“Paint It Black” Lyrics & Meaning (The Rolling Stones)

Paint It Black was a huge hit back in the 1960s.

And it is still making waves today.

In 2011, it landed a spot on the list of “The Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2018, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

And most recently, it was featured in the Netflix series Wednesday, introducing it to a whole new set of fans.

Is the new generation also attributing all kinds of hidden meanings to the Paint It Black lyrics, like they did back in the 60s?

Who knows.

But if you want to know the actual Paint It Black lyrics meaning, keep reading. It is much more straightforward than many believed back in the day.

 

Paint It Black Lyrics And Meaning

Paint It Black was recorded in 1966 by the English rock band The Rolling Stones. The song was penned by the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and is a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern European influences.

The song’s lyrics cover themes of grief and loss. Paint It Black was originally released as a single in the United States on 7th May 1966, with its UK release following a week later.

It appeared as the opening track on the US release of the band’s Aftermath album in July of the same year, although it was not on the original UK album release in April. We’re going to look at the complete lyrics next, and then dive into their meaning.

 

Paint It Black Lyrics

Verse 1

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colours 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

Verse 2

I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black
With flowers and my love, both never to come back
I see people turn their heads and quickly look away
Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day

Verse 3

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 facing up when your whole world is black

Verse 4

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 setting sun
My love will laugh with me before the morning comes

Verse 5

I see a red door and I want it painted black
No colours 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

Outro

I wanna see it painted, painted black
Black as night, black as coal
I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky
I wanna see it painted, painted, painted
Painted black, yeah

 

Paint It Black Meaning

Paint It Black’s lyrics refer to the funeral of a girl from her lover’s point of view, and how he feels as though he wants the color of everything around him to match his somber mood. This theme is clearly evident in the first two lines of the second verse:

I see a line of cars and they’re all painted black
With flowers and my love, both never to come back

The song was released at the height of the Vietnam War. Amid the social discontent of the time it became an unofficial anti-war anthem. Stanley Kubrick used Paint It Black as the final credits rolled at the end of his 1983 Vietnam War classic, Full Metal Jacket.

Despite these associations with the Vietnam War, the lyrics do not make any political points and do not reference the war in any way. They’re simply telling the aforementioned tale of a man’s grief.

When asked about the meaning behind the lyrics, Mick Jagger even said, “It means, ‘Paint It Black.’ ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’ means ‘I can’t get no satisfaction.'” This is a statement that appears to deny any hidden meaning behind the song’s lyrics.

When the song was first released as a single, the title was stylized as Paint It, Black, with a comma, which caused some confusion. The song’s title has always been written without the comma since then, and Keith Richards later stated that the comma was added by the record label, Decca.

The Indian influence heard in the sound of Paint It Black is noted as being the first time The Rolling Stones used a sitar in the studio, with the instrument being played by Bryan Jones.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote much of the material for the Aftermath album during the band’s 1965 tour, with much of the writing happening during a break from the Australian leg of the tour in Fiji. Keith Richards recalled the band’s time in Fiji:

“They make sitars and all sorts of Indian stuff. We had the sitars; we thought we’d try them out in the studio. To get the right sound on Paint It Black we found the sitar fitted perfectly. We tried a guitar, but you can’t bend it enough.”

 

Additional Info About Paint It Black

Here is some additional information you might find interesting about the song Paint It Black and the album on which it appeared, Aftermath.

 

What is significant about the album Aftermath?

Aftermath is considered the most important of the Rolling Stones’ early albums. It was the first time the band released an album comprised entirely of their own compositions. All previous albums had featured cover versions of songs written by others.

 

What year did The Rolling Stones play Paint It Black on The Ed Sullivan Show?

The Rolling Stones played Paint It Black during an Ed Sullivan Show appearance in 1966.

 

How many times did The Rolling Stones appear on The Ed Sullivan Show?

Between 1964 and 1969, The Rolling Stones made six appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

 

Paint It Black Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones was a huge hit when it was first released and it continues to delight fans to this day. It has even picked up many new fans thanks to Netflix.

Many fans thought the song might be about drugs (why not? it is the Stones, after all) or about the Vietnam War, but Mick Jagger himself has said there was no such hidden meaning. It is simply about the grief you feel upon the loss of a loved one.

For another huge hit from the same era, take a look at our breakdown of the lyrics to Hey Jude and their meaning.

We also did the same thing for two other Stones hits. Check out our article on the meaning of Wild Horses and one analyzing the Brown Sugar lyrics meaning.