I agree with the previous comments, but I also think that Darlin' is her deceased father.
I have no evidence other than the song to say if that's true or if her dad is even dead, but a number of small, subtle things in the song point to that, IMO. The line "And just when I've figured it out" implies, to me, that Darlin' is someone who had already figured it out and tried to teach her to as well. "Comforting logic" sounds paternal, and losing a parent can easily result in "solitude that I can't find without you." "When I can't see...I'll be coming back to you" I see as meeting again in the afterlife. Lastly, the way she sings "it seems like I'm getting closer somehow" especially the word somehow, sounds like a little girl, the way she used to (and still would, if her song could reach him) address her father. Maybe I'm just over-reading things, but that's how I've always taken it. One of my favorite songs of hers either way.
I agree with the previous comments, but I also think that Darlin' is her deceased father.
I have no evidence other than the song to say if that's true or if her dad is even dead, but a number of small, subtle things in the song point to that, IMO. The line "And just when I've figured it out" implies, to me, that Darlin' is someone who had already figured it out and tried to teach her to as well. "Comforting logic" sounds paternal, and losing a parent can easily result in "solitude that I can't find without you." "When I can't see...I'll be coming back to you" I see as meeting again in the afterlife. Lastly, the way she sings "it seems like I'm getting closer somehow" especially the word somehow, sounds like a little girl, the way she used to (and still would, if her song could reach him) address her father. Maybe I'm just over-reading things, but that's how I've always taken it. One of my favorite songs of hers either way.