Hospital Roll Call
Mark Lanegan Lyrics

The lyrics of "Hospital Roll Call" by Mark Lanegan are quite brief and enigmatic. The repetition of the number sixteen implies a sense of urgency or countdown. The counting may even suggest a ritual or ceremony of some sort. The tone that Lanegan uses throughout the song is dark, extremely morose, bleak and monotonic, which further emphasizes the ominous atmosphere. The lyrics could be taken as an invocation of some sort, or as a morbid description of a hospital emergency situation, possible related to a heart attack or other life-threatening event. It may also be interpreted as a raw and pained response to extreme anxiety or a deep sense of foreboding.

In analyzing the song further, we can see that as the repetition of the number sixteen grows more insistent, there is an increasing sense of doom that permeates the lyrics. The listener is left to decipher many possible meanings behind this cryptic chant, perhaps relating it to personal anxieties, the fragility of life, or even a larger societal malaise. One thing that is clear is Lanegan's mastery of mood and tone, as he conjures up an atmosphere of palpable tension throughout the song, using both the melody and the sparse arrangement to great effect.