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In the Dark Lyrics
We started looking for you
In the darker caves
We had a lot of love
We thought would light the way
We saw the wrecks of buildings
And ships that sank in starlight
We saw the ghosts of angels
That spoke of falls from tremendous heights
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
We saw your old flames
And some were burning yet
It made us smile to see
Just how well tended each was kept
But other fires were burning too
And I saw the battlefields
The dying Light Brigade
Stretched out upon the wheel
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Every heart is much the same
We tell ourselves down here
The same chambers fed by veins
The same maze of love and fear
We thought you were a saint
But the halo was an eye
It's hard to see how there could be
So much dark inside the light
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
In the darker caves
We had a lot of love
We thought would light the way
We saw the wrecks of buildings
And ships that sank in starlight
We saw the ghosts of angels
That spoke of falls from tremendous heights
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
And some were burning yet
It made us smile to see
Just how well tended each was kept
But other fires were burning too
And I saw the battlefields
The dying Light Brigade
Stretched out upon the wheel
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
We tell ourselves down here
The same chambers fed by veins
The same maze of love and fear
We thought you were a saint
But the halo was an eye
It's hard to see how there could be
So much dark inside the light
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
Don't you leave us in the dark
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This song seems to me to be a lament about the 9/11 attack... the obvious allusions "wreck of buildings"; "flames" and "burning", "falls from tremendous heights. The "ghosts of angels" are the tragic victims who haunt our memories.
"We started looking for you in the darker caves" - meaning the hunt for the evil OBL hiding in his cave. We had a lot of love / We thought we light the way" - meaning the overwhelming sympathy and support from the world in the aftermath of the attack.
"Other fires were burning too... Battlefields" reference the war in Iraq. "The dying Light Brigade" is the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War, where brave soldiers were sent to their unnecessary deaths by a foolish commander - a reference criticizing the disastrous Iraq war.
"Don't you leave us in the dark" is a plea that things will turn out alright in the end, that there is a light of hope to emerge from the dark. Or it could be a plea for the troops to come home - that we must not leave them in the dark i.e. in death.
That's my 2 cents :)
this is beautiful. i had always thought of it as a love song between two people not a love song for the nation. excellent.
this is beautiful. i had always thought of it as a love song between two people not a love song for the nation. excellent.
Totally. I agree. In fact, my very first impression was that the song was written from the lost followers of Bin Laden:
Totally. I agree. In fact, my very first impression was that the song was written from the lost followers of Bin Laden:
We started looking for you In the darker caves We had a lot of love We thought would light the way
We started looking for you In the darker caves We had a lot of love We thought would light the way
Then: We thought you were a saint But the halo was an eye It's hard to see how there could be So much dark inside the light
Then: We thought you were a saint But the halo was an eye It's hard to see how there could be So much dark inside the light
As if the followers - those lost and hurt men and women who desperately wanted to believe in something, desperately lost in love and fear, were led astray. Bin...
As if the followers - those lost and hurt men and women who desperately wanted to believe in something, desperately lost in love and fear, were led astray. Bin Laden couldn't live up to his word, just a faded halo...:
We tell ourselves down here The same chambers fed by veins The same maze of love and fear
The followers also live in the dark chambers, hidden from being caught, perhaps literally also in the caves along with other Al Queda, cant' distinguish the difference between love and fear, the love of a leader, the fear of what they thought the Americans were 'doing' to them.
Then, when Bin Laden went further into hiding, the followers cried 'Don't leave us in the dark', in the caves literally without light, and metaphorically without the light of a leader, who went astray and who now only offered darkness...
Powerful.
I think this song is a muse about exploring the mind of a loved one who has become withdrawn and fallen into depression. Also, I think it's about the wish that the person could communicate all the things that are making them depressed, or perhaps hiding their true self from them, thus: "Don't you leave us in the dark".
"We started looking for you, in the darker caves" I think this is the realization that their loved one is experiencing mental problems and that the problems are dark. I like the line "We had a lot of love we thought would light the way", which I think means that the love they have for the person will make the journey easier, but they were sad to find "the wrecks of buildings and ships that sank in starlight". which I think represent safety and innocence that has crumbled and dreams that have sunk. The line "We saw the ghosts of angels that spoke of falls from tremendous heights" I think is to do with the times that the person has had their confidence broken, either by something in reality, or by their cognitive distortions and so their good intentions are destroyed.
The second verse starts with the line "We saw your old flames and some were burning yet" Which I think is about past loves and how there are still strong feelings for some. I really like the next line "It made us smile to see just how well tended each was kept" which I think is about the fact that the person holds so dear to the memories of failed loves and they are unable to let go of them and move on. "But other fires were burning too and I saw the battlefields. The dying Light Brigade stretched out across the wheel" I think this means that there are mental battles that are still raging and that the overwhelming defeats (as in the charge of the Light Brigade) are constantly scrutinized; tortured over a breaking wheel.
Verse three starts by contemplating that we all have largely the same physical equipment to deal with life, but I think the inclusion of the line "we tell ourselves down here" gives the indication that this is just a misunderstanding of the symptoms and causes of depression, as it then continues by describing how, to others, they seem to be a perfect person, but inside, the person is emotionally self-harming. That which they thought was a halo turns out to be the over-critical eye of the person's inner self watching their every move. And then it concludes by stating that it's hard to believe that someone who radiates light and goodness could have so much inward darkness for themself.
It's up there with 'Here at the Right Time' as one of my favourite Josh Ritter lyrics. Really sad, but really beautiful.
[Edit: ]
Suicide. Pleading with one who may be contemplating suicide, but it also works just as well in retrospect ... perhaps an imagined conversation that one wishes they may have had before the final, devastating decision was made.
It's hard to see how there could be So much dark inside the light
Don't you leave us in the dark
Exactly what it means to me. I can't help but think of my brother when I hear this song. He took his own life three years ago.
Exactly what it means to me. I can't help but think of my brother when I hear this song. He took his own life three years ago.
Suicide. Pleading with one who may be contemplating suicide, but it also works just as well in retrospect ... perhaps an imagined conversation that one wishes they may have had before the final, devastating decision was made.
It's hard to see how there could be So much dark inside the light
Don't you leave us in the dark
After my father had a heart attack I listened to this song a lot. It seemed to fit the way I felt.