Dark Is The Night For All

The song’s meaning is plain and simple for those who understand the dark underbelly of the music industry. The song is about the band’s members (and any other artist for that matter) unable to break free from the overwhelming control and domination to which they’re being subjected by the industry’s higher ups, with them feeling utterly trapped and helpless. In fact, the disturbing video of the song makes it clear that this control seems to take the form of severe torture (mk ultra) to bring about total dissociation of the band’s personalities (it even can’t get any more obvious in the video: Morten’s core personality is shown trying to tear at / break free from his artificial “musician” persona/artificially created ego); torture is also shown in the form of spinning orbits (known to induce hypnosis), feeling drugged (core personality is shown collapsing to the floor) and perception of distorted reality (not knowing what’s real or not, individual is shown seeing half his body clear while the rest blurred and in different proportions; think Alice in Wonderland when she sees herself bigger than her surroundings), and helplessly tied to other band members who are also blindfolded from head to toe and trying to break free aimlessly. The video ends with the image of the tortured man/core personality (tied to sticks and crying out in pain) finally splitting and now “awoke” to a new world (new persona created). This song is about every musician who sells his soul to the industry and that’s why A-ha sang this particular song in an award ceremony attended by countless artists that night. In fact, the majority of A-ha’s songs narrate the aftermath of them selling their souls to the industry, and revolve around the themes of their regret, torture, helplessness, rebellion, etc.).

This song sort of makes me want to cry a little...

really sad words for a beautiful song. it's the first 'black' period for the band... they said 'pain is not only for someone... everyone has its own and we all are too little to face pain alone , like a child too little in the night.'

Curious lyric this. Initially i thought it was about breaking up and breaking away. Now that i look at it closer could it be about two of them breaking away together from a town or a situation that has them tied down ? There is some ambiguity in the lyric. Is it like Springsteen's Born to Run, about two lovers running off (it's time WE moved out west). The music (sad) however suggests the earlier breakup interpretation tho .

I can't put it better than Andrea above, who I would say is spot on. Although, like all good lyrics, they do retain some ambiguity. For example, the well worn line "It's time we moved out West, this time will be the best" could be taken at face value as moving to America and making lots of money with the fat cats a la Tina Turners song 'Simply the Best' which ended up being played at countless corporate conferences for greedy yuppies; however, these are the oppressors in this song and I prefer to interpret it as a simple reference to all the penniless Europeans that migrated to America when it was a new land and new start, because there was nothing for them in their own lands. One of their finest songs if you ask me.