Inventing Shadows

I personally thought of this song almost like a story. My analysis is actually quite long, so bear with me.

Long Comment:

I think it's about a girl who finds the guy of her dreams, someone "flawless" in her eyes, and manages to get in a relationship with him. However, once in the relationship, the girl realizes that the other person is not as "flawless" as he appears to be. He has a bleak outlook on life, continuously "inventing shadows"-

And you look at the sky, thank your unlucky stars No, you're never quite happy right where you are Right where you are With all that you are

Not quite depressed exactly, he just has a limited view on the world. He seems to think he's worthless, but he means everything to the girl-

Don't you know the world shines Every time you smile

The girl seems like she is about to leave the relationship because he "drains" her, but I think there is actually a double meaning behind her words. Obviously if she was just listing his faults and why he's a terrible human being, she would have never mentioned that "the world shines everytime" he smiles. Also, she repeats "If I go, who could blame me," as though she's reluctant to leave, trying to convince herself that leaving the him would be the right thing to do by society's standards.

And that's the key point, I think. Instead of saying "I can't live with this guy," or something similar, she says, "Who could blame me?" signifying that she's uncomfortable with the decision. It's the perfect setup for a short film of day to day life from each person's perspective, with the girl continuously trying to help the guy, even though she knows people will judge her for being with a guy with self esteem issues.

Personally, I hope that this story ends happily, with the guy realizing that he's worth something because the girl loves him. I know it sounds cheesy and cliche, but I'm sick of all the sad "deep" endings that have been populating modern media. The song just needs a happy ending.

Note: Swapping positions (guy is after the sad girl), is definitely feasible and would make more sense actually (beautiful women are stereotyped to have issues, with a lot of truth in the stereotype as well). I just chose girl is after the sad guy because the singer is Dia Frampton, a girl (and an awesome singer).

I was constantly thinking about what this song means... But I tried to stop being philosophical about it all... It's clear that dia is singing about her depressed attention seeking cat/dog

This song is basically about someone who is down in the dumps all the time. The speaker is letting them know that all their sadness is self-inflicted...because they "invent shadows" all the time.

Btw, Dia should've won! >.<

i can really relate to this song. the person that dia is singing about isnt someone who's always someone who's "down in the dumps" its simply somebody who cant deal with perfection. this person is obviously someone who's life is seemingly perfect but its hard for people to have perfect live without feeling like life is worthless (no light without dark or dark without light: "You see the world in only grey and black") but dia doesnt understand this. she doesnt understand the phycological need for humans to have some sort of problem to solve so she herself is creating a problem for herself subconsciously through this person's need to "invent shadows". ultimately what both these people need is a puzzle or something that they can get thinking into together.

This song is about depression. A person suffering depression could be described as seeing the world in grey and black: their life, their thinking, their minds lack color. Everything seems dark and empty. Depressed people don't always "see the sun," no matter how many people try to help by saying things like, "Look how nice it is outside. Fresh air or a walk will make you feel better."

This song can easily be compared to the writing on Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh about depression. People don't understand why someone can't just smile and feel better. It seems to be actually told by the person who is depressed, if you look at it closely... Depression makes us question ourselves, "What's wrong with me? Why can't I just feel happy?" She is, in fact, inventing shadows, or living in darkness that is difficult to deal with or understand.

And finally, think of Hamlet's To Be or Not To Be speech... Isn't he thinking all this through? I believe that is most poignant in the last stanza of Dia's lyrics:

"It's in the lights in the world I see How I wish that I could still believe Time could save me If I go who could blame me."