Paint It Black - Rolling Stones

This song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones is a product of the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It's a raga rock song with Indian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences and lyrics about grief. Although the song was not written about the Vietnam War, it has great meaning for many combat veterans of that war. Depression, the aura of premature death, the loss of innocence, and the abandonment of all hope are perfectly expressed in the song. In the late 1980s, it became associated with the Vietnam War due to its use in the closing credits of the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket and as the theme song for Tour Of Duty, a television show. This includes real video footage from the war.

Lyrics:

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
I see a line of cars
And they're all painted black
With flowers and my love
Both never to come back
I've seen people turn their heads
And quickly look away
Like a newborn baby
It just happens everyday
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
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
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
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

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Michael Phillip Jagger / Mick Jagger / Keith Richards
Paint It, Black lyrics © Mirage Music Int. Ltd. C/o Essex Music Int. L