Long Time Man
Echoes of Regret: Nick Cave's Haunting Tale of Love, Loss, and Redemption
Lyrics
Yeah, they came to take me away
Expressing being taken away by someone.
Said I'd be sitting here for the rest of my life
Anticipating a long imprisonment.
But I don't really care, I shot my wife
Admitting to a violent act of shooting the speaker's wife.
And brother, I can't even remember the reason why
Reflecting on the lack of memory about the motive behind the crime.
Oh, it makes a long time man feel bad
Expressing the emotional burden and guilt of the crime.
Yeah, it makes a long time man feel bad
Reiterating the emotional impact of the crime on the speaker.
Well I ain't had no love since I don't know when
Acknowledging the absence of love in the speaker's life.
It sure makes a long time man feel bad
Reiterating the emotional distress caused by the lack of love.
We was down in Jacksonville
Setting the scene of a specific event in Jacksonville.
A cold winter night
Describing the cold winter night as a backdrop for the incident.
My baby and I, we began to fight
Revealing a conflict between the speaker and their partner.
I heated up, and I grabbed my gun
Escalating the conflict by reaching for a gun.
I get so cold on those nights down south
Expressing the emotional impact of the southern cold nights.
She was laying in a pool right there on the kitchen floor
Describing the aftermath of the violent act.
She looked up at me and began to smile
Noting the unexpected reaction of the victim.
Her gasping words "Baby, I love you"
Recalling the victim's last words expressing love.
Then she closed those baby blue eyes
Describing the victim's closing eyes after the incident.
Oh, it makes a long time man feel bad
Reiterating the emotional distress caused by the crime.
Yeah, it makes a long time man feel bad
Emphasizing the ongoing impact of the crime on the speaker.
Well I ain't had no love since I don't know when
Acknowledging the prolonged absence of love.
It sure makes a long time man feel bad
Reiterating the emotional distress caused by the lack of love.
Yeah, it makes a long time man feel bad
Reaffirming the enduring emotional impact on the speaker.
Yeah, yeah it makes him feel bad
Further emphasizing the emotional turmoil.
Sometimes I hear you call my name
Expressing a yearning or hallucination of hearing a call in the night.
In the dead of the night, yeah
Clarifying the context of the call as happening in the dead of the night.
It sure makes a long time man feel bad
Reiterating the emotional impact of the imagined call.
It sure makes a long time man feel bad
Reaffirming the enduring emotional impact on the speaker.
It sure makes a long time man feel bad
Continuing to highlight the ongoing emotional distress.
I ain't had those arms around me
Expressing the absence of physical intimacy.
I ain't had those lips, those lips, around me
Highlighting the longing for specific physical affection.
It sure makes a long time man feel bad, so bad
Emphasizing the continued emotional turmoil and guilt.
It sure makes a long time man feel bad, so bad
Reaffirming the persistent emotional distress and guilt.
It sure makes a long time man feel bad, yeah so bad
Reiterating the ongoing emotional impact of the speaker's actions.
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