Darling, that morning you chose to go
I awoke in my boots and clothes
You dig in my cards, stole all my cash
Even my five-hundred dollar suit was slashed
And I just lay there watching the sun fall down from the sky
Not wanting to open the letter
But opening it anyway
And seeing those two words

Lover, lover, goodbye
So slowly goes the night
Next to me lies your body
Laying like the map of some forbidden land
I trace the ghosts of your bones
With my trembling hand
Dark is my night
And darker is my day yeah
I must've been blind
Out of my mind
I never, never saw the warning signs
How goes it?
It goes lonely
It goes slowly

So slowly goes the night
Ten lonely days, ten lonely nights
Come on
I watch the moon get flayed each night
Until the moon becomes the skinning knife
The skins of my sins I send to cover and comfort you
I know of a Heaven
Oh, but honey I know of a Hell, yeah
I hang my head
I toss in my bed
I never, never forget the words you said
"One evening, I'm leaving"
And I laughed and checked her breathing
And said darling

Oh, go slowly through the night
Oh baby, I feel the heal of time
And it hurts
I wake to find you sitting right there
Cutting tangles out of your hair
Singing a song that's all wrong
Hey, but that's alright, I don't care
Oh, I'm sorry
For all the misery, yeah
I reach out and embrace an empty space
A song that slowly slowly fades
Where goes it?
It goes some place
It goes somewhere, where it's lonely

And black as the night
Come on home, baby
Let's put things right, put things right
I hang my head and cry cry cry
Darling, all night I try
To cease on a reason for this mad mad season
The nights, the nights they are so long now
I can't remember being in light
Call it sleep, call it death, call it what you like
But only sleep, dear
Only sleep brings you back to life, yeah
I hang my head
I toss and I sweat
I never, never, never can forget
How goes it?
Well I'm going, baby, slowly slowly going
And we both know that it's gonna be alright

But it ain't you that has to cry cry cry
Ten lonely days, ten lonely nights
Since you left my side, side, side


Lyrics submitted by Dressed2Depress, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Slowly Goes the Night Lyrics as written by Nicholas Cave

Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Slowly Goes the Night song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

5 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    Good point in the previous post. Although I've recognized a certain exaggeration in the interpretation (as this is not one of his super tender songs later in the career), it overlays so subtle with a sincere invocation of immediate sense of abandonment. Spectacular hommage to the legacy. And the first "So slowly goes the night" (also from the corrected version of the lyrics).. man, the chills! :) Love the way he gets excited through few verses, then suddenly steps back, deflates, exactly as disillusion of getting back together strikes at the forlorn one so painfully, over and over again. From a comfortable distance, one of my favourite lullabies...

    djontraon May 10, 2011   Link

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

Album art
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
Album art
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone). And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
Dreamwalker
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.