Like A Tattoo

Like A Tattoo--Sade The final night of Sade’s 1993 Love Deluxe World Tour, Sade explained to her audience that “Like A Tattoo” was a true story based on the accounts of a stranger Sade met years ago on an evening at a New York City bar: A long time ago, I met a man in a bar in New York. He told me his story. This is his song. It’s about war and what he had to go through. The song’s grave tone reflects his guilt and shame over committing a war crime. Over the course of the song, we learn that he shot and killed a man who had his hands up in surrender—an act that may have also been witnessed by a significant woman in the victim’s life. But despite the soldier’s egregious act, the intensity of his regret is only possible because of the empathy present in his heart; his love for humanity. Lyrics: [Verse 1] He told me sweet lies of sweet loves Heavy with the burden of the truth And he spoke of his dreams Broken by the burden Broken by the burden of his youth [Verse 2] "Fourteen years," he said "I couldn't look into the sun She saw him laying at the end of my gun" Hungry for life And thirsty for the distant river [Verse 3] I remember his hands And the way the mountains looked The light shot diamonds from his eyes Hungry for life And thirsty for the distant river [Verse 4] Like the scar of age Written all over my face The war is still raging inside of me I still feel the chill As I reveal my shame to you [Outro] I wear it like a tattoo I wear it like a tattoo I wear it like a tattoo