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)
Pretty Colors
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They're dancing just for me, pretty colors
Locked in my mind they'll always be,
You'll never give your love to me,
So I'll just close my eyes and see pretty colors.
Locked in my mind they'll always be
You'll never give your love to me,
I'll close my eyes and see pretty colors,
They're dancing just for me, pretty colors
Pretty colors
The lyrics to Mark Lanegan's song Pretty Colors seem to be a reflection of unrequited love and the pain that comes with it. The singer is unable to receive the love they desire from the person they want, so they create an imaginary world that is full of beauty and joy. The "pretty colors" that they see when they close their eyes are a way to escape the harsh reality of their situation.
The repetition of the line "Locked in my mind they'll always be" emphasizes the idea that the singer cannot escape their feelings of love and longing. They are constantly reminded of the person they want but cannot have, which is a source of pain for them. The line "You'll never give your love to me" is a direct reference to the unrequited love that the singer is experiencing.
The final line of the chorus "So I'll just close my eyes and see pretty colors" suggests that the singer has given up on trying to win the love of the person they desire. The only way they can find happiness is by creating their own world in their mind. Overall, the lyrics to Pretty Colors are a poignant representation of the pain that comes with unrequited love and the coping mechanisms that people use to deal with it.
Line by Line Meaning
I close my eyes and see pretty colors,
When I shut my eyes, I hallucinate delightful shades that fascinate me.
They're dancing just for me, pretty colors
The hues are performing exclusively for my pleasure and enjoyment.
Locked in my mind they'll always be,
The colorful visions are trapped in my thoughts and will always be with me.
You'll never give your love to me,
You will never express your affection towards me.
So I'll just close my eyes and see pretty colors.
In response to being deprived of love, I will revert to dreaming about the pretty colors.
Contributed by Logan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
John
I close my eyes and see pretty colors,
They're dancing just for me, pretty colors
Locked in my mind they'll always be,
You'll never give your love to me,
So I'll just close my eyes and see pretty colors.
Locked in my mind they'll always be
You'll never give your love to me,
So I'll just close my eyes and see pretty colors
I'll close my eyes and see pretty colors,
They're dancing just for me, pretty colors
Pretty colors
Will Pseudonym
Amazing work by Lanegan. Bravo!
sarita ff
Always perfect. BAD BOYS SING BEST LOVE SONGS -- Such an artist! Thank you Mark
John
I close my eyes and see pretty colors,
They're dancing just for me, pretty colors
Locked in my mind they'll always be,
You'll never give your love to me,
So I'll just close my eyes and see pretty colors.
Locked in my mind they'll always be
You'll never give your love to me,
So I'll just close my eyes and see pretty colors
I'll close my eyes and see pretty colors,
They're dancing just for me, pretty colors
Pretty colors
έρως
A very beautiful song with touching lyrics..
Letro
Υπέροχο κομμάτι!!!
F. Hawk
beautiful song. I think he does a great job on this one.
If you get time check out lucid rivers
Carlos Armijos
simplemente melancólico
Urilla Graves
This is brillant! Perfection! I get it and I Love it. Thank you.
DXETHS
beautifulsong
Игорь Гапонов
Incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!