The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
She never mentions the word addiction
In certain company
Yes, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family
She paints her eyes as black as night now
Pulls those shades down tight
Yeah, she gives a smile when the pain comes
The pain gonna make everything alright
Says she talks to angels
They call her out by her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket
She wears a cross around her neck
Yes, the hair is from a little boy
And the cross from someone she has not met, well, not yet
Says she talks to angels
Says they all know her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
She don't know no lover
None that I ever seen
Yeah, to her that ain't nothing
But to me it means, means everything
She paints her eyes as black as night now
She pulls those shades down tight
Oh yeah, there's a smile when the pain comes
The pain gonna make everything alright, alright yeah
She talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
Oh yeah, angels
Call her out by her name
Oh-oh, angel
They call her out by her name
Oh, she talks to angels
They call her out, yeah, yeah
Call her out
Don't you know that they call her out by her name
In certain company
Yes, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family
She paints her eyes as black as night now
Pulls those shades down tight
Yeah, she gives a smile when the pain comes
The pain gonna make everything alright
Says she talks to angels
They call her out by her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket
She wears a cross around her neck
Yes, the hair is from a little boy
And the cross from someone she has not met, well, not yet
Says she talks to angels
Says they all know her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
She don't know no lover
None that I ever seen
Yeah, to her that ain't nothing
But to me it means, means everything
She paints her eyes as black as night now
She pulls those shades down tight
Oh yeah, there's a smile when the pain comes
The pain gonna make everything alright, alright yeah
She talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
Oh yeah, angels
Call her out by her name
Oh-oh, angel
They call her out by her name
Oh, she talks to angels
They call her out, yeah, yeah
Call her out
Don't you know that they call her out by her name
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
She Talks To Angels Lyrics as written by Rich S. Robinson Christopher Mark Robinson
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Not sure if anyone else has postulated this theory but...
Heroine seems pretty likely here as most have said. And the way I see it, alot of people who are doing heroine are "talking to angels" simply because they are so close to death.
If you want to look deeper. Trouble with the family is often a result of drug addiction. "She'll tell you she's an orphan."
Obviously she has lost someone. Could be a child or a sibling. Probably a child. "Lock of hair".
The last two things to comment on are how she know no lover. People who are addicted to powerful drugs, especially opiates, are likely to fixate on them as the most important thing. They don't pursue relationships. And pulling the shades down tight and painting her eyes... speaks to me of shame.
Sounds like a good person with a dangerous drug habit.
@Gr8one666 I have a son that has done drugs. It's not a fun road. He told me many times that you reach a state that you see with your "third eye" that's in the center of your forehead and you see really crazy stuff. I've never been there and I hope I never get there, but that's what he told me. BTW, he's clean now AFAIK.<br />
@Gr8one666 I think the fact she says “ She’s an orphan” is an indication that drug users will lie about anything.
this is about a girl whose family disaproves of her drug use. she doesnt mention addiction in their company, she has to hide who she really is. she pulls the shades down tight when she comes out as herself so no one will see her. she is so used to the pain of hiding herself, she smiles when the pain comes. bc the makes her stronger, and everything alright. she'd rather be an orphan than have her family that doesnt accept her. the one person she loved that her family accepted was the little boy. and the cross represents jesus, who she hasnt met yet. but she talks to angels, which could be the drug dealers or just the reality of everything
I believe Piper is pretty much on target. I think the pulling the shades down tight is more in reference to hiding her addiction, and when the pain comes might refer to shooting up, the pin-prick... the pain makes everything alright... it makes her high. When he say's "She dont know no lover, none that I've ever seen... and to her it means nothing, but to me its everything" I think he's saying she doesnt prostitute herself for drugs, and he's proud of her for it. The cross is from someone she hasn't met, not yet... when they say 'not yet' it makes it sound like soon... like the addiction will soon kill her... Fantastic song, beautiful, despite a deep dark underlying meaning, which is very apparent, it's obviously about some sort of drug addiction. Pretty sure the angels that call her by her name are drug dealers that all know her well...
Oh, and the paints her eyes as black as night... I think that's figurative, everyone knows that heroin addicts get coon eyes after they've been at it for a while..
"A story about a very sad person, a sad but beautiful girl. Though it's loosely based on someone I know, it could be about a lot of people who are addicted. Everyone's been there or knows someone who's there right now." (Chris) "But there's no message about morals in the song." (Rich) "It's not my job to handle people's morals. Morality's your own business." (Chris)<br /> <br /> Straight from the horses mouth. It's a generalized song. So, all of you who think that you've got the song meaning exact and are so full of yourself for doing so, their is no exact meaning.<br /> <br /> As a side note, those of you who just say "Oh, this song is great" or "I love this song" so does everyone else commenting on it. Otherwise, why would we waste our time doing it? If you don't have anything informative to say, don't waste my time having to sift through all the garbage you write
Wow, GIR217, that stick is wedged up there pretty far, huh?
