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)
Ode To Sad Disco
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Subterranean eyes
A thousand to one
The factory line
Stars outside the window flicker and shine
The hollow headed morning isn’t blind
A mountain of nails burn in your hands
Here I give all I am
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
A tower of stones
Sympathy’s shade
Ride a white horse
The drowned on parade
A diamond headed serpent climbs a vine
See all the lonely children lose their minds
A mountain of dust burns in your mouth
Here there’s no north, just south
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Thirst swollen tongue
An Arcadian twist
The sleepwalk is done
Yet the notion persists
Cars outside the window careening by
The hollow headed morning is unkind
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Under a cliff
Darkness denied
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Mark Lanegan's song Ode To Sad Disco is a melancholic tribute to the dance floor, where people gather to escape their problems and lose themselves in the music. The first verse sets the scene with vivid imagery of the sun tolling like a bell, subterranean eyes watching, and a factory line, highlighting the mechanical and monotonous routine of daily life. The stars outside flicker and shine, representing the possibility of something greater beyond the mundane. The mountain of nails symbolizes the pain and burden that the singer is willing to bear, giving all he is to the music.
The chorus is an invocation to the dance floor and to Gloria, a metaphor for the music. The singer gets down on his knees, further from his own troubles and pain, finding solace and meaning on the dance floor. The tower of stones and sympathy's shade represent the weight and comfort of human connection in the face of difficulties. The diamond-headed serpent and lonely children losing their minds allude to the darker aspects of the disco, where people can get lost and overwhelmed in the music.
The second verse continues with vivid imagery, with a thirst-swollen tongue and an Arcadian twist, representing the longing for something pure and unspoiled. The sleepwalk is done, yet the notion persists, suggesting that even though people can dance and escape for a while, their problems and pain will always come back. The cars careening by outside and the hollow headed morning being unkind emphasize the contrast between the bright and welcoming disco and the harsh reality waiting outside. The singer finds meaning and enlightenment under a cliff, where darkness is denied, suggesting that the dance floor can be a source of hope and light in a dark world.
Line by Line Meaning
The sun's tolling bell
The sound of the sun rising tolls like a bell
Subterranean eyes
Eyes that seem to see beneath the surface
A thousand to one
A small chance of success in a situation
The factory line
The monotonous work of a factory
Stars outside the window flicker and shine
The beauty of the stars outside is contrasted with the dull factory work
The hollow headed morning isn't blind
The morning is empty and meaningless
A mountain of nails burn in your hands
The pain of hard work and suffering
Here I give all I am
Giving everything, no matter the cost
Gloria
A name, possibly representing hope or salvation
I get down on my knees
Submitting to a higher power
Further from my own
Further from my own desires and ambitions
A tower of stones
Might and power, but constructed on a shaky foundation
Sympathy's shade
The comfort of sympathy from others
Ride a white horse
Symbolic of purity and innocence
The drowned on parade
The overwhelming feeling of being lost and helpless
A diamond headed serpent climbs a vine
A beautiful but dangerous entity ascending to power
See all the lonely children lose their minds
The pain and suffering of those who are isolated and alone
A mountain of dust burns in your mouth
The overwhelming feeling of dirtiness and pain
Here there's no north, just south
Nowhere to go but down
Thirst swollen tongue
Desperate longing for something more
An Arcadian twist
A mythical aspect of paradise and beauty
The sleepwalk is done
Awakening to reality
Yet the notion persists
The idea remains
Cars outside the window careening by
The chaos and unpredictability of life
The hollow headed morning is unkind
The morning brings emptiness and no relief
Under a cliff
In a dangerous, unstable place
Darkness denied
Refusing to give up hope and fall into despair
Here I have seen the light
Finding hope amidst darkness and pain
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DanglingHammer
The sun's tolling bell
Subterranean eyes
A thousand to one
The factory line
Stars outside the window flicker and shine
The hollow headed morning isn't blind
A mountain of nails
Burn in your hands
Here I give all I am
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
A tower of stones
Sympathy's shade
Ride a white horse
The drowned on parade
A diamond headed serpent climbs a vine
See all the lonely children lose their minds
A mountain of dust
Burns in your mouth
Here there's no north
Just south
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Thirst swollen tongue
An arcadian twist
The sleepwalk is done
Yet the notion persists
Cars outside the window careening by
The hollow headed morning is unkind
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Under a cliff
Darkness denied
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen
Here I have seen
Here I have seen the light
The light
Here I have seen the light
006Morrigan
The sun’s tolling bell, subterranean eyes
A thousand to one, the factory line
Stars outside the window flicker and shine
The hollow headed morning isn’t blind
A mountain of nails burn in your hands
Here I give all I am
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
A tower of stones, sympathy’s shade
Ride a white horse, the drowned on parade
A diamond headed serpent climbs a vine
See all the lonely children lose their minds
A mountain of dust burns in your mouth
Here there’s no north, just south
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Thirst swollen tongue, an arcadian twist
The sleepwalk is done, yet the notion persists
Cars outside the window careening by
The hollow headed morning is unkind
Nick Hale
One of the most influential people I ever been blessed enough to have known. His words of wisdom saved my life.
R.I.P my friend 🤝
Northernspur
RIP Mark
Thanks for the music ..
Vitor Roma
This song really captures the vibe of driving back home after a night out. The sun slowly risin during dawn, the empty avenues, all the thoughts and impressions you get after some show or party .
Rubenboii
Ex-fucking-zactly
grungefan1009
Good call!
Θεοδωρος Λ.
Must had been ahelluva partae..
rip Lanegan
DanglingHammer
The sun's tolling bell
Subterranean eyes
A thousand to one
The factory line
Stars outside the window flicker and shine
The hollow headed morning isn't blind
A mountain of nails
Burn in your hands
Here I give all I am
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
A tower of stones
Sympathy's shade
Ride a white horse
The drowned on parade
A diamond headed serpent climbs a vine
See all the lonely children lose their minds
A mountain of dust
Burns in your mouth
Here there's no north
Just south
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Thirst swollen tongue
An arcadian twist
The sleepwalk is done
Yet the notion persists
Cars outside the window careening by
The hollow headed morning is unkind
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Gloria
I get down on my knees
Further from my own
Under a cliff
Darkness denied
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen the light
Here I have seen
Here I have seen
Here I have seen the light
The light
Here I have seen the light
Alvaro Olmos
Mark gracias por tu música que me acompaña en mi vida y en la de muchos, Mark serás siempre una leyenda , greetings from the most arid desert in the world, Calama San Pedro de Atacama Chile, Q.E.P.D.
Ivan Moreno
Absolutely love this song, it always gets me really emotional
antonio sousa
Marc. Sempre épico. Assisti em LAV a seu último tributo a cidade que adorava. Lisboa pois é Fernando Pessoa.