Like A Tattoo

"Like the scar of age Written all over my face The war is still raging inside of me I still feel the chill As i reveal my shame to you I wear it like a tattoo"

My gosh.. what a line!

"He told me sweet lies of sweet love Heavy with the burden of the truth And he spoke of his dreams Broken by the burden Broken by the burden of his youth" ^^here she is describing her meeting with the man who had been in vietnam

"Fourteen years, he said" ^^^from this line on the song is in the perspective of the man

"I couldn't look into the sun She saw him laying at the end of my gun Hungrey for life And thirsty for the distant river I remember his hands And the way the mountains looked The light shot diamonds from his eyes Hungry for life And thirsty for the distant river" ^^^^here the veteran is describing killing a man while the dead man's wife or daughter (i'm assuming) was witness

"Like the scar of age Written all over my face The war is still raging inside of me I still feel the chill As i reveal my shame to you I wear it like a tattoo I wear it like a tattoo I wear it like a tattoo" ^^^^and here the man is saying how the incident has scarred his life; he wears it 'like a tattoo'

--- when i really disected the lyrics the song became so much more special to me. i love the way she tells such a vivid story in so few lines

Demystified! This what Sade said March, 4 1993 issue of the San Diego Union-Tribune;

""Like a Tattoo" was a song I wanted to write for a long time. I was in an Irish bar in New York years ago, and this man came and sat next to me and started telling me things about himself that I didn't particularly want to know. He had been in Vietnam. It's my translation of what he was saying to me."

these songs are with such passion ... sade is and will always be my favorite artist. listened to her since i was a child and now 22 . still amazing ...

I really like this song, even though the meaning isnt necessarily clear, its slow and soft and calm

I first heard this 13 years ago, when I was 9. I still can't figure out what it's about!! But it's such a beautiful and simple song..

Thanks mezz, I thought she had med some guy, they hooked up, she caught him cheating somewhere with a view of the mountains, and she killed him with a gun, and now wears the incident like a tattoo.

Wow............... I am a black 17 year old girl, and an extreme lover of ALL music, and this song has a special place in my heart. When I cannot sleep I listen to this song over and over again. It puts me in an peaceful place. This song is so deep it makes me weep just thinking about it!!! LOL Sade is the one of the greatest female artists...hands down!!!

Such a beautiful, amazing song. The lyrics, OMG, just breathtaking. I know this is based on a conversation Sade had with a Vietnam vet, but you can apply it to all the Iraq war vets too and even those still fighting,. So heartbreaking.

This song is about combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There are many veterans that tell the same story, forever haunted by the visions of their encounters in war or, as in this case, haunted by the vision of the eyes of the person they shot. The story is clear to all that suffer from this injury, that will always suffer from it. Some people are not affected by such things, others are permantly affected. I know because I will always carry the burden of this truth...in the exact way Sade sings about.