‘She Talks to Angels’ is a song by American rock band the Black Crowes. It is the eighth track on their first album, Shake Your Money Maker (1990), and was the fourth single released from the album in 1991. The song reached number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, and number 21 in New Zealand.
During VH1's The Black Crowes Storytellers, filmed at The Bottom Line in New York City on August 27, 1996, lead singer Chris Robinson explained that this song is not about one person, but rather a "hot dog" (as he put it) of people that they knew from the Atlanta club scene in their early days. "Not all the best parts" explained Chris, "or the best parts for you." Chris says there was always a girl in the club scene back then with really dark makeup (like Siouxsie And The Banshees), and after thinking about her one day, he scribbled the lyric "she paints her eyes as black as night." He then went on to write an entire biography (completely made up, by the way) about her in the form of the song that then became ‘She Talks to Angels.’
In a Songfacts interview with Chris Robinson, who wrote this song with his bandmate/brother Rich, he said: "'She Talks to Angels' is a funny song in that so many people resonate with it. The dark details like drugs and things like that would be a part of growing up and being in this world, but when I wrote that song I had no idea - I hadn't done any of those things. I hadn't lived that - everything was in my imagination."
Darius Rucker joined forces with The Black Crowes for a performance of ‘She Talks To Angels’ at the 2023 CMT Music Awards. The Hootie & The Blowfish frontman (and country star) credits the song for inspiring one of the band's biggest hits, "Let Her Cry." Rucker says Chris Robinson influenced the way he plays music, making the opportunity to perform with them even more special.
Label – Def American
Songwriters – Chris Robinson, Rich Robinson
Producer – George Drakoulias
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]She never mentions the word "addiction"
In certain company
And, yes, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family, yeah, alright
Oh-oh, oh-oh
[Verse 2]
Well, she paints her eyes as black as the night
And she pulls, she pulls those shades back down tight
Woah, there's a smile when the pain come
And it comes
The pain gonna make it alright
That's right
[Chorus]
Says she talks to the angels
She said that they call her out by her name
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Said that they call her out by her name
[Verse 3]
Well, she keeps a lock of hair in her pocket
She wears a cross around her neck
No, the hair is from a little boy, little boy
The cross from someone she has not met
Not yet
No, no, no, no
[Chorus]
She talks to the angels
Said that they call her out by her name
Yeah, she talks to the angels
They call her out by her name
[Bridge]
She don't know no lover
None that I ever seen, Lord only knows
Oh, that don't mean nothin'
To me, it means
It means everything
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2]
Well, she paints her eyes as black as the night
And she pulls, she pulls her shades back down tight
And, oh, baby, baby, there's a smile when the pain come
And you know it come
The pain gonna make it
Gonna make it all, make it all, all right
[Chorus]
Talks to, baby
Said that they call her out by her name
Oh, my, my, my, my, my, angels
Swear they call her out by her name
By her name, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
[Outro]
Angels
Said that they call her out
Oh, by her, by her, by her, by her
Oh, angels, they call her out
Oh, my, they call her out
You know that they call her out
By her name