Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
That thorny twisted piece of nature
That is always there
That haunting figment of life
That causes total despair
Weaving in and around your life
Like a parasite
It's starting to take control
You have to stand up and fight
The Black Rose wants you to cry
The Black Rose wants you to die
The Black Rose yearns for your anguish
The Black Rose wants you to perish
The Black Rose commands your actions
As if you were a slave
Die with this evil force and it'll
Follow you to your grave
You can't heal your scars
So your heart will continue to bleed
It just grows stronger and taller
Like an eternal weed
Life being extracted from
Your very heart and soul
Leaving but emptiness
To fill that dark hole
This Black Rose does not feed
On water, sunlight, or soil
'Cause it indulges in your
Mournfulness and turmoil
Finally an answer emerges
To end these fears
A special person whom you love
Can wipe away your tears
But no one wants to love someone
Who has all of this pain
So the Black Rose will continue
To drive you insane
That is always there
That haunting figment of life
That causes total despair
Weaving in and around your life
Like a parasite
It's starting to take control
You have to stand up and fight
The Black Rose wants you to cry
The Black Rose wants you to die
The Black Rose yearns for your anguish
The Black Rose wants you to perish
The Black Rose commands your actions
As if you were a slave
Die with this evil force and it'll
Follow you to your grave
You can't heal your scars
So your heart will continue to bleed
It just grows stronger and taller
Like an eternal weed
Life being extracted from
Your very heart and soul
Leaving but emptiness
To fill that dark hole
This Black Rose does not feed
On water, sunlight, or soil
'Cause it indulges in your
Mournfulness and turmoil
Finally an answer emerges
To end these fears
A special person whom you love
Can wipe away your tears
But no one wants to love someone
Who has all of this pain
So the Black Rose will continue
To drive you insane
Lyrics submitted by BleedorBreathe
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