1) Screaming Trees was… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists with this name, including:
1) Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington in 1985.
2) Screaming Trees was a gothic/ebm band from the UK active in the 1980s.
1) Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington in 1985 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the time the band reached its most successful period. Although widely associated with grunge, the band's sound incorporated hard rock and psychedelic elements. During Screaming Trees' existence the band released seven studio albums, five EPs, and three compilations.
Screaming Trees is known as one of the pioneers of proto-grunge along with the Melvins, Mudhoney, U-Men, Skin Yard, Green River, and Malfunkshun. Screaming Trees rose to fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Soundgarden and was one of the most successful underground music acts of the 1990s. The band achieved one top ten single on the Modern Rock Tracks charts. Screaming Trees were plagued by extended inactivity due to their problems with making a follow up to Dust. This led to their official breakup in 2000.
Discography:
Albums
1986: Clairvoyance
1987: Even If and Especially When
1988: Invisible Lantern
1989: Buzz Factory
1991: Uncle Anesthesia
1992: Sweet Oblivion
1996: Dust
2011: Last Words: The Final Recordings
EPs
Beat Happening - Screaming Trees (collaboration with Beat Happening)
Other Worlds
Change Has Come
Something About Today
Winter Songs Tour Tracks
Compilations
Anthology: SST Years 1985-1989
Nearly Lost You
Ocean of Confusion - Songs of Screaming Trees 1990-1996
2) Screaming Trees was a gothic/ebm band from the UK, who released one full length LP in 1987, and several 12''s on Native Records. Mark Swancott and Sean Maloney comprised the band.
Discography:
Albums
1987 Fracture In Time
12''s
1986 Release
1986 Beaten By the Ugly Stick
1987 Iron Guru
1987 Asylum
1988 Tangiers
Dying Days
Screaming Trees Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I walk the ghost town
Used to be my city
I seen a holy man
Seen him crying with the Mother Mary
All these dying days
Yes it's too late
Lord hear me pray
Can you ease my mind
Now they're gone forever
Jesus I done gone over
Sleeping alone you
Stay on your side
If I couldn't lie
Like all of a thousand other times
I wouldn't be on this highway
Taken on down this highway
All these dying days
Waiting for the sunshine
Waiting for the sunshine
The lyrics to Screaming Trees' song Dying Days are dark and introspective, hinting at a sense of lost hope and impending doom. The singer is walking through a ghost town that once was his city, now barren and lifeless. He sees a holy man who is crying with Mother Mary, perhaps suggesting that even prayer and faith cannot alleviate the suffering and decay around them. The phrase "all these dying days" is repeated throughout the song, underscoring the pervasive sense of death and decay that surrounds the singer.
The chorus of the song has the singer imploring the Lord to ease his mind, acknowledging that it is too late to change the course of his life. He has lost loved ones and has gone over to the other side, possibly suggesting a descent into darkness or despair. He is now alone, unable to find solace even in his relationships. The line "If I couldn't lie like all of a thousand other times, I wouldn't be on this highway taken on down this highway" suggests that perhaps the singer's own lies and deceptions have contributed to his current situation.
Overall, the lyrics to Dying Days are haunting and enigmatic, invoking a sense of melancholy and introspection that is typical of Screaming Trees' music.
Line by Line Meaning
All these dying days
The singer reflects on how everything around him seems to be dying or decaying.
I walk the ghost town
The singer walks around the town that used to be full of life, but is now empty and desolate.
Used to be my city
The singer reminisces about how this town once represented who he was, but now it no longer does.
I seen a holy man
The artist encounters a religious figure and observes him.
Seen him crying with the Mother Mary
The artist witnesses the holy man crying with a statue or image of Mother Mary, perhaps symbolizing his own sadness and despair.
Yes it's too late
The singer acknowledges that it's too late for him to change his life or situation.
This life isn't mine
The singer feels like his life and the things in it do not belong to him or are out of his control.
Lord hear me pray
The artist prays to God for help or guidance.
Can you ease my mind
The artist asks God to help ease his troubled thoughts and emotions.
Now they're gone forever
The artist acknowledges that certain things/people he cared about are now lost to him permanently.
Jesus I done gone over
The singer may be referencing his own mortality, and how he'll eventually cross over to the other side upon death.
Sleeping alone you
The artist seemingly addresses someone who he sleeps with but remains emotionally distant from.
Stay on your side
The singer requests that the other person remain separate and not get too close to him.
If I couldn't lie
The singer considers that if he were unable to lie, he wouldn't be in his current situation.
Like all of a thousand other times
The singer has likely lied to himself and others repeatedly in the past.
I wouldn't be on this highway
The artist suggests that the path his life took is the result of his own dishonesty and failings.
Taken on down this highway
The artist continues to be carried down a path in life that he didn't necessarily choose for himself.
Waiting for the sunshine
The singer is searching for something that will bring brightness and positivity to his life again.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BARRETT MARTIN, GARY CONNER, MARK LANEGAN, VAN CONNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind