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)
Tiny Grain Of Truth
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The ones I tore from magazines and paperbacks
I’m a keep my hurt inside now love
When it’s you I am following
What’s done is done is done now
What’s done is done is done now
What’s done is done is done now
What’s done is done
Send down the firewalker
Send down the neon priest
Send down the junky doctor
Send down the shadow king
Down through the heart of the city at night
In black and white
Roll out to a blues funeral
Riding out in a long cortege
Gone with the mariachi
Gone with the butchermen
Gone straight through the eye of a needle at night
In black and white
Straight through the eye of a needle at night
I blurred the pictures and fooled myself
The ones that showed the terminal in negative
I’m a keep my hurt inside now love
And may you not uncover it
And blood is blood is blood now
And blood is blood is blood now
Yes blood is blood is blood now
And blood is blood
Straight through the eye of a needle at night
In black and white
Send down the firewalker
Send down the neon priest
Send down the junky doctor
Send down the shadow king
Out through the heart of the city at night
In black and white
The song “Tiny Grain of Truth” by Mark Lanegan is a poetic and enigmatic reflection on love, pain, and the relentless passage of time. The opening lines, “Put the pictures upon the shelf / The ones I tore from magazines and paperbacks” suggest a sense of disillusionment and detachment from the past. The singer seems to be letting go of old memories and illusions and is determined to keep their hurt inside rather than exposing it to the world. The repetition of the phrase “What’s done is done is done now” further emphasizes the idea of moving on and leaving the past behind.
The middle section of the song brings in a series of intriguing images, from the firewalker to the neon priest and the junky doctor. These could be seen as archetypical figures of danger, fear or hope, but their specific meanings are left to the listener’s imagination. The lines “Roll out to a blues funeral / Riding out in a long cortege” evoke a feeling of melancholy and loss, as if mourning the passing of a friend or lover. The final refrain, “And blood is blood is blood now / And blood is blood is blood now / Yes blood is blood is blood now / And blood is blood / Straight through the eye of a needle at night / In black and white” creates a haunting sense of finality, as the singer acknowledges the inevitability of death and the flatness of reality.
Line by Line Meaning
Put the pictures upon the shelf
I am clearing out my past memories
The ones I tore from magazines and paperbacks
The ones that reminded me of my old life
I’m a keep my hurt inside now love
I am choosing to not show vulnerability in front of you
When it’s you I am following
I am committed to following you in our relationship
What’s done is done is done now
There is no going back on what has already happened
Send down the firewalker
Call on powerful external forces to deal with problems
Send down the neon priest
Call on someone with strong religious beliefs to help
Send down the junky doctor
Call on a person with addictions to help deal with them
Send down the shadow king
Call on someone with a dark past to help with current issues
Down through the heart of the city at night
Going through the core of problems and issues
In black and white
Clear cut, with no gray area
Roll out to a blues funeral
Have a somber and serious approach to dealing with life challenges
Riding out in a long cortege
Moving on to the next life stage, with a group of people close to you
Gone with the mariachi
Letting go of anything that reminds you of the past
Gone with the butchermen
Letting go of anything that elicits negative emotions
Gone straight through the eye of a needle at night
Moved on completely and escaped, no longer trapped
I blurred the pictures and fooled myself
I distorted my memories and convinced myself it was positive
The ones that showed the terminal in negative
The ones that were reminders of death or negative events
And may you not uncover it
I hope you don't realize what I am going through
And blood is blood is blood now
The damage is done, and the situation is severe
Yes blood is blood is blood now
The fallout of the situation is severe
Straight through the eye of a needle at night
Moved on completely and escaped, no longer trapped
Send down the firewalker
Call on powerful external forces to deal with problems
Send down the neon priest
Call on someone with strong religious beliefs to help
Send down the junky doctor
Call on a person with addictions to help deal with them
Send down the shadow king
Call on someone with a dark past to help with current issues
Out through the heart of the city at night
Coming out on the other side of a difficult journey
In black and white
Clear cut, with no gray area
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gil Mayer
RIP Mark 🎸🎼💔😢 🙏. Thank you for the music and the memories 🙏
Samuel Cheshire
"Roll out to a blues funeral
Riding out in a long cortege
Gone with the mariachi
Gone with the butchermen
Gone straight through the eye of a needle at night
In black and white..."
This song seems like it is about making a transition, and accepting fate, heartache, and the inevitable change as days march on. This whole album is amazing. Right on time and on point.
Θεοδωρος Λ.
Wandering around downtown in the middle of the night till the morning, aimlessly and all alone. This lasted a whole damn summer. Me having accepted the fact i was defeated & lost since some time. So much pain made me so numb i finally had become nobody
JpoLala
I'm glad to you got see him & were impressed. There's so much music already made by this man you have yet to explore & love. Check out his wiki profile & be amazed at how prolific he is & for how long he's been at it. He's highly respected, very talented, & works with many people. If you enjoyed this, you are in for more treats, indeed.
ReplacedByDrumbot
I just saw the band play in Leeds on Friday, first I'd heard of them. They played this song near the end, and now I'm hooked.
mad season
Really hoping to get to see Mark Lanegan soon. Hope he comes play the UK again soon.
He has kept me sane throughout this Lockdown. Hunting down his records and collaborations outside of Screaming trees and Mad Season.
Loving Saturnalia atm
Sunday at dirt devil.
Bubblegum.
Nenad Mihajlovic
Moj brat....kida
Elisha Jenkins
Rip 🙏😭🕊️
Adrian Domínguez
When this strange atmosphere gets inside, you can start feeling the chaosmos that is silently beetween us. .... another strange religion.....
Thulas Mads
🔥 🔥🔥🔥🔥