Be Not So Fearful

Some people think this song is about dying and the after life, but this isn't what it is at all to me. This song was playing in The Walking Dead at the end of a particularly emotional episode, and while some people feel it didn't fit well I felt it fit perfectly. An article talked about what a conundrum that the song repeats "Be not so fearful" in The Walking Dead, because they feel a premise behind the show is in this apocalyptic world, you must remain fearful or die a horrible death. I don't think this was the point of the show either. When I was going through a really hard time, I became addicted to this show, weirdly so. And this song played, and I just started crying and rewatched the song probably a dozen times, crying. It was so cathartic, though I couldn't explained why at the time. To me, the show still resonates with people because we spend just so long trying so so hard to do the right things, for ourselves and other people. And I think for a lot of people it feels like there is just this continuous struggle, but this never-ending feeling of failure. No matter how hard you try sometimes it seems you screw everything up for yourself and can't be who you need for others either. And I think that struggle, some might say the human condition, is the point of the show. And the song, well...

At this particular time in my life I was recovering from a really rough life event and probably the worst illness I've had (not life threatening or anything- I just got really sick.) The medication from the doctor also made me feel like I was underwater. I had many reasons to feel like the life event was my fault, and it greatly affected my partner and myself. I had many reasons to feel like the illness even was my fault (I was not at all taking good care of myself.) And I was trying just so, so hard. And it felt like I had been for years, maybe longer. So many years of trying so, so hard, and beating myself up over every wrong decision, for years and years, and every unintended consequence, always terrified because I knew I just couldn't do things well enough.

To me this song was saying to let go all of those feelings. "Be not so sorry, for what you've done. You must forget them now, it's done." Is saying to let all these the things you've done go, stop killing yourself over every decision that may have been a mistake, stop rehashing how it affected every other person, stop taking it all on yourself. "Be not so fearful, be not so pale" is self explanatory. Stop living life holding onto everything you could have done differently, sure you are going to screw everything up no matter what you do. Stop being terrified all the time. "Someone's watching" stuff seems to me to either be referring to a higher power, guiding you through, whether religious or spiritual, or perhaps the people in your life that maybe aren't hung up on overanalyzing every little thing you do, but instead looking out for you, not blaming.

I always thought there was also a quote in here about "Be not so angry" but it doesn't look like there is unless there is a lyric missing. I like to imagine it in the song anyway.

In short, I think the song is basically saying to put down your cross, put down your arrows, and let things go. Stop living life fearful and regretful and replaying every bad thing. Just try to live and have some hope for once instead of reliving all you're past negative experiences and decisions, sure that the future will be the same. Instead let it all go, and believe for once that things can be put away and that your future can be different. At least that is what it meant to me, and that meant a lot.

A TLDR for my earlier post, I think it is saying it's time to put it all away: all the hurt, all the sadness, all the fear, from a horrible time, and try to begin anew. Find your hope again, and let go of all the fear, pain, and regret of the past, or the difficult time you trying to forget. Someone will help you, and look out for you, but you have to let the past go.