“I look inside myself and see my heart is black … It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black.”
song ~ “Paint it Black”
artist ~ The Rolling Stones
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
With flowers and my love both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a new born baby it just happens ev'ry day
I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door, I must have it painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black
No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue
I could not foresee this thing happening to you
If I look hard enough into the settin' sun
My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes
I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colors anymore I want them to turn black
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm ...
I want to see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I want to see the sun, blotted out from the sky
I want to see it painted, painted, painted, painted black
Yeah
Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm ...
(Image source)
Comments
Recorded in 1966, “Paint it Black” is one of the Rolling Stones lesser known hits – possibly owing to its bleak subject matter. Nevertheless, it reached number 1 on the charts, in both the UK and the US.
Fade to black
Seeing the black funeral cars carrying his “love” to her interment, the depressed writer cannot bear the sight of a brightly painted door or of the colorful “summer clothes” worn by the girls who happen to be passing by.
Seen from his gloomy perspective, all those colors are so bright and lively that all he can do is “turn my head away.” (Image source)Heart of blackness
Moreover, the man realizes that not only has his heart turned black, but his “whole world is black.” Everything is so black, and so bleak, that there is no hope. In his hopelessness and despair, he cannot even bear to see the life-giving light of the sun. He simply wants to “see the sun blotted out from the sky.”
These lyrics capture the essence of what many grief-stricken people feel. Fortunately, the song ends. Hopefully, so does anybody’s grief.
Rolling Stones – "Paint it Black" (Right-click to hear on YouTube)
Lyrics by Mick Jagger / Keith Richards, courtesy of – AZLyrics.com
References – Wikipedia
This is my entry in the 60-Day Lyrics Challenge.
Click here to learn about @SteemitCentral’s – Lyrics Challenge.
