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)
Sad Lover
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out a wave, a hurdling hurricane disaster
We're born and the ghost follows after
I watch as my sad lover dreams
I hate when that red sun goes down
And birds are only shadows on the pavement
And they're breaking up my heart, I can't evade it
Alright
I hate when the red sun goes down
And birds are only shadows on the pavement
And they're breaking up my heart, I can't evade it
I hate when that red sun goes down
I pray for my sad lover's dream
Out swimming Novocain and laughter
And tear's the only gift I love thereafter
I pray for my sad lover's dream
I pray for my sad lover's dream
Come one
The lyrics of Mark Lanegan's song "Sad Lover" paint a melancholic picture of a narrator who is observing his lover struggling with dreams and the weight of ghosts from the past. The opening lines "I watch as my sad lover dreams, out a wave, a hurdling hurricane disaster" suggests the overwhelming and tumultuous nature of the dreams that the singer's lover is experiencing. The imagery of a hurricane conveys the destructive force of these dreams, and the fact that they are hurdling intensifies their impact.
The lyrics "We're born and the ghost follows after, I watch as my sad lover dreams" carries a double meaning. On one hand, it could be taken to mean the birth of the singer's lover and the ghost that has been following them ever since. On the other hand, it could refer to the birth of the singer and the ghost of their past following them. The latter interpretation fits well with the overall theme of the song, which is the weight of the past and its impact on the present.
The chorus "I hate when that red sun goes down and birds are only shadows on the pavement, and they're breaking up my heart, I can't evade it" is a powerful expression of the singer's pain and frustration. The setting sun and the shadows of birds symbolize the darkness and emptiness that the singer feels when their lover is struggling with dreams. The line "I can't evade it" suggests that the singer is powerless to change the situation and is forced to endure the pain.
Overall, "Sad Lover" is a hauntingly beautiful song that explores the emotional turmoil of a relationship affected by the weight of the past. The singer's pain is palpable, and the imagery used in the lyrics is powerful and evocative.
Line by Line Meaning
I watch as my sad lover dreams
The singer observes their lover dreaming sadly.
Out a wave, a hurdling hurricane disaster
The lover is dreaming about a tumultuous and destructive force.
We're born and the ghost follows after
From birth, we are accompanied by the specter of death or loss.
I watch as my sad lover dreams
The artist observes their lover dreaming sadly.
I hate when that red sun goes down
The artist dislikes when the sun sets.
And birds are only shadows on the pavement
At dusk, the birds cast dark, indistinct shapes on the ground.
And they're breaking up my heart, I can't evade it
The singer is heartbroken by this sight and can't escape their emotions.
I hate when that red sun goes down
The artist dislikes when the sun sets.
Alright
Exclamation indicating agreement or acceptance.
I hate when the red sun goes down
The artist dislikes when the sun sets.
And birds are only shadows on the pavement
At dusk, the birds cast dark, indistinct shapes on the ground.
And they're breaking up my heart, I can't evade it
The artist is heartbroken by this sight and can't escape their emotions.
I pray for my sad lover's dream
The singer hopes for their lover's well-being in their dreams.
Out swimming Novocain and laughter
The dream involves numbing medication and happy emotions.
And tear's the only gift I love thereafter
The singer appreciates the emotional release of tears as a gift from the dream.
I pray for my sad lover's dream
The artist hopes for their lover's well-being in their dreams.
Come one
Encouragement to the dream to come.
Lyrics © Red Brick Music Publishing
Written by: Mark Lanegan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrFran270
I watch as my sad lover dreams
Out a wave, a hurdling hurricane disaster
We're born and the ghost follows after
I watch as my sad lover dreams
I hate when that red sun goes down
And birds are only shadows on the pavement
And they're breaking up my heart, I can't evade it
I hate when that red sun goes down
Alright
I hate when the red sun goes down
And birds are only shadows on the pavement
And they're breaking up my heart, I can't evade it
I hate when that red sun goes down
I pray for my sad lover's dream
Out swimming Novocain and laughter
And tear's the only gift I love thereafter
I pray for my sad lover's dream
I pray for my sad lover's dream
Come one
@gerald9442
I watch as my sad lover dreams
On a wave of swirling hurricane disaster
With a bullet for the ghost following after
I watch as my sad lover dreams
I hate when the red sun goes down
And burns a lonely shadow into pavement
And the breaking of my heart I can't evade it
I hate when that red sun goes down
I pray for my sad lover's dream
On a wave of swirling novocaine and laughter
And tears the only gift following after
I pray for my sad lover's dream
I pray for my sad lover's dream
@johnbenson5154
Its unlikely we will see anyone as cool as Mark Lanegan ever again
@bernardkelly9708
I agree.people don't realize how great his music is and great band.Just saying.
@vladimirstojov9236
Saw him live a couple of years back. In spite of him being somewhat cold to the audience, he totally delivered on each performance. Some people may not have liked this, but I really apreciated him being his honest self. I felt like I was in the presence of a shy grunge god who sang from his soul.
RIP
@morgancatherwood5665
Mark was just the fucking man. You're right - he was kind of a cold dude - he didn't owe any of us anything. I can't believe he's gone - FUCK! Mark filled a space that nobody else can occupy. He did what he did and now that he's gone? Empty space - nobody will fill it or ever do it again - appreciate the art. I try to sing his songs and play guitar most days. He'll be alive with me everyday - irreplaceable
@xiaoshizi131
RIP Mark Lanegan. We miss you <3
@MrShocking68
Best musician of my generation. For those us between 38 and 55. Thank you
@freakhead21
Make it 37! Love everything this man sings. One of the best musicians of our time.
@scariwo6908
+zubair 37 too! ;)
@nataliafusari6308
34!
@RX2TUNES
Make it 59..