[Verse 1]
What did that bad man put in you?
Did those rotten kids cross a line?
I'm afraid I'll never understand, baby
I'm so sorry you had such a bad time
Well, I had done some truly awful things
And you must be very terrified
Well, you have every reason to be frightened
Since you've been reading my mind
[Pre-Chorus]
And who am I to even question it?
There is a cross on the mountain, baby
There is a cross flowing over your head
[Chorus]
Please break this spell you have me under
Every heart is a lonesome hunter
Please break this spell you have me under, oh yes
Every heart is a lonesome hunter
[Verse 2]
Well, I'm staring at a hole in my hand
And I've been staring at a hole in your head
And I've been feeling like a zombie, baby
I am a zombie coming slow to your bed
Well...
[Pre-Chorus]
[Chorus]
[Outro]
Is a lonesome hunter
Is a lonesome hunter
Every heart is a lonesome hunter
The singer is feeling very conflicted. He is in love- or at least infatuated- but at the same time unsettled by the desire he feels and how it conflicts with the safe, solitary life he is accustomed to.
The title and lyrics are probably a reference to Carson McCullers' acclaimed 1940 novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.
The focus of the singer’s affection has had a difficult childhood, and though he doesn’t know the specifics, the singer still sympathizes.
Sparrows, starlings, magpies and blackbirds are all birds that can have black feathers, alluding that the person the singer is talking about has only black birds in their life – a portentous omen.
isn’t it supposed to be “glowing”?
Despite his internal conflict, the singer wonders whether he has the right to doubt at all. By virtue of having romantic feelings, is he not obligated to pursue them?