| Ellie Goulding – Lights Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The first verse definitely has hints of a battle with depression. 'the dark is too hard to beat' describes the feeling of overwhelming hopelessness. 'not keeping now the strength I need to push me' belies a lack of self-motivation, which is actually one of the criteria of the diagnosis of clinical depression, another of which is insomnia; 'I'm not sleeping now'. Likewise, having 'a way' and then 'losing it all on my own' implies a self-blame for the path away from 'home'. Unfortunately I can't really see the deeper meaning relating to the overthrown queen and her heart. At first I didn't really understand how lights would turn to stone, but after listening to the song again I think she abbreviates her sentences a bit. For example: I had a way then/ [i.e. I had a way BACK then, or, I had found my own way back then in the past] I had a heart then/ You show the lights that stop me turn to stone --> You have some 'light' which keeps me human, if you think that stone can imply either death or hopelessness... heart of stone... etc etc basically I think that means that there is this one person which she gets her hope from, which stops her from being completely overcome by her depression, someone who keeps her sane even when she's alone 'you shine it when I'm alone/And so I tell myself that I'll be strong'. This person [or the 'light' that this person has] is amazing because it even instills life into her when the person/light isn't there 'dreaming when I'm gone'. To further over-elaborate, as soon as there is mention of light in the song, the lyrics turn from words of desperation ['losing', 'overthrown', 'not sleeping', 'too hard to beat' etc] to words of hope ['shine', 'strong', 'dreaming']. The constant repeat of 'calling home/calling me home' is like the constant pull of the previous place she 'felt safe', with her 'brother' and 'sister'. I guess the light provides a reminiscent/nostalgic reminder? After all, home is the place where there is supposed to be unconditional love. The second verse is a definite move on from the depressed state she was in in verse one. The fact that she's 'hoping I'm still breathing' is the opposite to wishing she could die, which is what is known as 'suicidal ideation'... yet another diagnostic criteria of depression. Thinking back to her sleeping siblings implies that she was an elder sibling who had to take care of them. This thought could be further developed; because her parents were gone [dead? deserted?], they lived in an 'unlocked place'. The fact that her parents are not mentioned might even imply that they were neither good nor bad in her mind, but merely absent. To talk a little about the musicality of the song, the lightness of the shimmering synthesizer at the start remains from start all the way to finish, and brings to mind twinkling stars. Her innocent voice definitely contrasts with the darkness of the lyrics of the first verse. However once the chorus kicks in, it's sung in a two-voice octave harmony which dispells the sense of alone-ness of the first verse and brings a sense of company. To read a little between the lines, I would guess that family is the major underlying message here, that even if it was just her, her brother and her sister without her parents, even if they lived in an unlocked place, the emotional security that they gave each other was far better than anything else the world had to offer. Even a broken family with trust and love is better than none. Some questions I'd like to postulate. 1) 'Light' is probably just a symbol for hope. But what is it really? What could 'call' her home, or call home? 2) the person she calls 'you' is never really elaborated on either. It's unlikely 'you' is a real physical person as she can't be alone when there is a 'you' to shine the lights [because... her... plus 'you'... is two people... which is the opposite of being alone, which is one person. Being alone with someone is different!] 3) Calling calling calling home not only sounds cool but perhaps emulates a telephone ringing? 4) Could the 'queen' be a codename for a significant other in her new life [away from home] that, once 'overthrown', caused misery/borderline depression? sam |
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