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)
Riding the Nightingale
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To wander through the ruin smokin' and pale
Came upon an angel and a nightingale
Back where the darkness comes
Between the earth and skies above
Dead weight on my body's bones
I think I dug too deep a hole
Think I dug too deep
A hole
Better run for cover babe you better hide
Don't do no good to wait til time decides
Time decides
Time
Time
I need a little more time
Riding on my nightingale
So many years to, to ride
Hiding on my nightingale, around my heart
Climbing down the stairs at last
I wouldn't touch me right
You're too proud and I'm too scared
And I'm neither here nor there
It's only fear
Well open up the doors
And let me breathe that air
Better run for cover babe you better hide
Just don't do to wait til time decides
Time decides
Time
Time
I need a little more time
Mama I'm gonna cry now
Cry, I'm gonna cry now
Oh you're makin' me cry now
Cry, I'm gonna cry now
Oh, no, no, no, no, no
I'm gonna cry
Cry
I'm gonna die cryin'
Better run for cover babe you'd better hide
Just don't to wait til time decides
Tied around my nightingale
So many years to, to hide
Fly my nightingale
Around my heart
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Mark Lanegan's song "Riding The Nightingale" is a haunting and melancholic number that touches upon various themes such as mortality, fear, and the inevitability of time. The first verse paints a picture of a dying mother who is barely breathing and is lying in a bed of nails. The singer then wanders through the ruins, smoking and pale, and encounters an angel and a nightingale. The chorus talks about the need to run for cover and hide, as waiting for time to decide doesn't do any good. The singer feels like he has dug a deep hole and carried a dead weight on his body's bones.
The second verse talks about climbing down the stairs and feeling scared and uncertain. The singer's pride and fear make it impossible for anyone to touch him, and he's left feeling neither here nor there. The bridge emphasizes the need to open up the doors and breathe the air. The chorus is repeated, and the song ends with the singer crying and feeling like he's going to die crying.
The song's narrative is ambiguous and open to interpretation. It can be interpreted as a depiction of a person coming to terms with their own mortality and feeling overwhelmed by regret and fear. However, it can also be interpreted as a commentary on the human condition and how we all carry the weight of mortality and uncertainty. The nightingale in the song can be seen as a symbol of hope and freedom, which the singer seeks to ride to escape the confines of his fears and regrets.
Line by Line Meaning
Dyin' mama barely breathin' in a bed of nails
My dying mother lies in terrible pain on a bed that feels like nails piercing her body
To wander through the ruin smokin' and pale
I aimlessly wander through my destroyed life, smoking and pale from my sorrows
Came upon an angel and a nightingale
I stumbled upon a heavenly being and a beautiful bird, representing hope and comfort amidst my despair
Back where the darkness comes
Returning to the depths of my sadness and hopelessness
Between the earth and skies above
Feeling lost in a limbo between the grounded reality and the unattainable heavens
Dead weight on my body's bones
The heaviness of my sadness and guilt weigh heavily on my physical body
I think I dug too deep a hole
I realize that I have gone too far down this destructive path and it may be too late to turn back
Think I dug too deep
Realizing that my actions have severe consequences and will be difficult to overcome
A hole
My actions and emotions have resulted in a deep and dark hole that I cannot escape from easily
Better run for cover babe you better hide
The world is full of hardship and danger, so it's best to protect oneself and hide from it all
Don't do no good to wait til time decides
Waiting around for time to fix my problems is useless, action needs to be taken now
Time
Time passes quickly and is not always on my side
Time
Time can be both a source of healing and of hurt
I need a little more time
I am not yet ready to face my problems head-on and need more time to figure things out
Riding on my nightingale
Escaping reality and finding comfort in the wings of my nightingale bird
So many years to, to ride
I have spent many years running from my problems and finding fleeting comfort in my nightingale
Hiding on my nightingale, around my heart
I am so afraid of confronting my emotions that I hide behind my bird, pretending it's enough to tame the pain in my heart
Climbing down the stairs at last
Finally making the descent from my self-destructive thoughts and actions
I wouldn't touch me right
I am so filled with pain and self-loathing that I feel unworthy of human touch
You're too proud and I'm too scared
I know that my pride gets in the way of finding true healing and moving past my fears
And I'm neither here nor there
I feel like I am stuck in a limbo between two worlds, not able to move forward or backward
It's only fear
At the root of my problems lies a deep-seated fear that I must confront if I want to heal
Well open up the doors
I ask for a chance to start anew and leave my troubles behind
And let me breathe that air
I pray for a fresh start, free of the weight of my past mistakes and struggles
Mama I'm gonna cry now
I feel so overwhelmed that I cannot help but express my emotions and cry
Cry, I'm gonna cry now
I can no longer contain my pain and sorrow and must release it through tears
Oh you're makin' me cry now
