I have a somewhat different take on this song than what has been written so far. It's a favorite of mine, and I've spent many nights pondering it's possible meanings. To me, it seems a story of a guy living in a self-imposed loneliness, who's wondering if he can/should leave it behind for the love of a woman (the "light"). There are many religious references as well, though I'm not sure I can explain them all. Here's my interpretation:
"Morning comes too early and nighttime falls too late
And sometimes all I want to do is wait"
{Time is passing slowly, but neither sleeping nor waking bring any relief}
"The shadow I've been hiding in has fled from me today"
{The usual denial of his situation isn't working anymore}
"I know it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye
But I will raise a shelter to the sky
And here beneath this star tonight I'll lie"
{He's willing to let a little of the "light" fall on him}
"She will slowly yield the light as I awaken from the longest night"
{The woman will ease him into a new sense of love, after being along for a long time}
"Dreams are shaking
Set sirens waking up tired eyes
WIth the light the memories all rush into his head"
{He is letting himself fall for her}
"By a candle stands a mirror
Of his heart and soul she dances
She was dancing through the night above his bed"
{Self-explanatory}
"And walking to the window he throws the shutters out against the wall
And from an ivory tower hears her call
"Let light surround you"
{He opens himself fully to her love}
"It's been a long, long time
He's had a while to think it over
In the end he only sees the change
Light to dark
Dark to light
Light to dark
Dark to light"
{The meaningless passing of days}
"Heaven must be more than this
When angels waken with a kiss
Sacred hearts won't take the pain
But mine will never be the same"
{Not sure I can say what this means. It seems to contradict what has already happened}
"He stands before the window
His shadow slowly fading from the wall
And from an ivory tower he hears her call
"Let the light surround you"
{Once more, she asks him to let her in}
"Once lost but I was found
When I heard the stained glass shatter all around me"
{My favorite lines. Overtly religious. The breaking of stained glass suggests the disappearance of religious influence from his life}
"I sent the spirits tumbling down the hill"
{The voluntary rejection of religion?}
"But I will hold this one on high above me still"
{He will hold on to the one "angel" who is real to him}
"She whispers words to clear my mind
I once could see but now at last I'm blind"
{Her admonitions to let love ("light") in are obeyed, and now he is struck "blind" by love. Love is blind, etc.}
"I know it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye
But I had given all I could take
And now I've only habits left to break
Tonight I'll still be lying here
Surrounded in all the light"
{This last stanza is hard to fit. It makes me wonder if we are meant to believe he only imagined that he let love in, then came to realize he'd only been imagining or dreaming it. The tempo change at this point in the song might mean that he had awakened to his old plodding existence.}
I really like this song, so I would like to understand what it does mean or can mean. Even so, having tried to write lyrics myself, I know that the consistency of the story will suffer when you need to make words rhyme or otherwise "fit." These lyrics might be mainly a stream of consciousness by Moore, without a consistent or cohesive story to go with them. It's still very cool.
I have a somewhat different take on this song than what has been written so far. It's a favorite of mine, and I've spent many nights pondering it's possible meanings. To me, it seems a story of a guy living in a self-imposed loneliness, who's wondering if he can/should leave it behind for the love of a woman (the "light"). There are many religious references as well, though I'm not sure I can explain them all. Here's my interpretation:
"Morning comes too early and nighttime falls too late And sometimes all I want to do is wait"
{Time is passing slowly, but neither sleeping nor waking bring any relief}
"The shadow I've been hiding in has fled from me today"
{The usual denial of his situation isn't working anymore}
"I know it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye But I will raise a shelter to the sky And here beneath this star tonight I'll lie"
{He's willing to let a little of the "light" fall on him}
"She will slowly yield the light as I awaken from the longest night"
{The woman will ease him into a new sense of love, after being along for a long time}
"Dreams are shaking Set sirens waking up tired eyes WIth the light the memories all rush into his head"
{He is letting himself fall for her}
"By a candle stands a mirror Of his heart and soul she dances She was dancing through the night above his bed"
{Self-explanatory}
"And walking to the window he throws the shutters out against the wall And from an ivory tower hears her call "Let light surround you"
{He opens himself fully to her love}
"It's been a long, long time He's had a while to think it over In the end he only sees the change Light to dark Dark to light Light to dark Dark to light"
{The meaningless passing of days}
"Heaven must be more than this When angels waken with a kiss Sacred hearts won't take the pain But mine will never be the same"
{Not sure I can say what this means. It seems to contradict what has already happened}
"He stands before the window His shadow slowly fading from the wall And from an ivory tower he hears her call "Let the light surround you"
{Once more, she asks him to let her in}
"Once lost but I was found When I heard the stained glass shatter all around me"
{My favorite lines. Overtly religious. The breaking of stained glass suggests the disappearance of religious influence from his life}
"I sent the spirits tumbling down the hill"
{The voluntary rejection of religion?}
"But I will hold this one on high above me still"
{He will hold on to the one "angel" who is real to him}
"She whispers words to clear my mind I once could see but now at last I'm blind"
{Her admonitions to let love ("light") in are obeyed, and now he is struck "blind" by love. Love is blind, etc.}
"I know it's easier to walk away than look it in the eye But I had given all I could take And now I've only habits left to break Tonight I'll still be lying here Surrounded in all the light"
{This last stanza is hard to fit. It makes me wonder if we are meant to believe he only imagined that he let love in, then came to realize he'd only been imagining or dreaming it. The tempo change at this point in the song might mean that he had awakened to his old plodding existence.}
I really like this song, so I would like to understand what it does mean or can mean. Even so, having tried to write lyrics myself, I know that the consistency of the story will suffer when you need to make words rhyme or otherwise "fit." These lyrics might be mainly a stream of consciousness by Moore, without a consistent or cohesive story to go with them. It's still very cool.
Anyway, that's my take.