Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an America… Read Full Bio ↴Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins. He released 12 solo studio albums, as well as three collaboration albums with Isobel Campbell and two with Duke Garwood. He was known for his baritone voice, which was described as being "as scratchy as a three-day beard yet as supple and pliable as moccasin leather" and has been compared to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Nick Cave.

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)

Shooting Gallery
Mark Lanegan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'll tell you how I woke up on the line
My sister I almost saw the light
Look my hands are tied
I'll see you in another hallway
Some other time

Well I don't understand this big parade
It's a five star decoration day

Look my hands are stained
I was washin' 'em the water
Well the water fell away

I'll tell you how I woke up on the line
Sorry for a soul in heaven passin' by
Look my hands are tied

I will see you in another station
Some other time

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Mark Lanegan's song "Shooting Gallery" are mysterious and open to interpretation. The opening line, "I'll tell you how I woke up on the line," suggests that the singer is in a precarious or dangerous situation, perhaps emotionally or mentally. The second line, "My sister I almost saw the light," adds a hint of sadness or regret. It could mean that he nearly died, or that he came close to a moment of clarity, but didn't quite get there.

He then says, "Look, my hands are tied," which suggests powerlessness or being trapped. The phrase "I'll see you in another hallway / Some other time" could be a reference to reincarnation or an afterlife, as though he's speaking to someone who has died and suggesting they'll meet again in another form.

The second stanza adds more layers of meaning. The "big parade" could be a metaphor for life, with the singer having a hard time understanding what it's all about. His hands being stained suggest guilt or shame, and the act of washing his hands shows an attempt at purification that ultimately fails. The final line, "I will see you in another station / Some other time," reinforces the idea of meeting after death or in another form.

Overall, the lyrics of "Shooting Gallery" are enigmatic and haunting, capturing a sense of unease and longing for something beyond this world.

Line by Line Meaning

I'll tell you how I woke up on the line
I'll explain how I found myself in a difficult situation

My sister I almost saw the light
My sister almost died or had a close call

Look my hands are tied
I am unable to do anything about the situation

I'll see you in another hallway
We will meet again in a different place

Some other time
At a later date

Well I don't understand this big parade
I don't comprehend the grand spectacle

It's a five star decoration day
It's a highly celebrated occasion

Look my hands are stained
I have blood on my hands

I was washin' 'em the water
I was trying to wash the blood off

Well the water fell away
The water wasn't enough to clean my hands