| Mumford & Sons – Whispers in the Dark Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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To add more weight to my conversation with god/conflicted self interpretation below: 1)Marcus himself states in several interviews that he is a spiritual 2)'You hold your truth so purely, well swerve not through the minds of men' - Here Marcus is almost complaining to God - if he is so transcendental, intuitive and incorrigible why does he make us mortals question him so much? 3)'This cup of your tastes holy/ but a brush with the devil can clear your mind/ and strengthen your spine' - This is Marcus' point of departure. He admits that what religion has to offer is pure and beneficial, but he would also like to experience the 'other side', if only to strengthen his own faith. 4)'But fingers tap into what you were once/And i'm worried that I blew my only chance' - This is the point I raised below about conflict. Again, those who have 'left' their faith will be familiar with the existential dread, almost fright, that immediately follows. Marcus is already scared that he will never be able to return to the divine. 5)The chorus should be typed like this for a better understanding: Whispers in the dark : "Steal a kiss, you'll break your heart..." This is god (i.e. his conscience) speaking to him, warning him of the dangers of revelling in contingent worldly pleasures. (interesting note for those into theology/philosophy: I am in absolute awe over the 'learn your lesson, lead me home'. If we are to go by the assumption that it is indeed God whispering to him in the dark, God refers to Marcus as himself. Pretty interesting Spinozan take on how humans are extension of God himself.) To which, Marcus replies: "Spare my sins for the ark/I was too slow too depart..." Here the ark serves as a symbolism for judgement day and he exclaims against God to let him be and judge him when the time comes. |
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| Mumford & Sons – Whispers in the Dark Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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This song is a conversation with God (a more secular interpretation being : a conversation with a conflicted self) This song will resonate with anyone who has had a religious upbringing and denounced their faith. Note that Mumford's 'rejection' of faith is not an atheistic rejection of faith - he clearly still acknowledges god's existence. It is more of an existential rejection where he has decided to abandon the ethereal 'other world' and instead decided to revel in the world he has been rightfully gifted. The closing verses are particularly poignant for me : But my heart Was colder when you'd gone I lost my head But found the one that I loved Under the sun Under the sun Here, the 'you' is God and Mumford's rejection of him is clear. Anyone who has done similar will be familiar with the existential dread that takes over the mind and body once you've rejected God. Indeed, I had a very similar experience where I became a 'cad' like Mumford - as I revelled more in existential, hedonistic pleasures, I treated women as means to my own satisfaction and not ends in themselves, all possible because the 'cold heart' I had developed. But the line 'I found the one that I loved/Under this sun' is truly serene as he recognises the divine in the ephemeral. |
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