This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I've looked into the heart of darkness
Where the blood red journey ends
When you've faced the heart of darkness
Even your soul begins to bend
For a week I have been waiting
Still I am only in Saigon
The walls move in a little closer
I feel the jungle call me on
Every minute I get weaker
While in the jungle they grow strong
What I wanted was a mission
And for my sins they gave me one
They brought it up just like room service
'Cause everyone gets what they want
And when that mission was all over
I'd never want another one
Oh oh oh
I know Captain that you've done this work before
We've got a problem you can help us I am sure
The Colonel's gone rogue
And his methods are unsound
You'll take a PBR up river, track him down
There's a conflict in every human heart
And the temptation is to take it all too far
In this war things get so confused
But there are some things which cannot be excused
He's acting like a God, an insane lunatic
Your mission, terminate with extreme prejudice
Your route is dangerous and your progress may be slow
Here is the file and it's all you need to know
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Here I am the knife in my hand
And now I understand why the genius must die
Now I stand alone in darkness
With his blood upon my hands
Where sat the warrior, the poet
Now lie the fragments of a man
I've looked into the heart of darkness
Where the blood red journey ends
When you've faced the heart of darkness
Even your soul begins to bend
I've looked into the heart of darkness
Where the blood red journey ends
When you've faced the heart of darkness
Even your soul begins to bend
For a week I have been waiting
Still I am only in Saigon
The walls move in a little closer
I feel the jungle call me on
Every minute I get weaker
While in the jungle they grow strong
What I wanted was a mission
And for my sins they gave me one
They brought it up just like room service
'Cause everyone gets what they want
And when that mission was all over
I'd never want another one
Oh oh oh
I know Captain that you've done this work before
We've got a problem you can help us I am sure
The Colonel's gone rogue
And his methods are unsound
You'll take a PBR up river, track him down
There's a conflict in every human heart
And the temptation is to take it all too far
In this war things get so confused
But there are some things which cannot be excused
He's acting like a God, an insane lunatic
Your mission, terminate with extreme prejudice
Your route is dangerous and your progress may be slow
Here is the file and it's all you need to know
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Here I am the knife in my hand
And now I understand why the genius must die
Now I stand alone in darkness
With his blood upon my hands
Where sat the warrior, the poet
Now lie the fragments of a man
I've looked into the heart of darkness
Where the blood red journey ends
When you've faced the heart of darkness
Even your soul begins to bend
I've looked into the heart of darkness
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
This song is ten kinds of awesome. I remember the first time I heard it and recognised the opening lines as direct dialogue from Apocalypse Now.
When you've faced the heart of darkness. Even your soul begins to bend...