I woke up with the power out
Not really something to shout about
Ice has covered up my parents' hands
Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans

I went out into the night
I went out to find some light
Kids are swinging from the power lines
Nobody's home, so nobody minds

I woke up on the darkest night
Neighbors all were shouting that they found the light
("We found the light!")
Shadows jumping all over my walls
Some of them big, some of them small

I went out into the night
I went out to pick a fight with anyone
Light a candle for the kids
Jesus Christ, don't keep it hid!

Ice has covered up my parents' hands
Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans
Growing up in some strange storm
Nobody's cold, nobody's warm

I went out into the night
I went out to find some light
Kids are dying out in the snow
Look at them go, look at them go!

And the power's out in the heart of man
Take it from your heart, put in your hand

What's the plan?
What's the plan?

Is it a dream? Is it a lie?
I think I'll let you decide
Just light a candle for the kids
Jesus Christ, don't keep it hid!

Because nothing's hid, from us kids!
You ain't fooling nobody with the lights out!

And the power's out in the heart of man
Take it from your heart, put in your hand
And there's something wrong in the heart of man
You take it from your heart and put it in your hand!

Where'd you go?



Lyrics submitted by drinkmilk

Track duration: 05:12


Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) song meanings
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86 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:The way I see it, it's using the '98 power outage as a metaphor for keeping children in the dark. Funeral was almost all about youth, so I would think this would go along with the trend. It's saying you can't hid the world's problems or issue from the kids, they can't function if they are kept in the dark. "They light" is simply a view into the world. The newer generation need to know what's going on, basically.
    Flag DrZaloskion March 31, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Translation:Power out = something wrong, not ordinary (ordinary to have power on)
    Not the big problem
    His parents are dead so now he does not know what to do with his life
    He went out in the night to find the good in the world
    There is chaos but no one cares because there are no parents around
    He woke up on the worst night
    Neighbours claiming they found the light (claiming that they have done something that is not true)
    Even the people’s shadows are excited to see the light
    Remembering another reason he went out into the horrors of the world, to pick a fight with anyone (lack of care)
    Lighting a candle at a kids birthday party = hope in the world. Don’t try to stop kids from hoping for the future.
    Hollering about the kids
    His parents are cold people
    Still does not know what he is going to do
    When he was growing up people were inhuman (warm represents good and cold represent bad which shows how if your neither your are inhuman)
    Now he focuses on his journey to find some good in the world
    Instead he just sees the problems in the world with kids dying in the streets
    The power for men to do something in the world is gone
    So you must use your own power and put it to use with your hands (physically) to make a difference
    What’s going to happen?
    You can be spectacle but this is truly happening in the streets in the real world
    For the love of God give these kids hope in the world that they could make a difference
    Although the lights are dark (can’t see the truth) the kids know what is happening
    There are problems in the heart of a man. But how could there be problems when the heart represents all that is good? The problem is that although people have hearts they do not feel for others in the world and do not always help fix the problems in the world.
    He’s urging us to help and do something before it is too late.
    Meaning:
    The song is about all that is wrong in the world and how many times we have the power to do something but we do not. So it is like there is something with everyone’s hearts that does not help. This is because how could we not feel for (in the song) kids dying in the cold on the streets (homelessness). In the chorus he is urging that we take the power from our hearts and do physically do something. This is reiterated and the end when he says to do it now in the hands.
    Flag Bossdrummeron January 29, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song was written by singer Win Butler and his wife Regine Chassagne. Though deeply metaphorical and with a number of different interpretations, the initial inspiration for the song's lyrics came from Chassagne's experiences with the North American ice storm in 1998. She was living in Montreal at the time, and the ice storm left the city in darkness for over a week.
    Flag FloridaGuyon October 18, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I love this song. It's so strong, intense. It sounds like they're swirling down into their own self-destruction, and then there are times of really sickly sweet heightened tension to maybe "avoid" the doom that is inevitable? I love how crazy the song gets at the end, like how the singer screams

    "Is it a dream, is it a lie?
    I think I'll let you decide
    Just light a candle for the kids
    Jesus Christ, don't keep it hid!

    Because nothing's hid, from us kids!
    You ain't fooling nobody with the lights out!"

    It's different from their other songs, has a less "indie" vibe, but still amazing. And I love the story. I really don't want this to do with God...no offence to anyone...but I just see lots of people relating songs and bands to god...a little annoying? eh.
    Flag zwangsjackeon July 29, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:'light a candle for the kids. Jesus Christ, don't keep it hid!'

    favourite line. - don't just abandon the generation that comes after you
    Flag blurgg91on April 13, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:This song in a lot of ways makes me think of the movie The Ice Storm. Especially because the line about the parents. If you've ever seen the movie (not to spoil), someone dies when he gets hit by a power line, it's about the shattered dreams and boring lives of adults, wanting to spice up life, and about kids going through the normal changes and being naturally curious. Either way the song is really excellent.
    Flag autourdemoion April 04, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:this reminds me of the story of Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
    Flag bmcentireon September 11, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:Wow, I'm surprised it took 4 pages of comments before someone mentioned Plato's Allegory of the Cave. I was hoping to be the first!

    Anyway, the bits you quoted above first made me think of the Allegory, but also the lines, “Light a candle for the kids, Jesus Christ, don’t keep it hid,” seem applicable as well. Having discovered the real light, he tries to show it to them. In the Allegory, Plato wonders if doing this would lead the cave dwellers to kill the light bearer. Interestingly, that’s exactly what happens with Jesus Christ.

    I guess what is also funny here is that the electric light in the song servers as a distraction like the shadows on the walls. When the lights are on in the house, they are off in the “hearts of man”.
    Flag clovuson August 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song, just like the rest of the album is about survival, adventure, basic human insticts.
    It talks about storms, maybe the end of the world? I'm not sure. But it all kinda relates to storms,resulting in no technology and advances and just pure human life.
    Flag blackrosechick2on June 23, 2010   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation:I know that the accepted idea is that the song is about the '98 power outage...but just a few thoughts I have while listening to it.

    - Neighbors all were shouting that they found the light
    ("We found the light!")
    Shadows jumping all over my walls
    Some of them big, some of them small

    I feel the song overall is about the banality of life in many areas of the civilized world. How the "power" has gone out in our lives, and with it, our ambition and drive to better ourselves and find meaning. This lyric in particular seems to refer to the idea that most of the "Neighborhood" realizes this and are looking for something to hold on to. In times of hopelessness and darkness, a lot of people turn to religion. Now I'm not saying there is anything inherently wrong with that, but a lot of the time, it's used as a cop-out, a carrot on a stick, a blanket of ignorance so they don't have to really deal with the reality of their life. I can't help but read this part as some of the "Neighbors" saying that they found meaning again in religion...and when the "singer" sees it, it's nothing but shadows reflecting against a wall.

    This kind of reminds me Plato's Allegory of the Cave (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…).

    The people have known nothing but darkness with brief moments of shadow reflected on the walls. Because they need to find meaning in their banal existence, they attribute something deeper to the shadows.
    Flag frothyhamon June 18, 2010   Link

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