Black Dirt Lyrics

Lyric discussion by hhhhh10860 

Cover art for Black Dirt lyrics by Sea Wolf

This song is actually about a person who has been hurt (physically!) and is lying on the ground, dying. The person who had hurt them (maybe it was by stabbing, brute force or other means) walks away, but with the knowledge that they have killed someone.

"Here on the ground I cannot hear a sound Just a strong and steady rain Getting louder as you sing"

These lyrics are pretty self explanitory, which is why it has made me so confused on how some people's 'song meaning' comments are so off the mark. He's on the ground. It's raining. He's slipping away, and everything is getting louder, because he's scared. The killer may actually be singing, or may be talking to them, or maybe the silence from his killer is what he interprets as a song. Because, truth be told, silence tells you just as well as noise.

"It may be true that I lied I broke a promise that I tried But my heart no longer beats My blood makes Black dirt under your feet

Black dirt Will stain your feet And when you walk You'll leave Black dirt in the street"

They lied to the killer, before, when he/she was still alive. What did they lie about? Having an affair? Loving them? Maybe they said they did the taxes but they really didn't? This is left for the person who is listening to apply a reason. Maybe you, the listener, are cheating on your lover. When you hear "It is true that I lied", you will most likely think "this is about having an affair" because you are adding in your own interpretation, while another listener may think they are admitting to lying about their self (such as sexuality, gender, opinions, ect) because that is what they are struggling with, themselves. Seawolf is great at doing this. notice how they don't peg genders or identities to the characters in the song--they are letting the listener interpret this for themselves. The next few lines are self explainitory. They are dying, bleeding out oon the ground, and since it is raining, it is deluded and makes a large puddle, staining the feet of the killer with they're blood. As the killer walks away, the blood and dirt stay on their feet. This is also a good metaphor; they killed someone, and this stains them and follows them where ever they go.

I could feel my face grow pale "Sick with fear my senses fail And as the light fades from my eyes I smile but don't know why Legs are growing To the heat of the sun And my heart no longer beats"

They are dying. Fear is common, but for some it is soon overthrown by acceptance or even grace "I smile, but I don't know why". The killer has come back to hide the body, and it may be the next day or just later on the same day, but the weather has changed from rainy to sunny. They drag the corpse by it's feet. "My legs are growing" is explaining the feel of someone pulling on their feet, dragging them along. They may be dead, but they may also be aware of all of this because of the nature of their death--some superstitions and cultures say that if someone's death is murder, then they stay with their body until they are laid to rest.

"Here on the ground I lie I cannot hear a sound as I die It may be true that I lied Broke a promise that I tried But my heart no longer beats And when you kill you'll only leave Black dirt under your feet"

They may be repeating what they have already stated, but they are also enforcing what the song has been hinting at the whole time--that the killer over reacted, and the victim feels that they could have worked it out, "But my heart no longer beats". Their death is unavoidable now, and the victim feels a sense of regret about this. They also point out that now that they are dead, the killer will only leave with the "Black dirt under your feet", meaning that they will always have to hold the knolege and weight of having killed another.

Song Meaning