Black On Black II Lyrics
Mama's little pride and joy
Both hands on her apron strings
"Don't you touch that dirty thing"
A warning signal from above
Inspection with a clean white glove
They say that opposites attract like right and wrong
Black on black
The sacred and profane
Ice and fire counteract like black on black
The oldest story known to man
The willing sacrificial lamb
Behind the light a shadow falls
The code of silence shakes the walls
A whisper to a silent scream
The power is so frightening
They say that opposites attract like right and wrong
Black on black
The sacred and profane
Ice and fire counteract just like black on black
A warning signal from above
Inspection with a clean white glove
They say that opposites attract like right and wrong
Black on black
Like a loaded question the power of suggestion
Like the face of danger the kindness of a stranger
Like a Judas Kiss like pleasure and a little pain
Immaculate seduction absolute corruption
Ice and fire counteract no turning back like black on black
Black on black.
Black on black
The sacred and profane
Ice and fire counteract like black on black
Like pleasure and a little pain
The sacred and profane
Ice and fire counteract just like black on black
Black
A little pain
Just like black on black
Black
Black on black
Black on black
Black on black
Really freaky song, I'd like to see someone try and figure out what it all means, I sure as hell have no idea where to begin, seems a little religeous. She sings it just right, hard and sounding angry. I really don't know what else to say about such a song.
Seems like its about sex to me. I think the song is about a girl who has this bad reputation, and there's this boy who is rich and part of the high life sort of thing, but they have this sort of secret sexual encounter, or something like that.
I wish I actually knew what the sisters were singing about, but...I can't stop listening to this song. It has me by the heart (no pun intended). I think it is about a mother / son sexual relationship, or experience. Lynn
I wish I actually knew what the sisters were singing about, but...I can't stop listening to this song. It has me by the heart (no pun intended). I think it is about a mother / son sexual relationship, or experience. Lynn
The song is titled Black on Black II because there is also a Black on Black I. Lisa Dalbello wrote Black on Black I and is credited on Black on Black II. The songs main theme seems to be about the power, seduction and corruption of religious belief's and how they can be a paradox and symbiotic at the same time. Opposites attract and they also help give definition to each other. Right and wrong, fire and ice, pleasure and pain. But they once they become too close together they can be harder to define like laying black on black. The mother is an almost overbearing pious figure, but there is also a very sexual hidden nature to her. There is another possible interpretation.... Mother is an overbearing pious in public, admonishing daddy's little soldier boy not to touch himself, yet he witnesses mommy doing some very naughty things in private when she thinks no one is looking.
If her secret is an affair with a religious figure when daddy is away at work and daddy's little soldier boy/mommy's little pride and joy witnesses this through the keyhole instead of napping it explains a lot about the paradox, the symbiotic suggestions, and the confusion. It could also explain the almost marching drumbeat, and then the change of the bass to a heartbeat pace. It could explain the engine sound of the guitar mid-song and then her voice changing to a more sultry sexual tone like she is whispering, then builds to a almost orgasmic scream. I saw...
If her secret is an affair with a religious figure when daddy is away at work and daddy's little soldier boy/mommy's little pride and joy witnesses this through the keyhole instead of napping it explains a lot about the paradox, the symbiotic suggestions, and the confusion. It could also explain the almost marching drumbeat, and then the change of the bass to a heartbeat pace. It could explain the engine sound of the guitar mid-song and then her voice changing to a more sultry sexual tone like she is whispering, then builds to a almost orgasmic scream. I saw her perform this once and in the beginning she is marching as she sings and her hair was cut like Betty Page
@Intrinsicblack Black on Black II is basically the same song as I but just removes the references to Catholicism. I think the Wilsons figured if they could change around a few lyrics they could get writing credit to counter all the criticism for using outside writers. The Heart version is great musically, but they neutered the meaning of Dalbello's original and makes it not make much sense. The original talks about the perfect alter boy being brainwashed by the church's absolute control over him. With the changed lyrics it's hard to figure...
@Intrinsicblack Black on Black II is basically the same song as I but just removes the references to Catholicism. I think the Wilsons figured if they could change around a few lyrics they could get writing credit to counter all the criticism for using outside writers. The Heart version is great musically, but they neutered the meaning of Dalbello's original and makes it not make much sense. The original talks about the perfect alter boy being brainwashed by the church's absolute control over him. With the changed lyrics it's hard to figure out what the message is that Ann and Nancy are trying to get across. Still, it's a great hard rocker -- one of their better hard songs from their 80s/90s period.
According to Lisa Dabello who wrote the song, Black on Black is about the concept that everything that isn't controlled absolutely has a counteraction. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, but everything else has something that counteracts it. Pleasure/pain, the sacred/the profane, ice/fire all counteract but black on black is absolute. Her version of the song uses religious imagery and Heart's version uses military imagery, but both are based on the same overall concept.
So while the song uses imagery, it's not about religion or the military per se.