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 Gravedigger's Song
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I been dreaming of you
And the taste of your love so sweet
Honest its true
Through my heart flows sleep
And the dark heavy rain
Where the gravedigger’s sung his song
Tout est noir, mon amour
Tout est blanc
Je t’aime, mon amour
Comme j’aime la nuit
Love, is the medicine good?
Is the crow flying eight miles high?
Over wire and wood
Shovel down six feet
With a head heavy pain
But magnolia blooms so sweet
And it fades just the same
To the stars my love
To the sea
To the wheels my love
Till they roll all over me
Oh love, I been thinking of you
With razor white teeth so sharp
Honest its true
In my blood flows sleep
And the dark heavy rain
But magnolia blooms so sweet
Only torturing me
To the stars my love
To the sea
To the wheels my love
Till they roll all over me
The Gravedigger's Song by Mark Lanegan is a haunting ballad that speaks of the destructive power of love. The opening lines of the song paint a vivid picture of the singer's desire for his lover. He describes dreaming of her "with piranha teeth" and the "taste of your love so sweet." The intensity of his longing is palpable, and he suggests that his love for her is so strong that it is like a violently obsessive hunger that consumes him.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the object of the singer's desires is also the source of his pain. He speaks of being "tortured" by his lover, and of the "dark heavy rain" that flows through his heart. He juxtaposes the sweet fragrance of magnolias with the pain of digging graves, suggesting that love can be both beautiful and deadly.
Line by Line Meaning
With piranha teeth
I have been relentlessly yearning for you.
I been dreaming of you
You've been on my mind constantly.
And the taste of your love so sweet
Your love is what I crave and desire the most.
Honest its true
I'm not lying, my emotions are genuine.
Through my heart flows sleep
My heart is heavy with sorrow and longing.
And the dark heavy rain
My mood is melancholic just like the gloomy weather outside.
Where the gravedigger’s sung his song
The place where death is present, and my misery exists.
You’ve been torturing me
Your absence is painful, and it feels like torture.
Tout est noir, mon amour
My love, everything is black and dark.
Tout est blanc
Everything is blank and void, there's no light in my life.
Je t’aime, mon amour
I love you, my love.
Comme j’aime la nuit
Just like how I love the darkness of the night.
Love, is the medicine good?
Is love the cure for my pain and suffering?
Is the crow flying eight miles high?
Is there any hope or miracle to end my suffering?
Over wire and wood
Even if there's anything hopeful, it's unreachable and far.
Shovel down six feet
I'm buried deep in my sorrows.
With a head heavy pain
My mind is heavy with sadness, and it's unbearable.
But magnolia blooms so sweet
Yet, there's still beauty in life, even in my suffering.
And it fades just the same
But beauty is short-lived, and it fades as quickly as it appears.
To the stars my love
I long to escape from reality and reach the stars.
To the sea
And find solace in the vastness of the sea.
To the wheels my love
Or just ride the wheels of life and accept my fate.
Till they roll all over me
Until life finally consumes me and puts me out of my misery.
Oh love, I been thinking of you
I can't stop thinking about you and your love.
With razor white teeth so sharp
My longing for you is intense and painful, leaving me defenseless like prey.
In my blood flows sleep
My body is tired and wants to shut down, but my emotions keep me awake.
And the dark heavy rain
The rain continues to pour, echoing my melancholic mood.
But magnolia blooms so sweet
There's still beauty to be found in the world, even amidst my troubles.
Only torturing me
Yet, it's a reminder that my suffering continues.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gavinchristopher9249
Mark Lanegan Band - The Gravedigger's Song
With piranha teeth
I've been dreaming of you
And the taste of your love, so sweet
Honest, it's true
Through my heart flows sleep
And the dark, heavy rain
Where the gravedigger's song is sung
You've been torturing me
Tout est noir, mon amour
Tout est blanc
Je t'aime, mon amour
Comme j'aime la nuit
Love, is the medicine good?
Is the crow flying eight miles high
Over wire and wood?
Shovel down six feet
With a head heavy pain
The magnolia blooms so sweet
And it fades just the same
To the stars, my love
To the sea
To the wheels, my love
'Til they roll all over me
Oh love, I've been thinking of you
With razor white teeth, so sharp
Honest, it's true
In my blood flows sleep
And the dark heavy rain
The magnolia blooms so sweet
Only torturing me
To the stars, my love
To the sea
To the wheels, my love
'Til they roll all over me
@archetypique
Rest in peace, Mark. What a voice. Thanks for the great songs and the chills.
@tristanlawson5371
When I heard the news I went to this song to give him a proper send-off. I'm glad others had the same idea.
@machinethirteen13
Totally crushed by his passing... RIP brother. Catch you on the flipside.
@thunderturbine8860
RIP Brother. Hope you rest easy Mark. This is a crippling loss, my condolences to his family, friends and his bandmates. Haven't felt this bad since Chris Cornell's passing
@EclecticSceptic
Oh man I didn't know he died. Shite.
@setterhound7765
@@EclecticSceptic shite is right.
@Vera150607
RIP dude, you’re the voice of a lifetime.
@draakanaon6236
This song is such a masterpiece. I need more vinyl versions. I can hear it again and again. R. I. P Mister Lanegan. Your voice will haunt me until my own death.
@lowrispooner2279
Same here ...no voice compares to Mark ..God I will miss him 😢 💔
@johnmccluskey4613
I can relate to all his words,great track ♥️