I am referring a lot of my interpretation to the music video & the symbolism used in the song lyrics. This is a tricky one, but I believe this song is about one's inner dialogue & struggle to find our Faith, no matter which faith that may be; but there is a lot of Christian Bible symbolism used, so I will refer to what I noticed & share, FWIW.
In the video, which Idris Elba is the actor & director of, a blind man seems to be struggling to fight his fears & find his faith during his challenging life. He wakes up from a dream, a dream in which he succeeds in facing his fears & finds his faith. As the video progresses, he seems to think back to it from time to time, & the elk seems to be a memory of this dream. At one point, he seems to be talking to himself or God, telling about what he did in this crazy dream--ran to a cliff alone? Him? That's crazy, right?! But then he looks wistful.
He also seems to be having an inner dialogue with God, who is inviting him in to become a 'Lover of the Light.'
As the video progresses, he thinks back to this dream from time to time, and each time the elk (who often symbolize strength, perseverance & courage) seems to reappear, so this may be symbolic of strength & stamina & keeping steadfast on one's journey towards having faith despite our fears.
There is a lot of symbolism from the Bible, such as our Higher Power being 'The Light', and how as we go through the challenge we seem to have our lives torn down around us, only to be built up even better if we do find our faith.
The man prepares 2 meals, but he is the only one there. I think this symbolizes his willingness to invite God into his life. He remembers his dream & the elk always seems to show up then. He seems to be having an inner dialogue with God, and in reading the lyrics this way, they seem to be both the man's dialogue, and God's dialogue.
The animal (elk?) in the video seems to be an aspect of this man, and it watches him on his journey to free his soul via finding faith, so I think the animal represents freedom, or maybe it symbolizes the aspect of self which is unconscious & operating out of blind instinct. In order to reach our goals, we have to aim further than this, so we have to find courage & strength within us to take that leap of faith. So the animal may represent our non-understanding of things in our lives, but to realize that we are strong enough to face them, & may need to fight our instinct to hide & protect ourselves. The animal seems to be watchful of this man, so I think it refers to an aspect of himself.
The blind man gets ready to leave his home, & struggles with himself as he finally decides to leave the safety & security of his walking cane & guide dog behind, & go for a walk (run!?) through the woods all by himself, seeking the 'Light' beyond the cliff, which is probably symbolic of taking a leap of faith.
So with the man being blind (probably symbolizing how we are all 'blind' until we find our faith), for him to run through the woods to a cliff's edge is quite the demonstration of throwing caution to the wind & finding his faith! Notice that the Light of the sun is shining on the horizon beyond this cliff. He didn't take an actual leap of faith off the cliff, but in essence that is what he did by by running through the woods unaided, even with his walking stick or guide dog.
In the end, he finds the courage to face his fears & demons, seek the Light of his Higher Power, & finds joy.
I am referring a lot of my interpretation to the music video & the symbolism used in the song lyrics. This is a tricky one, but I believe this song is about one's inner dialogue & struggle to find our Faith, no matter which faith that may be; but there is a lot of Christian Bible symbolism used, so I will refer to what I noticed & share, FWIW.
In the video, which Idris Elba is the actor & director of, a blind man seems to be struggling to fight his fears & find his faith during his challenging life. He wakes up from a dream, a dream in which he succeeds in facing his fears & finds his faith. As the video progresses, he seems to think back to it from time to time, & the elk seems to be a memory of this dream. At one point, he seems to be talking to himself or God, telling about what he did in this crazy dream--ran to a cliff alone? Him? That's crazy, right?! But then he looks wistful.
He also seems to be having an inner dialogue with God, who is inviting him in to become a 'Lover of the Light.'
As the video progresses, he thinks back to this dream from time to time, and each time the elk (who often symbolize strength, perseverance & courage) seems to reappear, so this may be symbolic of strength & stamina & keeping steadfast on one's journey towards having faith despite our fears.
There is a lot of symbolism from the Bible, such as our Higher Power being 'The Light', and how as we go through the challenge we seem to have our lives torn down around us, only to be built up even better if we do find our faith.
The man prepares 2 meals, but he is the only one there. I think this symbolizes his willingness to invite God into his life. He remembers his dream & the elk always seems to show up then. He seems to be having an inner dialogue with God, and in reading the lyrics this way, they seem to be both the man's dialogue, and God's dialogue.
The animal (elk?) in the video seems to be an aspect of this man, and it watches him on his journey to free his soul via finding faith, so I think the animal represents freedom, or maybe it symbolizes the aspect of self which is unconscious & operating out of blind instinct. In order to reach our goals, we have to aim further than this, so we have to find courage & strength within us to take that leap of faith. So the animal may represent our non-understanding of things in our lives, but to realize that we are strong enough to face them, & may need to fight our instinct to hide & protect ourselves. The animal seems to be watchful of this man, so I think it refers to an aspect of himself.
The blind man gets ready to leave his home, & struggles with himself as he finally decides to leave the safety & security of his walking cane & guide dog behind, & go for a walk (run!?) through the woods all by himself, seeking the 'Light' beyond the cliff, which is probably symbolic of taking a leap of faith.
So with the man being blind (probably symbolizing how we are all 'blind' until we find our faith), for him to run through the woods to a cliff's edge is quite the demonstration of throwing caution to the wind & finding his faith! Notice that the Light of the sun is shining on the horizon beyond this cliff. He didn't take an actual leap of faith off the cliff, but in essence that is what he did by by running through the woods unaided, even with his walking stick or guide dog.
In the end, he finds the courage to face his fears & demons, seek the Light of his Higher Power, & finds joy.
Lovely song, moving video. Love it!
Hope this was helpful for some of you.