I agree with everyone's interpretation of this song. Every song is gonna mean something to each one. I know Chris has several times that this song was not about anyone and that he just wrote it one night (I believe he wrote some parts at a bar and then put all the parts together I can't say for sure though)but however it's an awesome song!!! But I feel (or think) this song is about a girl/woman who had a little boy and he died so she kept a lock of his hair!! She wears the cross praying and asking God (also talking to Angels) why did this happen!! After he died she became so depressed she turned to drugs to deal with the pain, she pulls the shades down because she has withdraw from society and even her family. And yes I believe her eyes are painted black because of the drugs and crying from her loss!! I also picture her dressed in black at all times because she's mourning!! I also believe that her smile comes when she's high and she is believing the angels are talking to her (maybe the little boy idk)!! But this is just the way I feel about the song. I have loved the Black Crowes even when no one even knew who they were lol!! They are so different and the songs they write and just so deep and meaningful!! Just awesome!! They are the best band ever and best band that will ever be (my opinion) My brother is a musician and lives in Los Angeles and writes songs for several popular artist and I told him I just want ONE thing from him and ONE thing only and thats to meet Chris!! I'm just obsessed with him, his song writing and it would just make my whole life just to sit down and talk to him about his music!! My brothers response was OH I see him all the time so as soon as I can get away and go I'M SO THERE LOL!!!
@mwalthall they don't specify how she lost the little boy. It could have been miscarriage or abortion ( which can happen in the third trimester) , or maybe he died because his body couldn't handle the withdrawal after birth. He could have been taken by CPS or because she purposely placed him for adoption because of her addiction.
@mwalthall He originally said it wasn't about anyone in particularly, but he changed that story in a 2010 interview where he said it was loosely based on a goth girl he knew in Atlanta. She was a heroin addict. <br /> <br /> youtu.be/SRuWeGqu57U
I mostly agree with everybody else's meanings, but I noticed something when I was listening to it earlier. To me, "She talks to angels, they call her out by her name" refers to her ODing several times. Perhaps someone found her and was calling her name out to try and get a response and in the haze of being on the edge of death, she thought she was talking to angels.
This could be. My interpretation of the angels calling her out by her name are the dead people that she has lost. I imagine it first started with the loss of her child and then others around her and she cannot get over it. I do like your interpretation though.
I always believed that the song is about a mother who lost her child and she turns to drugs to deal with the pain. The line about the lock of hair in her pocket being from a little boy, is talking about her son's hair. She talks to angels because her son is dead and is an angel.
The first stanza is about her isolating herself and turning to the drugs to cope.
She is addicted to Heroin from things that have happened in her life... Like her family problems and whoever the lock of hair is from.
"There's a smile when the pain comes. Pain's gonna make everything alright."... Shooting it up.
The song is about heroin addiction.
"She don't know no lover None that I ever seen But to her that aint nothin But to me it means everything"
This means EXACTLY what it says. When you are addicted to opiates, you don't feel the urge to be intimate with other people. Most opiate addicts are single and loners, and they don't get lonely like normal people do because the drug satisfies endorphins in the same way a lover does for someone who's not dependent on opiates. Heroin is a very solitary drug in that you'd rather just chill within yourself than be social. It's a warm comfort blanket the same way a lover is.
To her, the fact that she doesn't have a lover means nothing to her, because the opiate is her substitute, it fulfills her and makes her feel good and so she doesn't need a lover.
I had an addiction - cutting. It was how I delt with my pain. One night, one of my friends played this song for me and said "this is your song, catherine." I heard it once, and cried...especially when he repeated "she don't know no lover / none that i've ever seen / and to her that ain't nothing / but to me it means evepything": this was his way of telling me that he'd fallen in love with me.
We never became a couple, but he was a fantastic friend through a very hard time for me. he helped me overcome a lot of my inner-demons, and most importantly gave me a hand to hold when I needed it.
This song will forever remind me of a rough point in my life and the wonderful boy who helped me through it.
The character in the song is sad because She Talks to Angels is about terror, temptation and abuse. Chris and Rich describe a girl who has been raped and molested by her family. Sad and Brilliant Southern Rock gothic ballad! The Saddest Dixie song ever!
I think Piper's is right on about this being a song about a girl's addiction (to drugs).
The lyrics, "She paints her eyes as black as night now She pulls those shades down tight She gives a smile when the pain comes The pain gonna' make everything alright" In my opinion, pain is the drug she uses (possibly heroin?)
I also agree with Piper about the meaning of "And the cross from someone she has not met" (God) "Not yet" (Meaning she's soon to succumb to her addiction?)
BUT why does she have a lock of the boy's hair? I gather she talks to angels (and they call her by her name) because she's soon to leave this earth. Maybe the angels are the drugs that will lead her to be with angels (as we know them). Just a guess.
The hair is from one of the angels, her son who died. The drug use is to hide the pain.
i totally agree and it is about heroin. I know several ex heroin attics and druggies who will tell you that the song is about heroin.
i mean come on, she gives a smile when the pain comes,the pains gonna make everything alright, thats when she is shooting up.
I feel she lost a childand that is where the lock of hair is from. The little boy. She cannot escape the pain of that loss. The only way is to get as far away from it as possible, literally out of her mind.