Vincent by Don McLean - Lyrics and Translation

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Vincent

Don McLean

Vincent

Song byDon McLean

in AlbumThe Best Of Don McLean

Starry, starry night

Paint your palette blue and gray

Look out on a summer's day

With eyes that know the darkness in my soul

Shadows on the hills

Sketch the trees and daffodils

Catch the breeze and the winter chills

In colors on the snowy linen land

Now I understand what you tried to say to me

How you suffered for your sanity

How you tried to set them free

They would not listen, they did not know how

Perhaps, they'll listen now

Starry, starry night

Flaming flowers that brightly blaze

Swirling clouds in violet haze

Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue

Colors changing hue

Morning fields of amber grain

Weathered faces lined in pain

Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand

Now I understand what you tried to say to me

How you suffered for your sanity

And how you tried to set them free

They would not listen, they did not know how

Perhaps, they'll listen now

For they could not love you

And still your love was true

And when no hope was left inside

on that starry, starry night

You took your life as lovers often do

But I could have told you, Vincent

This world was never meant

for one as beautiful as you

Starry, starry night

Portraits hung in empty hall

Frameless heads on nameless walls

With eyes that watch the world and can't forget

Like the strangers that you've met

The ragged man in ragged clothes

The silver thorn of bloody rose

Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me

How you suffered for your sanity

Then how you tried to set them free

They would not listen, they're not listening still

Perhaps, they never will...

LanguageEnglish

Translated byAllen Morningstar

About this Song

Vincent by Don McLean is a poignant tribute to the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The song captures the beauty and complexity of Van Gogh's art, as well as the struggles and mental illness he faced. Key themes in the song include artistic genius, beauty, and the emotional turbulence of an artist's life. Particularly poignant moments in the song include the references to Van Gogh's famous use of color and his eventual tragic demise, reflecting both the brilliance and the sadness of his life.