Coma Black by Marilyn Manson Lyrics Meaning – Exploring the Dark Enigma of Loss and Desolation

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Marilyn Manson's Coma Black at Lyrics.org.

Lyrics

(A loved one laid his head on her lap
Red roses fell to the floor
And the world stood still)

My mouth was a crib and it was growing lies
It didn’t know what love was on that day
My heart’s a tiny blood clot, I picked at it
It never heals, it never goes away

I burned all the good things in the Eden eye
We were too dumb to run, too dead to die
I burned all the good things in the Eden eye
We were too dumb to run, too dead to die

This was never my world
You took the angel away
I’d kill myself to make everybody pay
This was never my world
You took the angel away
I’d kill myself to make everybody pay

I would have told her then, she was the only thing
That I could love in this dying world
But the simple word of love itself
Already died and went away

This was never my world
You took the angel away
I’d kill myself to make everybody pay
This was never my world
You took the angel away
I’d kill myself to make everybody pay

I burned all the good things in the Eden eye
We were too dumb to run, too dead to die
I burned all the good things in the Eden eye
We were too dumb to run, too dead to die

This was never my world
You took the angel away
I’d kill myself to make everybody pay
This was never my world
You took the angel away
I’d kill myself to make everybody pay
This was never my world
You took the angel away
I’d kill myself to make everybody pay
This was never my world
You took the angel away
I’d kill myself to make everybody pay

Her heart’s a bloodstained egg
We didn’t handle with care
It’s broken and bleeding
And we can never repair

Her heart’s a bloodstained egg
We didn’t handle with care
It’s broken and bleeding
And we can never repair
And we can never repair

In a haunting blend of industrial rock and somber poetry, Marilyn Manson presents a labyrinth of sorrow and rage with ‘Coma Black.’ A track shrouded in layers of gothic opulence and raw emotion, it serves as a requiem for innocence lost and the futile quest for retribution. Beneath the surface of its fierce exterior, the song plumbs the depths of the human psyche, grappling with themes of love, loss, and existential despair.

Manson, known for his controversial persona and provocative artistry, unveils a different kind of horror in ‘Coma Black’ — the horror of an inner world torn asunder by grief. The song becomes a spiraling descent, leading listeners through the corridors of a mind haunted by the specter of a cherished presence now absent.

Anatomy of a Broken Spirit – Delving into a Haunted Psyche

In the grip of ‘Coma Black,’ there lies a raw, visceral depiction of psychological unraveling. The tale begins with an image of profound loss—the pivotal moment when ‘a loved one laid his head on her lap.’ This tableau, juxtaposed with the falling of red roses, signals not just an individual bereavement, but a broader, more symbolic descent into chaos.

Manson crafts this opening with surgical precision, using stark, powerful imagery to evoke the sensation of time coming to a standstill amidst devastation. There’s an urgent need to understand that these moments are not mere lyricism but a guiding map into the core of despair.

Metaphorical Flames – The Destruction of Innocence

The repeated declaration of ‘I burned all the good things in the Eden eye’ is an invocation of biblical allegory turned on its end. Manson employs fire not as cleansing or renewing, but as consumptive and annihilating. What might have been paradise — the ‘Eden eye’ — is left scorched, a desolate expanse reflective of the turmoil within.

These lines play into the theme of irreversible damage wrought by personal cataclysms. Manson’s Eden is no longer a sanctuary of purity, but a wasteland bearing witness to the consequences of naivety — ‘too dumb to run, too dead to die.’

Echoes of a Crippling Ultimatum – Vengeance as a Hollow Pursuit

The menacing resolve of ‘I’d kill myself to make everybody pay’ underscores the song’s exploration of vengeance — a chilling mantra of self-destruction and misdirected justice. Manson’s narrative embodies an individual at the apex of despair, willing to martyr themselves within the flames of retribution.

This lyric reveals the inescapable trap of anger when it becomes entwined with grief. It’s not simply a passionate outburst but a stark look at the futility of seeking vengeance as a pathway to peace.

Unearthing the Song’s Hidden Meaning – The Tragedy of Miscommunication

‘Coma Black’ carries beneath its surface a layered meaning, touching on the failure to express love until it’s too late. ‘I would have told her then, she was the only thing,’ Manson laments, suggesting a life of regret for words left unsaid, for love unspoken until the shadow of death silenced all opportunities.

This retrospective realization adds a poignant level of complexity to the song’s narrative. It invites listeners to question their own hesitations, pondering the cost of silence in the face of love’s ephemeral nature.

The Memorable Lines That Bind – ‘Her heart’s a bloodstained egg’

Among the song’s many sharp-edged lines, ‘Her heart’s a bloodstained egg’ pierces with a symbolism of fragile purity brutalized by carelessness. Here, Manson taps into the universal imagery of the egg as something delicate and easily destroyed, a fitting metaphor for the human heart.

Manson’s lyrical craftsmanship here drives home the permanence of loss — ‘It’s broken and bleeding / And we can never repair.’ The stark finality of these words serves as a chilling reminder of mortality’s relentless grip and the profound scars left behind in its wake.