1
Well, take an eye for an eye
A tooth for a tooth
Just like they say in the Bible
Well, never leave a trace or forget a face
Of any man at the table
Any man at the table
When the moon is a cold chiseled dagger
And it's sharp enough to draw blood from a stone
He rides through your dreams on a coach and horses
And the fenceposts in the moonlight look like bones
Well they've stopped trying to hold him
With mortar, stone and chain
He broke out of every prison
When the boots mount the staircase
And the door is flung back open
He's not there for he has risen
He's not there for he has risen
Some say he once killed a man with a guitar string
He's been seen at the table with kings
Well, he once saved a baby from drowning
There are those who say beneath his coat there are wings
Well, some say they fear him
Well, some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
But one look in his eye
And everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
He can turn himself into a stranger
Well, they broke a lot of canes on his hide
He was born away in a cornfield
A fever beats in his head just like a drum inside
Some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
But one look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
A tooth for a tooth
Just like they say in the Bible
Well, never leave a trace or forget a face
Of any man at the table
Any man at the table
When the moon is a cold chiseled dagger
And it's sharp enough to draw blood from a stone
He rides through your dreams on a coach and horses
And the fenceposts in the moonlight look like bones
Well they've stopped trying to hold him
With mortar, stone and chain
He broke out of every prison
When the boots mount the staircase
And the door is flung back open
He's not there for he has risen
He's not there for he has risen
Some say he once killed a man with a guitar string
He's been seen at the table with kings
Well, he once saved a baby from drowning
There are those who say beneath his coat there are wings
Well, some say they fear him
Well, some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
But one look in his eye
And everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
He can turn himself into a stranger
Well, they broke a lot of canes on his hide
He was born away in a cornfield
A fever beats in his head just like a drum inside
Some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
But one look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
Black Wings Lyrics as written by Thomas Alan Waits Kathleen Brennan
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, JALMA MUSIC
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!
I hear an incarnation of Justice, with strong Biblical overtones. The first stanza is pure instant karma and vengeance - take an eye for an eye. The second shows inevitability, and resurrection - he cannot be stopped, held, or destroyed, he has risen.. The third shows omnipresence, and balances vengeance with mercy ('he once saved a baby . . .'). The last verse distinguishes him from Jesus and shows his relentlessness.
I do think the chorus is 'steals his promise'. The key is the fear that retribution inspires in the guilty, and the moral effect of fear of guilt. We pretend that there is no judge and no absolute measure - but we are afraid just the same.
@nathan1149 Your interpretation is a really good one. I think that some great songs can have many valid interpretations, depending on the listener's experience, philosophy, culture, whatever. Nobody knows what really happened in Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty", but we all make guesses.