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)
Pill Hill Serenade
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Somebody's excited
To be goin' away
Spring like December
On the corner now
Let the memory fade and I'll forget
Well I hope she's not alone
So sweet
Then I remember she's a little older now
I'd let that fade but I don't know how
And when the sun comes up dead
You get sick of it
Makes a howling in your head
All the time
Springtime or December
Can't find cover now
Children they get excited
When the sun comes around
I'm gonna walk in silver rain
Look for mine the same
Walk for miles 'til the memory fades
And when the sun comes up dead
Makes it hard when you know
That it's a story that gets told all the time
The first verse of Mark Lanegan's "Pill Hill Serenade" sets a scene that is familiar to most, as a car drives away from the singer, leaving behind memories and thoughts behind in the silver rain. The second verse uses the metaphor of a street corner to show that the singer wants to forget about someone's departure but has trouble doing so. They hope the person they are thinking of is doing well, but also acknowledge that time has passed and things may have changed.
The repetition of "springtime or December" in the chorus suggests that the singer struggles to find comfort or solace in any season, as the memories of the past continue to haunt them. The imagery of the sun "coming up dead" is striking and ominous, as it represents the inevitability of the present and future, and the difficulty in moving on from the past. The final line of the song - "it's a story that gets told all the time" - suggests that while the specific details of the singer's story may differ, the overall theme of loss and longing is a common experience shared by many.
Overall, "Pill Hill Serenade" is a poignant meditation on the power of memory and the difficulty of moving forward. It is a reminder that even as we try to forget or ignore our past, it continues to shape our present and future in ways that we cannot always control.
Line by Line Meaning
Tail lights through silver rain
Watching the red lights of the car in the silver rain
Somebody's excited
The person inside the car seems to be happy
To be goin' away
Because they are leaving this place
Spring like December
The season feels like another month
On the corner now
Standing on the street corner
Let the memory fade and I'll forget
Forget the past memories
Well I hope she's not alone
Wishing someone to be with the person who left
Smiling everywhere she goes
She has a smile on her face at every place she goes
So sweet
She was sweet
Then I remember she's a little older now
But now she has grown up
I'd let that fade but I don't know how
Trying to forget the past but unable to do it
And when the sun comes up dead
When the morning begins gloomy
You get sick of it
Tired of feeling that way
Makes a howling in your head
Causing pain and agony
All the time
Happens repeatedly
Springtime or December
Doesn't matter if it's spring or winter
Can't find cover now
Unable to find a place to hide
Children they get excited
Kids always feel excited
When the sun comes around
In the morning time
I'm gonna walk in silver rain
Walking in the rain
Look for mine the same
Finding someone who feels the same way
Walk for miles 'til the memory fades
Walking for long distances until the past memories stop
And when the sun comes up dead
When the morning comes gloomy
Makes it hard when you know
It's difficult to deal with reality
That it's a story that gets told all the time
It's a repeated story.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: MARK LANEGAN, MICHAEL JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
JerryMane69
Tail lights through silver rain
Somebody's excited to be goin' away
Spring like December on the corner now
Let the memory fade and I'll forget
Well, I hope she's not alone
Smiling everywhere she goes
So sweet
Then I remember she's a little older now
I'd let that fade but I don't know how
And when the sun comes up dead
You get sick of it
Makes a howling in your head
All the time
Springtime or December, can't find cover now
Children, they get excited when the sun comes around
I'm gonna walk in silver rain, look for mine the same
Walk for miles 'til the memory fades
And when the sun comes up dead
Makes it hard when you know
That it's a story that gets told
All the time
b b
A thing of beauty - thank you Mark Lanegan, rest in peace
_ kidA
Tan dulce....... me adormece...
Michael Blaine
This makes me feel like a small child on Christmas Eve🤣
JerryMane69
Tail lights through silver rain
Somebody's excited to be goin' away
Spring like December on the corner now
Let the memory fade and I'll forget
Well, I hope she's not alone
Smiling everywhere she goes
So sweet
Then I remember she's a little older now
I'd let that fade but I don't know how
And when the sun comes up dead
You get sick of it
Makes a howling in your head
All the time
Springtime or December, can't find cover now
Children, they get excited when the sun comes around
I'm gonna walk in silver rain, look for mine the same
Walk for miles 'til the memory fades
And when the sun comes up dead
Makes it hard when you know
That it's a story that gets told
All the time
James Shields
And when the sun comes up dead, you get sick of it....Love you Mark
666boltz
Brilliant song..
Michela Brandi
Well I hope she's not alone...smiling everywhere she goes so sweet...
Emanuele Tomei
Forever in our hearts Lanegan 🖤
Sharps POA
Lindo.
cyndi cynz
Where was this track hiding? How have I not heard it? I think I thought it was Elvis Costello! Awesome track!