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)
House a Home
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Could a body take that much
Alone through every waking hour
Asleep without nobody to touch
Whoa,whoa,whoa,and
Only silence here
Whoa,whoa,whoa,and
Lonely silence here
And I'm not the one
Make your house a home
Makes no sense to stay
Through one more lonely last day
Oh no babe, it's not right
Here ya are, cryin' in the night
Could a body take that much
Find yourself standin' outside
You ain't got nobody to touch
Whoa, whoa, whoa, and
There's only silence here
Whoa,whoa,whoa, and
There's only silence here
And I'm not the one
make your house a home
Makes no sense to stay
Through one more lonely last day
Oh no babe, it's not right
The song "House A Home" by Mark Lanegan is a melancholic lament on loneliness and lack of human connection. The first verse describes being at the top of the tower, which could be interpreted as success, achieving a goal or reaching a high point in life. However, the irony is that one cannot handle such a situation alone, without anyone to share it with, without anyone to hold or touch. The repetition of "whoa, whoa, whoa" emphasizes the sense of desolation and emptiness. The silence is deafening, and the absence of sound highlights the absence of another person.
The chorus then comes in with the line "And I'm not the one/make your house a home," suggesting that the singer cannot provide the comfort and warmth of a home. He is aware that there is no point in staying through one more lonely day, but he is not the one who can transform the house into a home. The second verse follows the same pattern, except it is at night, and this time, the singer is crying. The repetition of the line "there's only silence here" reinforces the idea of being cut off and isolated from the rest of the world.
Overall, "House A Home" expresses a sense of longing for companionship, intimacy and human connection. It portrays the despair of trying to find meaning in life without anyone to share it with, and the sense of emptiness and sadness that can result from such a situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Here ya are, at the top of the tower
You have reached a certain level of success, but is it really worth the effort?
Could a body take that much
Is it worth putting yourself through so much stress and anxiety to achieve this level of success?
Alone through every waking hour
Despite being successful, you are still alone and have no one to share your achievements with.
Asleep without nobody to touch
Even though you are successful, you are still alone and have no one to comfort you or share your bed with.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, and
Only silence here
Despite all the success, you are still alone, and there is no one to share your success with, resulting in a sense of emptiness.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, and
Lonely silence here
The silence is deafening, and you feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
And I'm not the one
Make your house a home
You cannot rely on me to make your house a home, you must find someone else to share your life with.
Makes no sense to stay
Through one more lonely last day
It is not worth staying alone for one more day, as life is too short to be miserable.
Oh no babe, it's not right
Being alone is not a good way to live, despite all the success and achievements.
Here ya are, cryin' in the night
Even though you are successful, you still feel empty and alone, with no one to share your thoughts and emotions with.
Find yourself standin' outside
Despite being successful, you feel like an outsider, and you don't belong anywhere.
You ain't got nobody to touch
Even though you are successful, you still lack love and intimacy, making you feel more alone than ever before.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARK LANEGAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@motorologist
Yes, way too many..
Sworn and Broken
Bed of Roses
Dollar Bill
House a Home
Ugly Sunday
Hit the City
the Field Songs cover, and the redwashed Winding Sheet cover
plus the super red background of Shadow of the Season that makes Lanegan's hair blend in
Even the field in "Nearly Lost You" kind of feels like it has this effect. I think there was a genuine anti-ginger bias.
@itsverynice
LYRICS:
Here ya are, at the top of the tower
Could a body take that much
Alone through every waking hour
Asleep without nobody to touch
Whoa,whoa,whoa,and
Only silence here
Whoa,whoa,whoa,and
Lonely silence here
And I'm not the one
Make your house a home
Makes no sense to stay
Through one more lonely last day
Oh no babe, it's not right
Here ya are, cryin' in the night
Could a body take that much
Find yourself standin' outside
You ain't got nobody to touch
Whoa, whoa, whoa, and
There's only silence here
Whoa,whoa,whoa, and
There's only silence here
And I'm not the one
make your house a home
Makes no sense to stay
Through one more lonely last day
Oh no babe, it's not right
@xiaoshizi131
RIP Mark Lanegan. We miss you <3
@CHUY-DRZ400s
😔
@t-bo2734
Whiskey for the Holy Ghost is an often overlooked classic.
@adarshrai4501
Can't deny that bro
@D-Fens_1632
Part of the world, and me, will never be the same. RIP, Mark.
@minorgray
Legendary voice-great poet
@hs2874
My only pet peeve is that so many Screaming Trees and Mark Lanegan music videos from back then were in black and white, so you couldn't see the magnificent ginger mane. Amazing voice. He'll be missed.
@motorologist
Yes, way too many..
Sworn and Broken
Bed of Roses
Dollar Bill
House a Home
Ugly Sunday
Hit the City
the Field Songs cover, and the redwashed Winding Sheet cover
plus the super red background of Shadow of the Season that makes Lanegan's hair blend in
Even the field in "Nearly Lost You" kind of feels like it has this effect. I think there was a genuine anti-ginger bias.
@20YearsInTheDakota
He had such glorious hair in the 90s. A lot of black and white pics for all the Seattle bands in general too...
@tomlewis4205
One of my faves- rest easy, Mark. 🎶