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Come Clean, Dark Thing Lyrics
Nightshade, a pretty flower
You drink the poison and we count the hours
You black out, holding my hand
I dream of letting go but I just can't
Come clean, dark thing
You can breathe the air again and I’ll care again
Come clean, dark thing
Look up to the sky again and I’ll try again
Come clean, dark thing
You can breathe the air again [x4]
and stop pretending
Dark sky, you're barely breathing
You’re still alive but you’re already grieving
A headstone, look at what you’ve become
You see the sadness at the center of everyone
Come clean, dark thing
You can breathe the air again and you’ll care again
Come clean, dark thing
Look into the sky again and you’ll try again
Come clean, dark thing
You can breathe the air again [x4]
and stop pretending
How we sleep, how we lie
How we learn to say goodbye
You are safe here, you are right here
You could promise you could try
All your love, all your life
All your days of wasted time
Come clean, dark thing [x3]
You can breathe the air again [x4]
and stop pretending
If you say that you want me, too
If you say that you need me, too
If you say that you love me, too
You drink the poison and we count the hours
You black out, holding my hand
I dream of letting go but I just can't
You can breathe the air again and I’ll care again
Come clean, dark thing
Look up to the sky again and I’ll try again
Come clean, dark thing
You can breathe the air again [x4]
and stop pretending
You’re still alive but you’re already grieving
A headstone, look at what you’ve become
You see the sadness at the center of everyone
You can breathe the air again and you’ll care again
Come clean, dark thing
Look into the sky again and you’ll try again
Come clean, dark thing
You can breathe the air again [x4]
and stop pretending
How we learn to say goodbye
You are safe here, you are right here
You could promise you could try
All your love, all your life
All your days of wasted time
You can breathe the air again [x4]
and stop pretending
If you say that you need me, too
If you say that you love me, too
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Three interpretations come to mind: a friend experimenting with the nightshade flower while a friend watches over them, a suicidal friend, or coming back from a poisoned relationship.
"Deadly nightshade" was occasionally used as a recreational drug. Because it is considered extremely dangerous and risky for overdose, the friend is watching over and observing what the other friend is experiencing.
A darker interpretation is a friend has given up and "drank the poison." The other friend doesn't want to see the friend die but doesn't want to leave them alone to die. Maybe they called for help, and the friend was saved: "you can breathe the air again and stop pretending.
I like to think the deadly nightshade poison was an event and souring of a relationship. The relationship looks dead and out for the count. They're waiting for the last breaths, grieving at a headstone, and seeing the negative. The relationship and hope is still there if someone will just make the move. In my head, they came back together, and made beautiful songs and performed for us together. The lyrics don't provide that closure but maybe the fact that the song exists does.
It's easy to think that one or the other in a relationship is the dark thing that needs to come clean, but maybe the dark thing is the bad parts of the relationship and coming clean is just coming to terms with what happened and that no one was any more at fault than another.