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)
Judas Touch
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I need you more
Than I did before
Old Jack's been killed and buried away
Let's hang alone
Outside the gate
Flames scare the lions as do their dreams
That's the way it'll always be
Better close the door
That's the way it'll always be
Better close the door
Some fools forever don't ask for much
With frozen hand, calm Judas touch
Some towers of fire can be redeemed
Just let me burn
High worlds away
The lyrics of Mark Lanegan's song "Judas Touch" contain a sense of desperation and darkness. It could be interpreted as a plea to a lover or a trusted companion to stay close during a time of great trial. The line "Put out the lions and close the door" could mean that the singer is under attack, and they need someone to protect them. The repetition of "That's the way it'll always be, Better close the door" further emphasizes the need for isolation, and a safe haven from the outside world.
Line by Line Meaning
Put out the lions and close the door
Let's shut the world out and be alone together
I need you more
My love for you has grown stronger
Than I did before
Compared to how much I needed you in the past, I need you even more now
Old Jack's been killed and buried away
The past is gone and we need to move on from it
Let's hang alone outside the gate
We'll be together, just us, outside the boundaries of society
Flames scare the lions as do their dreams
The things that scare us most are often our own hopes and desires
That's the way it'll always be, better close the door
Life is always going to be difficult, so we need to stick together and not let anything else in
Some fools forever don't ask for much
Some people are content with very little and just want to love and be loved
With frozen hand, calm Judas touch
Even when they are hurting, some people can hide their pain and betray others with a calm demeanor
Some towers of fire can be redeemed
Sometimes even the most tragic situations can be turned around and made right
Just let me burn high worlds away
I want to leave everything behind and start anew, even if it means giving up everything familiar, burning it all down and rising above it
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARK LANEGAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
YadaYadaDadda
Painful album ...1996 strung out , this album on repeat...thank god and Mark for getting me out
Anita grey
Perfect little song
ghostwhiskey
indeed,too good for words
_ kidA
❤
jeandepaul
mark lanegan
ghostwhiskey
138,nice,never noticed that