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)
Waiting on a Train
Mark Lanegan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shoulda left here long ago
You'd rather see me sorry
Than knowin' what I know
I wish it was asleep instead
Of hangin' here up above my head
I'm cryin'
Pull all my shit together
Try for another breath
Lonely livin' sorrow
Holdin' on like death
From the play of lights below
Is that church bells ringin' or my whistle blowin'
I don't care
I'm gone
Shootin' up and down the tracks
Mornin' comes, cold chills and shakes
Just remindin' me of my mistake
Well alright
Now get your smell off of me mama
It's time that I was leavin'
I left here long ago
You'd rather see me sorry
Than knowin' what you know
Wish it was asleep instead
Of hangin' here up above my head
Lady
Lady midnight crawlin'
Just waitiing on a train
The song "Waiting on a Train" by Mark Lanegan talks about a man who wishes to leave a place he should have left long ago. He knows that leaving will cause sadness to the people he is leaving behind, but he cannot keep staying in a place that is causing him misery. The line "It's time that I was leavin', shoulda left here long ago" indicates that the man has been in this place for a long time and has been contemplating leaving for a while now. He is torn between leaving and staying because he does not want to hurt the people he is leaving behind, but at the same time, he cannot take the pain anymore.
The line "I'm cryin' in the winter time goin', pull all my shit together, try for another breath, lonely livin' sorrow, holdin' on like death" reflects the man's emotional state. He is crying and feeling lonely, and yet, he is trying to gather all his strength to leave a place that has caused him great sorrow. The following lines, "I don't care, I'm gone, shootin' up and down the tracks" show that the man is determined to leave this place behind, no matter the cost. He wants to move forward and start afresh.
The song also mentions the coming of the morning, which brings with it cold chills and shakes, reminding him of the mistake he has made. The line "Now get your smell off of me, mama" indicates that he is trying to let go of the past and start afresh. The song ends with the words "Just waiting on a train," indicating that the man is ready to leave and is just waiting for the train to arrive so he can move on with his life.
Line by Line Meaning
It's time that I was leavin'
I need to leave now
Shoulda left here long ago
I should have left this place a long time ago
You'd rather see me sorry
You would rather me be sad and regretful
Than knowin' what I know
Than to know what I know right now
I wish it was asleep instead
I wish this feeling would go away
Of hangin' here up above my head
Rather than it being a constant reminder
I'm cryin'
I am feeling sad
In the winter time goin'
While waiting for a train in winter
Pull all my shit together
Try to compose myself
Try for another breath
Try to move on
Lonely livin' sorrow
Sad and lonely life
Holdin' on like death
Holding onto the feeling tight
From the play of lights below
Watching the lights below
Is that church bells ringin' or my whistle blowin'
Confused whether it is the sound of a church bell or a train whistle
I don't care
I don't mind
I'm gone
I am leaving
Shootin' up and down the tracks
Riding the train up and down the tracks
Mornin' comes, cold chills and shakes
The morning makes me feel cold and shaky
Just remindin' me of my mistake
It reminds me of my bad decision
Well alright
Okay then
Now get your smell off of me mama
Leave me alone, mom
It's time that I was leavin'
I need to leave this place
I left here long ago
I already left this place a long time ago
You'd rather see me sorry
You prefer to see me suffer in sadness
Than knowin' what you know
Rather than knowing the truth
Wish it was asleep instead
I wish this feeling would just disappear
Of hangin' here up above my head
Rather than it being a constant mental burden
Lady
Addressing a woman
Lady midnight crawlin'
Deep sadness creeping in at midnight
Just waitiing on a train
Waiting for a train to take me away from this place
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARK LANEGAN, MIKE JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
mat11trick
Love the Mark Lanegan/Mike Johnson music era.
monahpienkosh
same here... I really miss that era. Mark's current electronica phase really doesn't do it for me... :/
Manaka1987
It's time that I was leavin'
Shoulda left here long ago
You'd rather see me sorry
Than knowin' what I know
I wish it was asleep instead
Of hangin' here up above my head
I'm cryin'
In the winter time goin'
Pull all my shit together
Try for another breath
Lonely livin' sorrow
Holdin' on like death
From the play of lights below
Is that church bells ringin' or my whistle blowin'
I don't care
I'm gone
Shootin' up and down the tracks
Mornin' comes, cold chills and shakes
Just remindin' me of my mistake
Well alright
Now get your smell off of me mama
It's time that I was leavin'
I left here long ago
You'd rather see me sorry
Than knowin' what you know
Wish it was asleep instead
Of hangin' here up above my head
Lady
Lady midnight crawlin'
Just waitiing on a train
kratomosphere
Shootin' up and down the tracks
FreeЯadikal
wow!
Lewis Murray
R.I.P
ROTTEN ROBB
This song is about heroin. I think you would have to have been there, to understand.
Dani Pancy
💔