Long Black Veil (song)
"Long Black Veil" is a 1959 country ballad, written by Danny Dill and Marijohn Wilkin and originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell.
A saga song, "Long Black Veil" is told from the point of view of an executed man falsely accused of murder. He refuses to provide an alibi, since on the night of the murder he was having an affair with his best friend's wife, and would rather die and take their secret to his grave than admit the truth. The chorus describes the woman's mourning visits to his gravesite, wearing a long black veil and enduring a wailing wind.
Read more about Long Black Veil (song): Background, Success
Famous quotes containing the words long, black and/or veil:
“I had gone so long without loving
I hardly knew what I was thinking.
Where I hid my face, your touch, quick, merciful
Blindfolded me. A god breathed from my lips.
If that was illusion, I wanted it to last long;”
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—John Milton (16081674)