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Black Lyrics
We touched the walls of the city streets and
Didn't explain, but sadly showed us
Our ways of never asking why
Cast down it was heaven sent and
To the church, no intent to repent
On my knees just to cry
Until you travel to that place you can't come back
Where the last pain is gone and all that's left is black
Grey nights cease coming to me and
Some day they'll punish my deeds and they'll find
All the crimes
But then they ask when they gonna see them
Then they're gonna ask to feel the ghosts, the walls, the dreams
Well, I've got mine
At last those coming came and they never looked back
With blinding stars in their eyes, but all they saw was black
Fooled them hoping to seem
Like a slayer of evil, but the product of greed and
It's not a mask so be honest with me
We can't afford to ignore that I'm the disease
Practical, since we had to be and
When they were old they came back to me and they tried
Oh, they tried
And when you follow through and wind up on your back
Looking up in those stars in the sky, those white clouds have turned it black
Didn't explain, but sadly showed us
Our ways of never asking why
To the church, no intent to repent
On my knees just to cry
Where the last pain is gone and all that's left is black
Some day they'll punish my deeds and they'll find
All the crimes
Then they're gonna ask to feel the ghosts, the walls, the dreams
Well, I've got mine
With blinding stars in their eyes, but all they saw was black
Like a slayer of evil, but the product of greed and
It's not a mask so be honest with me
We can't afford to ignore that I'm the disease
When they were old they came back to me and they tried
Oh, they tried
Looking up in those stars in the sky, those white clouds have turned it black
Song Info
Submitted by
fraexx On May 11, 2011
More Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi
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Season's Trees
Theme of Rome
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Heard this tonight on the season finale of Breaking Bad. Beautiful song.
For me this song is about how we screw up our lives and don't live up to our best because of our circumstances. The writer is thinking about dying and is reflecting on their life: "Until you travel to that place you can't come back" When you face death, all the lies you told about about yourself become irrelevant and you realize what you really are and what your legacy has been.
"Some day they'll punish my deeds and they'll find all the crimes" where 'they' is God. We desperately try and explain to him that there's way more to our lives than the bits we screwed up and we had dreams that we wanted to fulfill but found it so hard.
"Then they gonna ask to feel the ghosts, the walls, the dreams we'll I've got mine"
And even at the end, when you finally manage to make some progress it almost kills you "And when you follow through and wind up on your back" and then you die regardless.
cant believe nobodys commented on this. by far my favorite song on the album!
I am afraid the people saying is just about individual's life or love story are thinking way too small.
The lyrics are actually an allegory of the travail of entire Roman and then Byzantine empire — the conversion to Christianity, the abandoning of Rome for Byzantium. The knowledge and voices which, weighed down too much by history and corruption finally succumbing to black. If you have not traveled their path you will never know what it is to go so far you can never go back.
@ayebrobrolol I really like this interpretation. Could you be explain more?
@ayebrobrolol I really like this interpretation. Could you be explain more?
To me the song is about when you are at the end of your life and entering the "afterlife" (whatever you would have it be). Whatever bad things or crimes that you did during your mortal life can not be hidden, no lies can cover them up, and you will be judged by whatever god you pray to and have to face the consequences.
The perspective of the singer is they are being judged. They know there is no way they are going to pass judgement and know they have no hope of any shot of heaven because of how they lived their life.
Just my opinion
This part is interesting "Until you travel to that place you can't come back". It could refer to Judgement after death but I feel like it's more referring to life experiences. I think most people have places in their life they can't go back to. The song refers to crimes, so this could relate to dark life experiences such as going to jail, but I think ended relationships fit too. Like if someone you loved lied to screw you in a divorce "and they tried", then there's nothing left but black.
Going back to the criminal undertones, it was a perfect fit when they played this in the ending episode of season four Breaking Bad. The complete moral fall of the character Walter White and his rise from the ashes becoming becoming the danger, it was underscored by this song perfectly. It's an amazing song!