The dark descends through the promised land
Down kingdom come and the acid ban
I'm Babylon, burned inside out
Nothing to kill it
I hit the city
In Marianne I dug the hole
And watched her trip on my heart of stone
And in the end all that crawled, was my skin
I couldn't kill it
I hit the city
I hit the city
Ghost arrives at its bitter end
To the promised land and the dark descents
I'm Babylon, burned inside out
Nothing to kill it
I hit the city (x5)
1,2,3,4
I hit the city


Lyrics submitted by insaint

Hit the City Lyrics as written by Mark Lanegan Randall Jamil

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Hit The City song meanings
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  • +3
    General Comment

    It's a song about selfdestruction. Hit the city could be a reference to an excessive lifestyle. He uses examples of Babylon, a once prosperous city that was destroyed, to explain the way he feels about himself. He also feels that he destroyed a chance at love with his heart of stone. The only thing that moved him was his crawling skin that he tries to kill by hitting the city, a way to forget about his mistakes. The tone of the song when I hear it though isn't a sad one. More of an angry tone. Almost as though he wants to scream at the world. Kind of like a middle finger to his world and his life. Absolutlely amazing song.

    slunk86on September 20, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    The reference to the promised land in the dark brings a sense of foreboding. A place that should represent glory and reward is cast in an onimous shadow. Babylon stands at the heart of civilization and it's burning. The narrarator is Babylon burning. He burns on the inside but the exterior remains- the building stands erect. (Babylon was seized many times, but the remains stand, still today).

    Marianne may be a lover, he has obviously destroyed at least a part of her. He has killed everything but his own crawling skin.

    This song (as I interpret it) is about destruction. The narrator is a destroyer, a ghost that haunts and hunts, but who himself cannot die, as any part of him that could feel has probably died long ago. There is nothing left but to continue to roam and haunt, to, in effect, "hit the city".

    gescob6on February 24, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this song is too awesome not to have any comments. the bass is killer. not too sure about the meaning though.

    asteroidon April 14, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Brilliant song. No idea what it means

    GoldenMicon September 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Lanegan has a killer voice, PJ does great as aways ans Homme's bvocal adds alot as aways. Best song on the album, for me.

    syko227on September 25, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Great song. Dark lyrics, ominous music, totally enthralling. Love the video too. I think it's about how at night the city is another world, totally different than as in the daylight, where everything is exposed. Evil lurks in the dark.

    terri kayeon January 10, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is a great song but the meaning is a little hard to decipher. It sounds as if Lanegan is singing about his own life here and how he feels alone. I interpret it this way not really because of the lyrics but mostly the song's sound and the vibes it gives.

    !

    dbieon12on March 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i'm pretty sure it's about a drug. acid maybe.

    azkmon March 24, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    It’s “hollow soul” not “heart of stone”

    thinskizzyon October 04, 2019   Link

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