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)
The False Husband
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where are you've been my friend?
Where are you've been my darling?
Where are you've been my friend?
A crow flew past my window sill
Stole me away from you until
You change your heart or change your will
Where are you've been my darling?
Where are you've been my friend?
Where are you've been my darling?
Where are you've been my friend?
And all the while that you would burn
Your tongue was working overtime
Love foregone and life's so good
Oh aren't you darling
In my words I cherry-picked
Something fought and died today
With all our words I care not say
I need you darling
Where are you've been my darling?
Where are you've been my friend?
I've been chasing up loftier mountains
Be it against my will
You keep telling me "don't get no higher"
But I'll be higher still
Where are you've been my darling?
Where are you've been my friend?
The song "The False Husband" by Mark Lanegan is a powerful contemplation on love, loneliness, and the struggle to reconnect with a distant partner. The opening lines, "Where have you been my darling? Where have you been my friend?" set the tone for the entire song, encapsulating the sense of longing and confusion that permeates the lyrics. From the opening lines, we get the impression that the singer has been searching for his lover and friend for some time. The repetition of the phrase "Where have you been?" emphasizes the deep sense of longing and loss that the singer is experiencing.
The middle section of the song takes on a more melancholic tone, with the singer lamenting the distance that has emerged between him and his partner. The image of a crow flying past the window sill is evocative, suggesting that the singer feels as if he has been taken away from his love. The lines, "Your tongue was working overtime / Love foregone and life's so good" suggest that the singer is struggling to reconcile the disconnect between the love he feels for his partner and the reality of their current emotional distance. Despite the pain he is feeling, the singer still longs for his partner, with the repeated phrase "I need you darling" conveying the sense of desperation.
The final section of the song is more assertive, with the singer declaring that he will continue searching for his partner no matter what obstacles he encounters. The lines "I've been chasing up loftier mountains / Be it against my will" suggest that the search is difficult and that the singer sometimes struggles to keep going. However, the final line, "But I'll be higher still," emphasizes his determination to continue the search no matter what.
Line by Line Meaning
Where are you've been my darling?
Asking where the loved one has been and why they left.
Where are you've been my friend?
Asking where the friend has been who understands and gives support.
A crow flew past my window sill
A disruptive force took the singer away from their loved one and friend.
Stole me away from you until
The crow caused the separation until the loved one changes their heart or will.
You change your heart or change your will
The singer needs the loved one to have a true change of heart or willpower to make things work.
Oh aren't you darling
Sarcastic remark about the loved one's current state.
And all the while that you would burn
The loved one is self-destructing.
Your tongue was working overtime
The loved one is lying and talking too much without sincerity.
Love foregone and life's so good
The loved one has abandoned love and is living a seemingly good life without the singer.
In my words I cherry-picked
The singer has chosen their words very carefully to convey their message.
Something fought and died today
Something was lost today that was worth fighting for.
With all our words I care not say
Despite all the words that have been said, there are still some things the singer cannot express.
I need you darling
Despite the difficulties, the singer still needs the loved one in their life.
I've been chasing up loftier mountains
The singer has been pursuing more ambitious goals and aspirations.
Be it against my will
The singer feels compelled to pursue these goals despite the difficulties.
You keep telling me "don't get no higher"
The loved one is cautioning the singer not to pursue these lofty goals.
But I'll be higher still
The singer is determined to continue pursuing these goals and will rise even higher.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
micmac09
Savoir que la voix de Mark s'est tue pour toujours me rend encore plus mélancolique/ Knowing that Mark's voice has gone silent forever makes me even more melancholic.
EcuaLyrics
Gran canción para el final del libro bajo el hielo
Julie Berube
love this whole album thanks !
Dean O'Brien
Just great, the whole album.
Lewis Barrah
Amazing
meluc49
beautiful
Tadgh O'Connor
love it all
Félix De Tena
RIP Mark. So sad.
Remus Grecu
love
Ottorino Gentile
Bob&Joan, John & Yoko, nick&polly j, now marc&isobel. In Italia abbiamo Albano e Romina, ma non ascoltatelo, è shit.