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)
St Louis Elegy
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I see an airplane as it flies
Is this the way they said Jesus came?
Gone through St Louis
Gone straightaway
And I hear the winter will cut you quick
If tears were liquor I'd have drunk myself sick
A house of cards, a frame of bones
Here I am earthly bound
Said hallelujah I'm going down
And the river Jordan is deep and wide
I think I see forever across on the other side
I look at the sky
I see a night bird as it flies
Over the old bent cherry trees
Shivering in a row
Down here the winter will cut you quick
These tears are liquor and I’ve drunk myself sick
And the dead of winter will cut you quick
These tears are liquor and I've drunk myself sick
The Mark Lanegan song "St Louis Elegy" is a song that explores the themes of life, death and the afterlife. The song's narrator looks to the sky and sees an airplane flying overhead, and wonders if this is the way that Jesus came. The song is full of Christian imagery, with references to the river Jordan and the idea of crossing over to the other side. The chorus of the song reflects the idea that the winter in St Louis is harsh, and that tears can be like a form of alcohol, leading to drunkenness and despair.
The verses of the song describe the singer's state of mind, as he contemplates his own mortality. He feels like a house of cards, and is bound to the earthly plane, but also feels resigned to the idea of passing over to the other side. The song's melancholy tone is accentuated by the simple guitar chords, and the haunting harmonies in the background.
Line by Line Meaning
I look at the sky
I am observing the sky
I see an airplane as it flies
I see the airplane in motion
Is this the way they said Jesus came?
I am reminded of the Biblical story of Jesus as he ascended to heaven in the clouds
Gone through St Louis
The plane has flown over St. Louis
Gone straightaway
The plane is continuing on its route without stopping
And I hear the winter will cut you quick
I have heard that the winter weather in this area is very severe and can be dangerous
If tears were liquor I'd have drunk myself sick
I am so upset that I would drink until I become sick if my tears were alcohol
Woman are you home?
I am asking if the woman is home
A house of cards, a frame of bones
The woman's home is fragile and her physical body is weak
Here I am earthly bound
I am stuck on this earth with all of its troubles
Said hallelujah I'm going down
I am saying 'hallelujah', which is an exclamation of joy, but then I am also acknowledging that I am going down, implying that I am sad or upset
And the river Jordan is deep and wide
I am thinking about the Biblical story of crossing the River Jordan, which represents crossing over into the afterlife
I think I see forever across on the other side
I believe that there is something beyond this life, something eternal on the other side of the River Jordan
I look at the sky
I am observing the sky
I see a night bird as it flies
I see a bird flying at night
Over the old bent cherry trees
The bird is flying over old, weathered cherry trees
Shivering in a row
The trees are shaking or trembling, possibly because of the cold weather
Down here the winter will cut you quick
Once again, I am describing how severe the winter weather can be in this area
These tears are liquor and I've drunk myself sick
I am so upset that I have been crying and if my tears were alcohol, I would have already drank too much and become sick
And the dead of winter will cut you quick
This line is repeated to emphasize the severity of the winter weather
These tears are liquor and I've drunk myself sick
This line is also repeated to emphasize how emotionally upset I am
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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