Paint It Black
Ministry Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until the darkness goes

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it happens every day

I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and must have it painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you
If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it happens every day

I wanna see it tainted, tainted, tainted black
Black as night, black as coal




I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it tainted, tainted, tainted black

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Ministry's song Paint It Black are about an individual who is feeling a deep sense of emptiness and despair. The opening line of the song "I see a red door and I want it painted black" sets the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is so consumed with their feelings of despair that they want everything around them to reflect that. They want the world to be just as dark and bleak as they are feeling. The lines "No colors anymore I want them to turn black" further emphasize this same theme.


The middle section of the song talks about the singer's reaction to the world around them. They see people walking by and cars driving around, but everything seems to be painted black. The line "With flowers and my love both never to come back" suggests that the singer has experienced some kind of loss that they are unable to recover from. The final section of the song talks about the singer's desire to stop feeling this way. They want to "fade away and not have to face the facts," but they are unable to do so. The line "It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black" sums up the overall theme of despair that runs throughout the song.


Overall, the song can be interpreted as a commentary on the feelings of hopelessness and despair that can sometimes overtake a person's life. It speaks to the desire to shut out the world and retreat into a dark, empty space.


Line by Line Meaning

I see a red door and I want it painted black
The singer desires to remove all color from their surroundings, starting with this specific red door that they want painted black


No colors anymore I want them to turn black
The singer longs for a world without vibrant hues, wishing for everything to be painted black


I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
The singer observes people enjoying the brightness of summer, a contrast to their own desire for darkness


I have to turn my head until the darkness goes
The sight of others enjoying life's colors is difficult for the artist, causing them to turn away until those feelings fade


I see a line of cars and they're all painted black
A procession of black cars reminds the artist of lost loved ones who will never come back


With flowers and my love both never to come back
The cars represent a funeral procession, with flowers and the singer's love gone forever


I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Others are uncomfortable with the bleakness the singer desires, turning away from them and their desires


Like a new born baby it happens every day
The artist notes that this rejection is a daily occurrence, much like a baby being ignored by busy adults


I look inside myself and see my heart is black
The artist recognizes that their bleak outlook stems from their own dark heart and feelings of despair


I see my red door and must have it painted black
The artist's desire to remove color from their surroundings is so strong that they feel they must paint their red door black


Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
The singer hopes that by living in a bleak environment, they can distance themselves from the harsh realities of life


It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black
The artist acknowledges that their bleak outlook makes it difficult to face reality and deal with life's challenges


No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
The singer expects that their desire for a black world will eliminate the natural beauty of the sea, turning it from green to an even darker hue


I could not foresee this thing happening to you
The singer is surprised by the events that have occurred in their life and the world around them


If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
The singer searches for hope and light by gazing at the sun as it sets, seeking a glimmer of optimism in the darkness


My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes
The artist hopes to find someone who shares their sense of humor and can find joy in the bleakness, providing them with comfort


I wanna see it tainted, tainted, tainted black
The artist's desire for a black world becomes more urgent and insistent, as they repeat their desire to see everything tainted black


Black as night, black as coal
The singer emphasizes their desire for complete darkness, wanting everything to be as dark as coal or the night sky


I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky
The singer desires the ultimate darkness, wishing for the very source of light to be eliminated from the world


I wanna see it tainted, tainted, tainted black
The song ends with the artist's persistent desire for a world devoid of color, driven by their own sense of despair and darkness.




Contributed by Gianna Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

More Versions