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:
“As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“My husband sings Baa Baa black sheep and we pretend
that all’s certain and good, that the marriage won’t end.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“For even within his tent she accomplished his derision;
She loosed one veil and another, standing unafraid;
And he perished.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)