Icarus Lyrics

Lyric discussion by RareCola 

Cover art for Icarus lyrics by Bastille

I think this song is trying to teach people to go against the "You Only Live Once" mindset. It's a rejection of the trend for young people to do crazy things before they have to grow up and become an "adult".

The song mostly describes somebody who is a party animal, doing as many crazy things as possible. The "digging your own grave" isn't a grave for your dead body, it is a grave for your dead personality.

The chorus goes on to the describe that this person's life has only just begun and he's ruining it by flying too close to the sun (being too wild and crazy) at an early age.

He's unsure of his future, so he goes into the "You Only Live Once" mindset, but because of this he may experience "a fall" that he won't recover from.

As he grows up he figures out what he wants to do, retracts from his crazy life and puts on his armour in favour of a life of security and certainty. This is the "grave" he is now in that was described earlier in the song. His personality is dead, wasted in his youth by "flying too close to the sun" and if he had just grown up at his own pace, he would have been able to live a fuller life.

My Interpretation

Man it's about Icarus, son of Daedalus.

My Opinion

hmmmm Maybe it's this magical thing where a song has a double meaning.. :o

I totally agree with you. The song is not about Icarus. If you want to connect the myth with the song I've got an idea. The wings of Icarus were made of wax, but this didn't stop him from going close to the sun cause he thought sun is beautiful and the view from a higher point is better. Also many teenagers are willing to do something they found cool, even though sometimes it appears to be dangerous (flying close to the sun),cause they don't know their limits.