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.
When this freedom stains my coat
With the winter in my throat
When I'm lost I dig the dirt
When I fall I drive the hearse
And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you were always my mistake
Given time I fix the roof
Given cash I speak the truth
And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you were always my mistake
When I'm down I drive the hearse
When this boredom wears me out
Then the sky begins to cloud
Sleeping with my ball and chain
When she cries I take the blame
And pride is just another way
Of trying to live with my mistakes
Denial is a better way
Of getting through another day
And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you we're always my mistake
When I'm down I drive the hearse
With the winter in my throat
When I'm lost I dig the dirt
When I fall I drive the hearse
And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you were always my mistake
Given time I fix the roof
Given cash I speak the truth
And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you were always my mistake
When I'm down I drive the hearse
When this boredom wears me out
Then the sky begins to cloud
Sleeping with my ball and chain
When she cries I take the blame
And pride is just another way
Of trying to live with my mistakes
Denial is a better way
Of getting through another day
And silence is another way
Of saying what I wanna say
And lying is another way
Of hoping it will go away
And you we're always my mistake
When I'm down I drive the hearse
Lyrics submitted by CoyoteLongshot
I Drive the Hearse Lyrics as written by COLIN EDWIN BALCH, GAVIN RICHARD HARRISON, RICHARD BARBIERI, STEVEN JOHN WILSON
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Listening to this song gave me the sensation of looking into the life of an ordinary man. He is a married man; he treats her well. He says that "when she cries [he] takes the blame", he shows a misplaced sense of guilt, and it's typical reaction.
Other ways that he describes himself make him seem very ordinary. He takes time to fix the roof of his house, also demonstrating his idea of duty as the man of the house and almost to say to his wife that he will get it done, just be patient ("Given time I fix the roof"). He is susceptible to being bribed, a character flaw, but something that many of us are susceptible to ("Given cash I speak the truth"). Stephen Wilson's way with words just inspire me to see layers of meaning in simple lyrics. Each character trait demonstrates other very ordinary ideas about how he lives his life. He deals with pride, denial, lying.
This is the perceived life of an ordinary man. This is just the sort of man who might have a tragic incident, perhaps in the form of a car crash ("I drive the hearse"). The kind of man you find between two mangled cars on the freeway among the police's flashing lights. This is the incident. The ordinary man lives his ordinary life always thinking back to that incident ("You were always my mistake").