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Black Heart Lyrics
spring is frozen now I'm stuck in low
wrapped with wire, tapped to the heart
can't find no poison, now I've got no cure
fangs are stuck inside my skin
payne county line
watching unjust claims
one man's righteousness is another man's
long haul, sentence carried out
long haul, counting the miles
to the four corners of the world
spring is rusted shut, faith's coiled and cracked
apparitions worth their weight in gold
scratched in metal, name erodes away
hands are scarred, heart is charred
burnt though, and ashen
trip on fence post line
sifting through the remains
one man's close pursuit is another man's
last chance, make it through the divide
last chance, suffer the weight or get buried by this
black heart, sweeping over the land
black heart, crawling it's way
to the four corners of the world
wrapped with wire, tapped to the heart
can't find no poison, now I've got no cure
fangs are stuck inside my skin
watching unjust claims
one man's righteousness is another man's
long haul, sentence carried out
long haul, counting the miles
to the four corners of the world
apparitions worth their weight in gold
scratched in metal, name erodes away
hands are scarred, heart is charred
burnt though, and ashen
sifting through the remains
one man's close pursuit is another man's
last chance, make it through the divide
last chance, suffer the weight or get buried by this
black heart, sweeping over the land
black heart, crawling it's way
to the four corners of the world
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[/long-winded interpretation]
I adore the dark noir of this song. Anyone recommend any other noir music? Love the strings! Has a lot of impact.
By the lyrics, I always thought it was about a crime someone else committed, and the police is chasing them. So "one man's close pursuit is another man's last chance" or "one man's righteousness (the law) is another man's long haul (jail)".
Another way I look at it is like the Mexico US border relations. An immigrant who is trying to cross the "county line". Also a chase. Just a very depressing song in general!
One of my favorite Calexico songs, the other is Bloodflow. Anyway...isn't it about a breakup?
At face value, this could be a song about some, apparently innocent guy being convicted of something and sentenced to hard time.
But in standard Calexico fashion, it could well be choc full o' metaphors.
If you look at it right, you can kinda make the "Breakup" thing work. I mean it's the only... lead we have right?
Well, uh... The first verse could mean that he's depressed and in emotional pain. He mentions fangs in him--and I know from experience, that in situations like that, fangs can be a good metaphor for the shitty thing you're feeling.
The second verse is about "one man's righteousness" (which would be a judge's commitment to putting people away for long periods of time and feeling righteous, or... relly any kind of decision by that judge), being one man's "long haul sentence" (which would be... a long sentence... prison time), and it uses "counting the miles to the four corners of the world" to give context to just how long this "sentence" would be. This verse could be talking about the person who left him, and him lamenting either the time it will take him to feel better, or lamenting the fact that he will be separated from that person as long as time progresses.
The last verse could refer to him spending a lot of time in deep thought, considering everything in the relationship. Perhaps he's looking for some kind of hope, as though he'll remember something that will give him that last little piece of golden hope. Or perhaps he's looking for what he did wrong. Perhaps he's just going over it all, because that's all he knows how to do at this point.
In that same verse [last verse] he goes on to talk about "one man's last pursuit" being another man's "last chance." These two men are probably himself. "Suffer the weight or get buried by this" would simply mean that if he can't get through the inevitable pain of this separation, he'll be destroyed by it.
one of the most noir songs i have ever heard. Beautiful
i definitely think its about immigration and the people who put their lives on the line to cross. how so many don't make it and are left by their own families to die in the desert with the only id being a cross and a metal tag. i used to live in tucson and heard so many stories like that.
they played this song in a Public Enemies trailer!!! now I luv this song!! XD
Okay, "Payne County" is in Oklahoma, and to me this song has a vibe of a lawman chasing down a criminal. So I searched for outlaws associated with Payne County and found the story of Bill Doolin and his gang of bank robbers fleeing that area and being hunted down and killed by a posse of lawmen:
Okay, "Payne County" is in Oklahoma, and to me this song has a vibe of a lawman chasing down a criminal. So I searched for outlaws associated with Payne County and found the story of Bill Doolin and his gang of bank robbers fleeing that area and being hunted down and killed by a posse of lawmen:
http://www.doncollier.com/historic12.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ingalls
http://www.doncollier.com/historic12.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ingalls
I don't know if that's what the band had in mind, but it's an interesting interpretation in any case.
I don't know if that's what the band had in mind, but it's an interesting interpretation in any case.
"Payne County" is in Oklahoma, and to me this song has a vibe of a lawman chasing down a criminal. So I searched for outlaws associated with Payne County and found the story of Bill Doolin and his gang of bank robbers fleeing that area and being hunted down and killed by a posse of lawmen:
http://www.doncollier.com/historic12.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ingalls
I don't know if that's what the band had in mind, but it's an interesting interpretation in any case.