The Dark Night of the Soul

Another great song off of the phenominal new ablum. I take that this song is about a person you really hate although they were your friend at one time. The person is trying to hold back all the hate but can't do it. I love the line "Redemption is a Bitch, to end on." It really sticks it in there. It also kinda sounds like a heated argument near the end but then again maybe this song is about forgiving...I have no clue, really. How bout someone else give it a try?

this song was on real world.. and i was like whoa theres actually a good song on that show

I know this will probably sound weird or something, but this song remeinds me of a demon or something. Or, theres somehting in his life that is chaning him, and could make him become jaded and he wants to do anything to prevent it.

The beast is poised to strike The bastard plays on these insecurities (well, demons supposently possess people by lurking around thier insecurties...?) Takes all my will to fight (and hes ready to fight what ever might change him because he'll do anything not to change)

Yea this is a break up song, I'll break it down:

Never thought anything lasts forever Hanging on every word Hold the cards in tight

basically there he could be saying that he never thought they would last forever but he hung on every word and tried so hard, held the cards in tight meant he kept himself true, didn't play the field, just tried his hardest to love her. Then he says the line "but your killing me with sincerity" in which he points out her flaw, and the line "And I'd make any move tonight" is him saying that he's not holding back anymore and if the hand comes he'll play the cards and give someone new a chance.

Redemption is a bitch Too end on

this part could be in there b/c he broke up with her once and got back together trying to change things; redeming the relationship and now he wants to end it again. Or it could be that the girl cheated and he gave her a chance for redemption but now regrets it. The latter makes sense with the title.

The dark night of the soul The dark night of the soul

This is either a reference to the painful deliberation he is undergoing in his decision to end the relationship b/c all he can think of are selfish reasons for breaking up, or it is a reference to her cheating on him, or I am totally wrong.

All my training beget a traitor A monster with a mind of it's own The beast is poised to strike The bastard plays on these insecurities Takes all my will to fight

to me this seems to make reference to a girl I know. She helped me break up with my gf b4 we got back together, but wasnt supposed to be anything more than a friend. But now that I'm back together with my gf she wants me. She knows she can win me and is like a beast waiting to strike. IT takes everything I have to keep her out of my mind and stay true to my gf.

tonight is a dark night for my soul; trying ato convince myself to end a relationship and start something new; but trying to adhere to values inbued into me since my youngest days. Yea, that's just what the song means to me.

To me this whole album is about two phase transitions that occur in life and what happens to a person when they occur at the same time. The two transitions I speak of are:

1: The collapse of a significant personal relationship (i.e. marriage, losing a life long friend)

2. The spiritual growth of the self as it struggles through a materialistic world to achieve some higher knowledge or wisdom.

Dark Night of the Soul is a term used to describe a specific phase in a person's spiritual life. It is used as a metaphor to describe the experience of loneliness and desolation that can occur during spiritual growth. This "dark night" is a necessary phase in the mystical quest toward gaining enlightenment or union, hence we are given in the chorus: "Redemption is a bitch to end on. and Suddenly everything's real."

It is important to note that in mysticism the purpose behind the path is to dicover what is ultimately real in the universe and then connect with it.
I find it desperately human of the main character to bitch about how hard life is but also how fulfilling it can be. This song not only the turning point at the end of the album but also contains some of the most deep-rooted human concepts.