Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an America… Read Full Bio ↴Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins. He released 12 solo studio albums, as well as three collaboration albums with Isobel Campbell and two with Duke Garwood. He was known for his baritone voice, which was described as being "as scratchy as a three-day beard yet as supple and pliable as moccasin leather" and has been compared to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Nick Cave.

Lanegan began his musical career in 1984 with Screaming Trees, with whom he released seven studio albums and five EPs before their disbandment in 2000. During his time with the band, he also started a solo career and released his first solo studio album, The Winding Sheet, in 1990. He subsequently released a further 10 solo albums, which received critical recognition but only moderate commercial success. Following the end of Screaming Trees, he became a frequent collaborator of Queens of the Stone Age, and was a full-time member between 2001 and 2005 during the Songs for the Deaf and Lullabies to Paralyze eras.

Lanegan collaborated with various artists throughout his career. In the 1990s, he and Kurt Cobain recorded an album of Lead Belly covers that was ultimately never released. He also joined Layne Staley and Mike McCready in the band Mad Season, and formed the alternative rock group The Gutter Twins with Greg Dulli in 2003, as well as contributing to releases by Moby, Bomb the Bass, Soulsavers, Tinariwen, The Twilight Singers, Manic Street Preachers, and Unkle, among others.

Lanegan struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol throughout his life, but had been sober for over a decade at the time of his death. Encouraged by his friend Anthony Bourdain, he released the memoir Sing Backwards and Weep in 2020. He followed this up in 2021 with the memoir Devil in a Coma, which focused on his near-death experience with COVID-19. He and his wife Shelley Brien left the U.S. in 2020 and settled in the Irish town of Killarney, where he died two years later at the age of 57. No cause of death was revealed.

Studio albums
The Winding Sheet (1990)
Whiskey for the Holy Ghost (1994)
Scraps at Midnight (1998)
I'll Take Care of You (1999)
Field Songs (2001)
Bubblegum (2004)
Blues Funeral (2012)
Imitations (2013)
Phantom Radio (2014)
Gargoyle (2017)
Somebody's Knocking (2019)
Straight Songs of Sorrow (2020)

Dusty Wreath
Mark Lanegan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh dusty wreath
Your loving was everything
Oh dusty wreath
Your loving was everything to me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mark Lanegan's song "Dusty Wreath" seem to describe the deep connection he once shared with someone, and how their love was everything to him. The dusty wreath could symbolize the remnants of what was once a beautiful relationship, now abandoned and forgotten. The use of the word "dusty" conveys a sense of abandonment and neglect, suggesting that the relationship has come to an end, and Lanegan is left with nothing but memories of what once was.

The repetition of the phrase, "Your loving was everything to me," emphasizes the significant impact this person had on his life. It could be interpreted as an ode to the person he once loved and lost, and how their love still haunts him. The music itself is somber and melancholic, adding to the overall sense of loss and sorrow in the lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh dusty wreath
I address this dusty wreath with affection and respect

Your loving was everything
The love that you gave to me was my entire world

Oh dusty wreath
Once again, I give acknowledgement to the dusty wreath before me

Your loving was everything to me
Your love was the foundation of my existence and brought me immense joy and meaning

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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