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During VH-1's The Black Crowes Storytellers, filmed at The Bottom Line in New York City on August 27, 1996, lead singer Chris Robinson explained that this song is not about "one" person, but rather a "hotdog" (as he put it) of people that they knew from the Atlanta club scene in their early days. "Not all the best parts" explained Chris, "or the best parts for you." Chris says that there was always a girl in the club scene back then with really dark makeup (like Siouxsie And The Banshees), and after thinking about her one day, he scribbled the lyric "she paints her eyes as black as night." He then went on to write an entire biography (completely made up, by the way) about her in the form of the song that then became "She Talks to Angels." (thanks, Jacob - Dallas, TX)
A Christian band called Third Day has a song about the Black Crowes that references this song and others. It's called "Black Bird" and imitates their style. The song says that Third Day really likes The Black Crowes music but that they essentially need Jesus in their lives. There is a lyric in "Black Bird" that says "You say to talk to angels, well I say it's such a lie." (thanks, Bob - Omaha, NE)
Comments (64):
Joe Ely
The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
Randy Houser
The "How Country Feels" singer talks Skynyrd and songwriting.
Graham Parker
When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his
Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.
Pam Tillis
The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.
I'm curious about the lock of hair from a little boy. who is that and why do they say LITTLE boy...(her child that died?)
If it wsn't for the lover reference, I was thinking of all possible interpretations, and of course the addicted girl makes most sense, but I was thinking of a little girl with leukemia or something...dark eyes, and talking to the angels that will take her soon enough. Overprotective parents and pulling the strings of her hoodie over her bald head. Anyway, whatever...just great to hear and remminisce over one of my fav songs.
fits her and her life she is addicted to pills and
other drugs and she wears black makeup to hide the dark circles around her eyes and when she was very young her little brother died and she thinks it's her fault and she carries the memorie and she I love her deeply and I'm trying to help her.
First, my aunt lost her son when he was 16 and the song reminds me of her for obvious reasons.
Second, though it may be that this song is about a woman with a drug addiction, it speaks to me as a young woman with a self injury addiction. "She gives a smile when the pain comes. The pain gonna make everything alright" give me chills because it is such a reflection of how my heart feels about my SI.
"she never mentions the word addiction in certain company"-- as anyone with any kind of addiction will tell you, I always fear that just by mentioning the words cut, harm, injure, talking about razors or anything pertaining directly or indirectly to self injury will somehow expose my problem. I feel like if I just pretend it doesnt exist, no one else will remember it exists either and won't be suspicious of me.
"She paints her eyes as black as night now. She wears a cross around her neck" also hits home for me. I used to be a pretty, popular cheerleader... the epitome of a bright, cheerful person, and now I paint my eyes to match how I feel inside. My faith has not failed though, so my cross is always around my neck.
But the most powerful part for me is the bridge. "She don't know no lover, None that I ever seen, Yes to her that ain't nothin', but to me, yeah me, it means everything" gives me chills every time I hear it. I think it's the singer saying that no one is her lover, and she doesn't care because she doesn't think anyone will love her. But the singer disproves her very point.
jessica,bristol tn.
Its everything." The first part when the words " The pain's gonna make everything alright " may refer to the pain of child birth. Meaning that when the baby comes everyone will know she is telling the truth. But after the baby arrives the Angels still do not return. "The cross is someone she has not met, not yet" may refer to her Assumption into heaven meaning that, at the end of her earthly life, Mary will be taken directly into Heaven just like the original Mary was.
The baby is taken away and in her shame she runs away and ends up on the streets. As many teen runaways do she turns to drugs to mask the pain of her life.
In the second part to the song when it says "She gives a smile when the pain comes, The pain's gonna make everything alright" thats the pain of a heroin needle piercing her arm and for a moment the drug will make everything alright.
I've thought about this a lot, actually, I love this song and it really hits close to home. I've battled heroin addiction for awhile now and I really can relate.
No good book has ever been written that has in it symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in. ... I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things.
I see a girl, a young girl, who had a pretty tough life. She feels like she cant comunicate with her family, so she feels as if shes alone of "an orphon" and I belive she got involved with drugs, but i think she has a way with comunicating with god & angels. And she does thinks what they tell her to do. I love this part " gives a smiles when the pain comes, the pains gunna make everything alright." i think that statement is so true i mean for anyone, every thing that hurts inside of us happens for a reason but in the end everything is alright ... that part with the hair and the little boy, i think it was a boy who died in her life, and she refuses to love becasue seh doesnt want her heart broken. and this one guy whos totally fallen head over heals for this girl who everyone belives is crazy. No one knows why this girl does the the things she does, but all she can say is "she talks to angels" and i think its funny because we all look at this girl and we think shes crazy, but how do we know for sure she really cant comunicate with angels?
I knew a girl just like her.God be with you Lydia.
now the lover thing, i think might mean that the lover he hasn't seen might be heroin.
the hair is probably from a baby that was adopted or died.
now shooting your baby up with heroin?, you've been reading too much 60's government propaghanda or something.
a. waste of heroin
b. your baby, who is heartless enough to ive a baby heroin
Beautiful song, though, i'll agree with all of you on that.
Frankie T`s THE PLACE TO BE! REST IN PEACE AND TALK TO THEM ANGELS BECAUSE WE KNOW, THEY KNOW YOUR NAME.