Love, love, love this song. Such an intensely evocative combination of lyric, arrangement, and delivery. The sum is definitely greater than its parts. At the broadest level, I think the song represents the struggle any of us faces once we decide to acknowledge the true depths of our humanity, including our potential for both profound good and profound evil. I also hear some strong parallels in the lyric to what is often referred to as "Buddhist psychology," particularly the notions of mindfulness and acceptance:
"when I allow it to be,
there's no control over me"
In fact, given the progression from the almost tentative delivery of the initial statement of fears through the subsequent intensification and eventual re-evaluation of the fearful experience (which occurs through going "deeper" into unknown parts of the self), I can also hear this song as a representation of processes that may characterize good (i.e., meaningful and helpful) psychotherapy. From this perspective, it's especially interesting to note how the gentle reassurance of "It's not the way it has to be" is answered with a more strident--even violent--statement of the "swallowed" fears.
(Relative to these tensions, I sometimes hear "Darkness" as a sort of sister song to "Digging in the Dirt." For instance, in addition to the obvious parallels related to fear, darkness, depth, and hope for healing, compare the lines "Don't mess with me, my fuse is short" and "Don't tell me everything's all right" with the vitriolic "you've gone too far/shut your mouth" sections of DitD.)
Love, love, love this song. Such an intensely evocative combination of lyric, arrangement, and delivery. The sum is definitely greater than its parts. At the broadest level, I think the song represents the struggle any of us faces once we decide to acknowledge the true depths of our humanity, including our potential for both profound good and profound evil. I also hear some strong parallels in the lyric to what is often referred to as "Buddhist psychology," particularly the notions of mindfulness and acceptance:
"when I allow it to be, there's no control over me"
In fact, given the progression from the almost tentative delivery of the initial statement of fears through the subsequent intensification and eventual re-evaluation of the fearful experience (which occurs through going "deeper" into unknown parts of the self), I can also hear this song as a representation of processes that may characterize good (i.e., meaningful and helpful) psychotherapy. From this perspective, it's especially interesting to note how the gentle reassurance of "It's not the way it has to be" is answered with a more strident--even violent--statement of the "swallowed" fears.
(Relative to these tensions, I sometimes hear "Darkness" as a sort of sister song to "Digging in the Dirt." For instance, in addition to the obvious parallels related to fear, darkness, depth, and hope for healing, compare the lines "Don't mess with me, my fuse is short" and "Don't tell me everything's all right" with the vitriolic "you've gone too far/shut your mouth" sections of DitD.)