This old black dog is hounding me
It waits 'round the corner and hides in the trees
I feel the chill of something blown in on a breeze
In the light of a cinema screen I hide
Laughing I only feel empty inside
Crying means nothing, I've nothing to say
I wish I could kick this old black dog away
And the worst part is knowing my part in it all
Yeah the worst part is knowing its nothing at all
Oh if I can pull myself together I'll try
I can't explain the tear that sits in my eye
I try to outsmart him but somehow he knows
Wherever I am, that fucking dog goes
I'll kill him the next time I swear I won't fail
I'll kick in his ribs and I'll rip off his tail
And the worst part is thinking it's something it's not
Yeah the worst part is thinking it might never stop
Oh if I can pull myself together I'll try
I can't explain the tear that sits in my eye
And the worst part is trying to explain it to you
The worst part is knowing there's nothing to do
Oh if I can pull myself together I'll try
Oh but I cant explain the tear that sits in my eye
If I can pull myself together I'll try
Oh if I can't pull myself together I'll die
It waits 'round the corner and hides in the trees
I feel the chill of something blown in on a breeze
Laughing I only feel empty inside
Crying means nothing, I've nothing to say
I wish I could kick this old black dog away
Yeah the worst part is knowing its nothing at all
I can't explain the tear that sits in my eye
I try to outsmart him but somehow he knows
Wherever I am, that fucking dog goes
I'll kill him the next time I swear I won't fail
I'll kick in his ribs and I'll rip off his tail
Yeah the worst part is thinking it might never stop
I can't explain the tear that sits in my eye
The worst part is knowing there's nothing to do
Oh but I cant explain the tear that sits in my eye
Oh if I can't pull myself together I'll die
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I feel this is a song about anxiety and or depression.
The black dog of these illnesses follows you even though you can still laugh and cry. There's times when you try to make an effort to defeat your black dog (outsmart him, rip his tail, kick his ribs) but it exhausts you and then there he is behind you again. You think of being free of your black dog (pulling yourself together) even though you might not understand why you're like this (can't explain the tear). Unfortunately I think the last line refers to depression leading to suicide.
Depression is not good, however it is a fact of life. If this interpretation fits, I'm glad there's a song like this. Listening to music you enjoy can relax you and lift your mood. :)