Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
I'll lay me down tonight
Much further down
Swim in the calm tonight
This art does drown
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased
All insects sing tonight
The coldest sound
I'd send God's grace tonight
Could it be found?
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased
I'll lay me down tonight
Much further down
Watch stars go out tonight
On sinking ground
I'll lay me down, I'll lay me down
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased
What follows will swallow whole
What follows will swallow whole
Much further down
Swim in the calm tonight
This art does drown
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased
All insects sing tonight
The coldest sound
I'd send God's grace tonight
Could it be found?
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased
I'll lay me down tonight
Much further down
Watch stars go out tonight
On sinking ground
I'll lay me down, I'll lay me down
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased
What follows will swallow whole
What follows will swallow whole
Lyrics submitted by afirewithin
Track duration: 03:10
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
I'll lay me down tonight- confess feelings
Much further down- maybe you were nice before, but go all the way, full confession this time
Swim in the calm tonight- relief period at getting it off your chest
This art does drown- waiting game for her reply/her to make a decision whether she likes you or not
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light- whitest lace of light=hope for it to work out
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?-the hope consumes him, controls him, unable to give up the dream
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased- last two lines here are about gettin over it, startin again like it never happened
All insects sing tonight
The coldest sound- insect lines are like cricket chirps, her silence while waiting for a reply stings like ice, hence coldest sound....also like the cold shoulder sense of cold
I'd send God's grace tonight-I'd wish her well
Could it be found?- if i can find the grace to hold onto that hope
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased
I'll lay me down tonight
Much further down-first two lines mimic opening, then continue to new response
Watch stars go out tonight
On sinking ground- lets the dream go. gives up
I'll lay me down, I'll lay me down
(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light
(Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued?
What follows has lead me to this place
where I belong, with all erased
What follows will swallow whole
What follows will swallow whole -conclusion to lyrics, could be swallowing past whole and starting over or getting consumed by conflict/worry/anxiety over this girl
title significance: Girl's Not Grey= Girl is not grey=he cares, contradicts end of lyrics bein about gettin over it, reaffirms inability to get over her since he still cares.
summary of song is then about chasing after/loving some girl, and for some reason or another, not being able to decide between maintaining hope or giving up (first half vs second half of that repeating what follows part) The song ends with no actual answer to this, and remains a song simply depicting the conflict in the decision.
I started looking into this song for a poem analysis project in school, and I noticed a lot of similarities to this song and the poem "The Art of Drowning" by Billy Collins , which also happens to be the title of one of their other albums. I'm not sure how all of this fits in together, but I'll give it a shot.
The last line in the first verse mentions "This art does drown" , which I perceived as the first reference to the poem . And there seem to be several more allusions throughout the song
"While stars go out tonight" --> "an ultimate Light before all the lights go out".
"On sinking ground" --> "as you sink toward the weedy disarray of the bottom"
"What follows me as the whitest lace of light" --> "a quick blur of curved silver darting away"
"What follows has led me to this place/ where I belong with all erased" --> "leaving behind what you have already forgotten,"
So those were the connections that I created lyric-wise...
And the music video shows some sort of wonderland- like story that ends with them turning into confetti. which sort of fits in with the poem's message about noticing something irrelevant when you're about to die, as opposed to your life flashing before your eyes.
"...But if something does flash before your eyes/ as you go under, it will probably be a fish,/ a quick blur of curved silver darting away,/ having nothing to do with your life or your death/ The tide will take you, or the lake will accept it all/ as you sink toward the weedy disarray of the bottom./ leaving behind what you have already forgotten...."
I suppose this could all just be coincidence or I may just be trying too hard to make them fit together, but it seems like there are some big resemblances at least textually.
i'd like to say it's about suicide, but that just seems to easy lol i kind of have a hard time figuring out AFI's lyrics though. instead of suicide though, i like to think of it as killing yourself, but not literally. maybe in a metaphoric way like becoming a new person. killing the person you used to be to become a better person.
i know i'm wrong, but i don't care. that's how i like to think of it as.
the lyrics "I'll lay me down tonight. Much further down. Swim in the calm tonight. This art does drown." to me suggest that he is going to put all his feelings for this troubled girl out there, more than he has before and by doing this he thinks he will be able to feel at peace with his emotions. he hopes he can save the object of his desire from drowning in her mistakes.
the chorus: "(What follows) me as the whitest lace of light. (Will swallow whole) just begs to be imbrued? What follows has lead me to this place, where I belong, with all erased" if in fact it is phrased as a question sounds like he is trying to figure out what he is feeling when the lace of light could be love, which begs to be imbrued (stained, in order to be seen). and the second part says to me "in a perfect world, me and you would be together."
"All insects sing tonight. The coldest sound. I'd send God's grace tonight, Could it be found?" he can hear the insects sing because he is lonely, loneliness is a cold song indeed. even though he can't seem to help her he asks god to, will his prayers be answered?
"I'll lay me down tonight. Much further down. Watch stars go out tonight. On sinking ground." he continues to try and help her but eventually watches his "star" (a white lace of light) go out, and it breaks his heart, which if you have ever had one you know is a "sinking" feeling you never really get rid of no matter how many times you "lay yourself down" in order to help the one you love only to have them repeat the mistake.
and the last chorus i believe switches meanings to indicate that he now thinks the white lace of light that is swallowing him whole is fate, and he wants to see what the future now holds for him (as per my earlier analysis of the choruses meaning for imbrued) but he feels that fate has led him to where is now, and he is now moving on. putting the past in the past (with all erased)
this also makes some-what sense of the title... it took a "girl" for him to realize that some things are beyond his control. a lesson some don't learn til they are old and "grey"
Bottom Line: AFI ARE NOT SELL OUTS. period. You don't have to have such a freakin closed mind, it's ok that you don't like somethings on mtv, but don't hate everything just because they're on it. I love music, specially rock music, i don't care if it's punk, metal, industrial or simply mainstream, i love deep and elaborated music, made by people with brains, feelings, guts and talent. And I do listen to mtv very often; and it's true it's pretty much CRAP and dumb bitches around. But sometimes in a while something good comes around and some talented artists are recognized as they should. But let's face it I don't even live in the United States, how the hell am I supossed to know the underground music, if you don't even want it to be played on the radio.
I love afi, i always will, these guys are like wine, and i don't know if they can get any better, they've reached a not human level of perfection. They're just a part of who I am right now, and i go insane with Decemberunderground (my favorite), and yes, i like the most famous mtv videos (love like winter), i wasn't even born when they came out, and i love them anyway (black sails and art of drowning). My point is, i love them, respect them, and admire them as words can't express but i would have never heard of them if i hadn't watched a little video called Miss Murder on MTV TOP 10 when i was 12!!! So yes, it's prety ok to be on mtv as long as you don't screw yourself as everyone think you will.
Ironically, this is the song i like the least of the album. But i love every other one.