My mother's pain and suffering adds to my own and causes me to cry even harder
Oh, no, no, no, no, no
I am so lost in my emotions that I cannot find my way back to a better state of being
I'm gonna cry
I feel such deep pain that it can only be expressed through tears
I'm gonna die cryin'
My pain feels so all-consuming that I fear I may never escape the sadness and will spend my life feeling it
Tied around my nightingale
My nightingale has become a burden rather than a source of comfort, tying me to my past misery
So many years to, to hide
I have spent many years avoiding my problems, using my bird as a way to hide from reality
Fly my nightingale around my heart
I ask my bird to protect my heart and keep it from feeling any more pain
Who's riding on my nightingale
I question who or what is controlling my life and my source of fleeting comfort
Who's riding on my nightingale
I don't know which force governs my life and emotions, leaving me feeling lost and unsure
Who's riding on my nightingale
My sense of self and autonomy is so lost that I can't find who or what is in control of my life
Who's riding on my nightingale
I am so desperate for answers that I repeat the question, hoping for some insight into my pain and confusion
Who's riding on my nightingale
I cannot escape the feeling of being controlled and want to understand what is moving my life in a certain direction
Who's riding on my nightingale
I am looking for someone or something to blame for my troubles, hoping to find a way out
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARK LANEGAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Psic. Cristian Sánchez López
Dyin' mama barely breathin' in a bed of nails
To wander through the ruin smokin' and pale
Came upon an angel and a nightingale
Back where the darkness comes
Between the earth and skies above
Dead weight on my body's bones
I think I dug too deep a hole
Think I dug too deep
A hole
Better run for cover babe you better hide
Don't do no good to wait til time decides
Time decides
Time
Time
I need a little more time
Riding on my nightingale
So many years to, to ride
Hiding on my nightingale, around my heart
Climbing down the stairs at last
I wouldn't touch me right
You're too proud and I'm too scared
And I'm neither here nor there
It's only fear
Well open up the doors
And let me breathe that air
Better run for cover babe you better hide
Just don't do to wait til time decides
Time decides
Time
Time
I need a little more time
Mama I'm gonna cry now
Cry, I'm gonna cry now
Oh you're makin' me cry now
Cry, I'm gonna cry now
Oh, no, no, no, no, no
I'm gonna cry
Cry
I'm gonna die cryin'
Better run for cover babe you'd better hide
Just don't to wait til time decides
Tied around my nightingale
So many years to, to hide
Fly my nightingale
Around my heart
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Álvaro Z
My favorite song from him. Got to see him play live in a small pub in 2018. The song didn't make it to the setlist. Don't know if it actually even made it somewhere back in time. Now that he's gone, sorrow resonates hard as ever through his voice on this track. A legacy of beautiful yet inmense and unique darkness by a unique artist. Rest in Peace Mark, and thanks for everything.
Joshua Campbell
RIP Mark 🖤
Stephen Smith
Beautifully said
Magdalena G
Rest in Peace Mr. Lanegan. Your music was with me in my dark times and You helped me discover many things about myself that helped me get through. Thank You. ;((((((
Psic. Cristian Sánchez López
Dyin' mama barely breathin' in a bed of nails
To wander through the ruin smokin' and pale
Came upon an angel and a nightingale
Back where the darkness comes
Between the earth and skies above
Dead weight on my body's bones
I think I dug too deep a hole
Think I dug too deep
A hole
Better run for cover babe you better hide
Don't do no good to wait til time decides
Time decides
Time
Time
I need a little more time
Riding on my nightingale
So many years to, to ride
Hiding on my nightingale, around my heart
Climbing down the stairs at last
I wouldn't touch me right
You're too proud and I'm too scared
And I'm neither here nor there
It's only fear
Well open up the doors
And let me breathe that air
Better run for cover babe you better hide
Just don't do to wait til time decides
Time decides
Time
Time
I need a little more time
Mama I'm gonna cry now
Cry, I'm gonna cry now
Oh you're makin' me cry now
Cry, I'm gonna cry now
Oh, no, no, no, no, no
I'm gonna cry
Cry
I'm gonna die cryin'
Better run for cover babe you'd better hide
Just don't to wait til time decides
Tied around my nightingale
So many years to, to hide
Fly my nightingale
Around my heart
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
Who's riding on my nightingale
S W
Rest easy, Mark. Your words and voice helped a great many people, myself included. You will be remembered forever through your art.
Júlio Carloz
Só acho que ele deveria fazer um show tocando o Whiskey* completo, ou pelo menos, algumas músicas dessa obra prima.
Ultimo Warrior
Si Blues Saraceno es un pionero del dark country, entonces Mark Lanegan es un pionero del dark blues. Temazo.
Lizard King
Dyin' mama barely breathin' in a bed of nails To wander through the ruin smokin' and pale Came upon an angel and a nightingale Back where the darkness comes Between the earth and skies above Dead weight on my body's bones I think I dug too deep a hole Think I dug too deep a hole Mark Lanegan is the best song writer and the best male vocalist God ever created on earth !
EOD Voodoo
Maybe Mark's best song on his best album. Hard to believe this album is 27 years old