What began as a side-note to Pigface has quickly grown into its own entity.… Read Full Bio ↴What began as a side-note to Pigface has quickly grown into its own entity. If you are not familiar with Opium Jukebox, now is the time to learn about them.
Originally comprised of Martin Atkins (label-owner/Pigface founder) and Bob Dog (former member of Evil Mothers), with a little help from Lee Fraser (Sheep on Drugs) and a few others. The basic premise was to take underground songs and compose them as Bhangra tunes using sitars and drums as the basic instruments. According to the bands page on the Invisible website other parts included, "instruments (both real and imagined) such as stringed things, vibes, toy pianos, tempuras, dijeridus, shakuhachis, sarods, and violins."

Taking a page from the music journals of the Moog Cookbooks versions of "popular grunge" tunes of the early nineties or the symphonic versions of seventies' rock hits, their first release, "Music To Download Pornography By," included songs from bands/artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Soft Cell, Jane's Addiction and Gary Numan. Each track a mellow, middle-eastern influenced version of it's original. If you love "Been Caught Stealing," "Head like a hole" or "Smells like teen spirit," but just aren't in the mood to 'rawk out' then this album is perfect for your home opium den enjoyment. Sit back, smoke-up and enjoy.

But that's not all. Atkins decided for their follow-up, they would ask their fans for feedback and suggestions for tunes to be re-worked next. Without being the proverbial fly on the wall, i'm not sure how the decision was made, but instead of covering various artists, they decided that a tribute to the Sex Pistols would be an appropriate sophomoric effort. They took "Never Mind the Bollocks" as well as the song "My Way" (a Frank Sinatra tune that Sid Vicious covered in "The Great Rock n' Roll Swindle") and gave them the Opium Jukebox work-over. Some tunes are not even recognizable, but all are worthy of a good lazy Sunday afternoon (or late Saturday night smoke-out) listen.

Evidently, the idea has grown since its one-off inception. After these first two "re-creations" Bob Dog and Atkins (along with help from some other friends in the business, including Ozzy Osbourne), have also produced tributes to Black Sabbath ("Bhangra Bloody Bhangra") and the Rolling Stones ("Sticky Bhangra"). Each one is a kind tip of the hat to the respective artists in gratitude for their contributions to music as we know it, as well as a completely new creation itself worthy of everyone's attention...go out and buy one of these now.

Paint It Black
Opium Jukebox Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

see a red door and I want it painted black,
no colours 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 newborn baby it just happens every day.

I look inside my self and see my heart is back,
I see my red door and I want it painted black.
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts,
it's not easy facing up when your whole world is black.

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue,
I could not forsee this thing happening to you.
If I look hard enough into the setting sun,
my love will laugh with me before the morning comes.

I see a red door and I want it painted black,
no colours anymore I want them ot turn black.

I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes,
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.

Overall Meaning

Opium Jukebox’s cover of the classic Rolling Stones song, “Paint It Black,” showcases their ability to re-interpret a classic rock tune into an edgy, industrial sound with ominous undertones. The song is a commentary on the feelings of darkness, depression, and despair experienced by the singer, who is facing the loss of someone he loves. The first stanza of the song sets this tone by describing the singer’s desire to paint everything black. This is not simply a manifestation of his mood but a desire to erase all color and life from the world due to his overwhelming pain.

The second stanza describes the singer’s struggle to come to terms with the loss of his beloved. He sees a line of cars painted black with flowers, presumably at a funeral. The people around him turn their heads away, as if they’re uncomfortable with the raw emotions the singer is experiencing. The singer’s heart is “black,” reflecting the hopelessness of his sense of loss.

The third stanza describes the singer’s final attempt to find some sense of peace. He hopes that if he paints his red door black, it may allow him to fade away and escape from the harsh reality of his situation. Even his surroundings begin to lose their vibrancy as the green sea turns to blue, reflecting the singer's internal loss of light and life. As the song ends, the singer finds a glimmer of hope in the setting sun, and hopes that he can find a way to hold onto that light and keep his love’s memory alive.

Line by Line Meaning

see a red door and I want it painted black,
I see something that used to bring me joy, but now I want it to match the darkness that I feel inside.

no colours anymore I want them to turn black.
I don't want to see the beauty in the world anymore, I just want everything to be dark and empty.

I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes,
I see life and vitality in other people, but I can't bear to look at it because it only highlights how bleak and empty I feel inside.

I have to turn my head until the darkness goes.
I can't bear to face the world because I feel like I am surrounded by darkness that never disappears.

I see a line of cars and they're all painted black,
I see death and sorrow all around me, everything is bleak and hopeless.

with flowers and my love, both never to come back.
Even things that used to bring me joy and hope, like love and beauty, are now gone forever.

I see people turn their heads and quickly look away,
People are afraid to acknowledge the darkness within me, and it hurts me deeply to see them recoil from what I have become.

like a newborn baby it just happens every day.
Everyone is born into a world that can be dark and unfeeling, and each day brings new challenges and pain.

I look inside my self and see my heart is black,
I am consumed by my own darkness, and I can't escape the pain and emptiness inside of me.

I see my red door and I want it painted black.
I can't stand the sight of anything that doesn't match the bleakness inside of me, so I want everything to be as dark and empty as I am.

Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts,
If I can make everything around me as bleak as I feel, maybe I can forget the pain and just fade away into the darkness.

it's not easy facing up when your whole world is black.
It is incredibly difficult to confront your own darkness and pain when it seems like everything around you is bleak and hopeless.

No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue,
Even things that used to be beautiful and full of life, like the ocean, now seem empty and lifeless to me.

I could not forsee this thing happening to you.
I never could have imagined that I would become so consumed by my own darkness and pain.

If I look hard enough into the setting sun,
If I can just find some beauty or hope in the world, maybe I can start to escape the darkness that is consuming me.

my love will laugh with me before the morning comes.
If I can hold onto some hope and beauty, maybe I can find joy and laughter again before it's too late.

I see a red door and I want it painted black,
Even though I know it won't solve my problems, I still can't bear to see anything that doesn't match the bleakness inside of me.

no colours anymore I want them ot turn black.
I can't bear to see the beauty and color in the world anymore, it only reminds me of how dark and empty I feel inside.

I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes,
I can see that life and vitality still exist in the world, but it only highlights how much pain and emptiness I feel inside.

I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.
I can't bear to confront the pain and darkness inside of me, so I have to turn away from anything that reminds me of it.

Writer(s): Earl Lee Copyright: Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing

Contributed by Grayson O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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