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)
Ugly Sunday
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it's a rainy Sunday morning
I count the million miles I'm driftin'
From here, to hell
Today
Behind their windows people stare
Can't recognize the kindness there
None for me
And you
It'll take a hard rain to wash your taste away
Still I wish there was a reason left to stay
I'm drunk half blind
And it's an ugly Sunday morning
The wind arrives with the clouds refusing to break
Apart, like me
Why if all the world's stopped turnin'
How can all this rain keep fallin'
Washin' me a million miles away
From you
Why if I'm so alone now
Is it getting hard, to say goodbye now
Goodbye now
Mark Lanegan's song "Ugly Sunday" is a tale of a man who's lost his way in life and feels cold and alone, battling personal demons while facing the judgmental eye of society. The song starts on a rainy Sunday morning as he wakes up feeling the coldness of his lover's blood running through his veins. He reflects on how far he has drifted from her, but recognizes that they are both in a similar position. Society doesn't offer solace either; as he looks out the window he sees people staring, unable to recognize kindness in his and his lover's situation. They only seem to pray for "drowning ships at sea", leaving him and his lover isolated and alone.
The lines "It'll take a hard rain to wash your taste away / Still, I wish there was a reason left to stay" allude to the fact that their relationship is likely over, but he's unable to let go. Despite all the trouble they've been through, a part of him wishes that they could have stayed together. He's drunk half-blind with the wind refusing to die down, mirroring his current state of being.
The final lines reveal that he's alone and that saying goodbye is becoming increasingly difficult. The rain washes him away from her, but he can't bring himself to let her go. The song evokes themes of isolation, personal struggle, and societal ostracism. It speaks to the shared human experience of desperation and loneliness.
Line by Line Meaning
I feel your blood run cold
I sense a sudden change in the way you act towards me
And it's a rainy Sunday morning
The day is dull and gloomy as though it were reflecting our current state
I count the million miles I'm driftin'
I mentally assess the vast amount of distance that has developed between us
From here, to hell
The strain in our relationship has escalated beyond control
Today
This moment feels like a defining point in our relationship
Behind their windows people stare
Inquisitive eyes monitor our struggles from afar
Can't recognize the kindness there
People see only the harshness of our situation, failing to recognize the love that exists underneath
Just prayers for drownin' ships at sea
The world seems to show compassion only for lost causes and hopeless cases
None for me
I receive no sympathy, despite my own suffering
And you
Nor does my loved one, who is also struggling alongside me
It'll take a hard rain to wash your taste away
Something powerful and significant must happen in order for me to forget you
Still I wish there was a reason left to stay
Despite everything, a part of me wishes there was a way to salvage our relationship
I'm drunk half blind
I am numb to the world around me and disconnected from reality
And it's an ugly Sunday morning
This day feels particularly tragic and hopeless
The wind arrives with the clouds refusing to break
The conflict in our relationship seems to be escalating and intensifying
Apart, like me
Our relationship is deteriorating, and we feel further apart than we ever have before
Why if all the world's stopped turnin'
Despite my own personal turmoil, the world keeps moving around me
How can all this rain keep fallin'
The relentless and constant rain echoes the way I feel about our relationship, as though there is no end in sight
Washin' me a million miles away
The rain feels like a metaphor for my own escape, as I wish I could be a million miles away from my current situation
From you
Ultimately, it is my emotional distance from my loved one that I wish to escape
Why if I'm so alone now
Despite being surrounded by people and places, I feel completely isolated and empty
Is it getting hard, to say goodbye now
As much as I want to leave, the prospect of saying goodbye is becoming increasingly difficult
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MIKE JOHNSON, MARK LANEGAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@runstickman
I feel your blood run cold
And it's a rainy Sunday morning
I count the million miles I'm driftin'
From here, to hell
Today
Behind their windows people stare
Can't recognize the kindness there
Just prayers for drownin' ships at sea
None for me
And you
It'll take a hard rain to wash your taste away
Still I wish there was a reason left to stay
I'm drunk half blind
And it's an ugly Sunday morning
The wind arrives with the clouds refusing to break
Apart, like me
Why if all the world's stopped turnin'
How can all this rain keep fallin'
Washin' me a million miles away
From you
Why if I'm so alone now
Is it getting hard, to say goodbye now
Goodbye now
@samsquanch1996
Mark's voice is like a warm cup of coffee on a cold morning.
@pepperlloyd377
💯
@marcelovolcato8892
That's pretty much it.
@denirakich5266
More like , Mark’s voice is like a great shot of whiskey ( or vodka, for me), on a really crappy day, after work!!! Times are much tougher now!!!
@batmanmotherfucker
Yes, dull and shitty.
@joshuayettou9032
@Deni Rakich Now that's better put! Hahaha.
@Ale_tutor_tolc
RIP Mark ❤❤❤
I'll tale you in my heart for ever
@MarceloFarias
There will never be a so bluesy voice singing rock anymore, RIP Mark, you'll be missed forever
@joshuayettou9032
I've listened to Marks memoir "Sing Backwards and Weep" probably over 15 times in total and am now getting deeper into his vast discography. He was a true genius. RIP Dark Mark ❤️🖤❤️🖤
@dustinthomas5671
There will never be another one quite like mark, one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time. Truly the biggest inspiration and mentor I could've ever looked up to, and one id consider to be one of my heros love ya mark truly sad news to hear of your passing, rest in peace my friend I truly will miss you.