour in 2014 and have subsequently released three additional studio albums: Indie Cindy (2014), Head Carrier (2016) and Beneath the Eyrie (2019).

Old Black Dawning
Frank Black Lyrics

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I hung around
On the planet Mabel
She tried to stand
But she was not able

She tried to find the truth
She tried to colonize space
She only had a few

But it was a good race

Old black dawning is coming on
Old black dawning is coming on
Old black dawning
Old black dawning

I'm always happy to
Go down to old Tucson
After you had your fun
It's time to move on
I've got a favorite story
About the tower of Babel
Some say it's true
And some say it's a fable

Old black dawning is coming on
Old black dawning is coming on

Old black dawning
Old black dawning

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Frank Black's song "Old Black Dawning" are enigmatic and open to interpretation. The song starts with the singer hanging around on the planet Mabel and observing a failed attempt by someone named Mabel to stand up. She tried to find the truth and colonize space but her efforts were futile. The lyrics suggest that despite her attempts, Mabel's resources were limited and she was unable to complete her mission. The singer then refers to the impending "old black dawning" which is an ominous and foreboding image that suggests the end of something.

The second verse of the song moves away from Mabel and brings the listener to old Tucson where the singer feels at home. He mentions that it's time to move on from having fun and tells a favorite story about the tower of Babel. The story's authenticity is open to interpretation, but it speaks to the human tendency to overreach and try to achieve the impossible. The lyrics to "Old Black Dawning" are cryptic and suggest a sense of impending doom, perhaps brought about by humanity's hubris.

Overall, the song can be seen as a warning about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the fallibility of man. The imagery evokes a sense of unease and the impending "old black dawning" could represent a reckoning or a judgment we all must face, whether in the form of an environmental disaster, a war or a societal collapse.

Line by Line Meaning

I hung around
I spent time in a certain place

On the planet Mabel
That place was called Mabel and it may or may not refer to a planet

She tried to stand
Someone tried to stand up

But she was not able
But that person was unable to do so

She tried to find the truth
That same person tried to discover the truth about something

She tried to colonize space
That person also attempted space colonization

She only had a few
But that person had limited resources

But it was a good race
It was a good competition despite those limitations

Old black dawning is coming on
Something ominous is approaching

Old black dawning
That ominous thing is referred to as 'old black dawning'

I'm always happy to
I'm always happy to do something