Lay Down (Candles in the Rain) Lyrics
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down lay it all down
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
We bled inside each other's wounds
We all had caught the same disease
And we all sang the songs of peace
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down lay it all down
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
We could stay black against the night
Oh raise them higher again
And if you do we could stay dry against the rain
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down lay it all down
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
We bled inside each other's wounds
We all had caught the same disease
And we all sang the songs of peace
Some came to sing, some came to pray
Some came to keep the dark away
So raise candles high 'cause if you don't
We could stay black against the sky
Oh oh raise them higher again
And if you do we could stay dry against the rain
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down lay it all down
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down lay it all down
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down lay it all down
Let your white birds smile
At the ones who stand and frown...
white birds- doves=peace the ones who stand and frown- those in favor of the war/military action
if you're bleeding inside eachothers wounds, you're pretty close
the same disease= longing for peace
if you raise the candles high enough, people will see you- not just your silhouette
the rain- tears?
people came for different reasons, but they all came to do the same thing with other people in an effort to be noticed and make a difference
I get chills when she really belts it out
The inspiration for the song was what she saw when she performed at Woodstock: it rained, and afterward people lit candles. The imagery is vivid throughout--and I can certainly understand how the images of sharing blood and catching the same disease would, these days, make one think of AIDS, though given the song's time and the context, I think the "disease" is the desire or the motivation to work for peace.
I can't think of this song without the spoken intro that was the B-side of the single; the FM stations I listened to at the time never played the song by itself.
"Little sisters of the sun Lit candles in the rain Fed the world on oats and raisins Candles in the rain Lit the fire to the soul That never knew its friend To be there is to remember Candles in the rain So lay it down, lay it down, Lay it down again Meher Baba lives again Candles in the rain Men can live as brothers Candles in the rain"
what a weird thing to say cateyes0o my Dad saw this Live way back when and he said there was a huge projection screen of a tank comming over a hill towards the audience it is a non-violence anti war protest.
I agree with you, especially "the same disease" = longing for peace.
"We bled inside each others wounds" = we are close, opening up to one another, acceptance.
This was long before aids.
Such an underrated artist. Her heart and soul in this song.
I heard a long time ago that part of the song referred to a senseless Battle in Vietnam.. Hill 937 (13–20 May 1969) The action caused a controversy among both the US armed services and the public back home. hence "They Bled into each others wounds"
I'm thinking aids.
@cateyes0o , No, this song was long before AIDS.
@cateyes0o , No, this song was long before AIDS.
@cateyes0o This song was long before aids.
@cateyes0o This song was long before aids.
Also, this song is from 1970 and AIDS wasn't heard of much at all, if at all, before the '80s.
Even so, some songs could only have been written during the gap between Woodstock and Kent State - which (tragically) disabused everyone of the notion that there could be such a thing as "non violent protest"