FAWM: "Lights in the Darkness"

Lights in the Darkness

There is no demo for this song.

Liner Notes

Last night, I was driving to a small, local song circle looking up at the lovely full moon floating serenely overhead. It was beautiful, and a balm to my soul, and definitely inspiring.

Today, however, when I sat down to write, other things kept intruding, the stuff I mostly try not to think about unless I'm protesting or calling my senators about. The contrast was sharp and dissonant, as sharp as the contrast between the pale moon and the dark night sky.

I started this during the Breakthrough skirmish, though life has been busy and when I got a wee bit stuck I was interrupted to do other things. But when I returned, I knew what I'd been stumbling through earlier in the day, and it didn't take long to finish lyrics. So thank you to RobinLeaf for the prompt.

I'm not sure, yet, what I want to do for a tune and music for this piece, and I'm tired. I have to get up in the morning to do errands, and I have cards to draw still, and while it is a joy and a meditation and a creative inspiration to do that, it does take time.

But I think this one does deserve a tune, so hopefully it will get a demo in the not-too-distant future.

Lyrics

Lights in the Darkness Deirdre M Murphy

There’s so much chaos in our lands

While the moon shines down, serene and calm

There’s so much violence in bad men’s hands

Yet the moon shines soft, a gentle balm

The greed of rich men knows no ends While the sun shines with dazzling light It’s sure they’ll never make amends Yet the sun shines down on every sight

But the people stand, run toward the fray While the stars shine softly in our sight This land is ours, we will have our say Like the stars, we’re each a shining light

Let our light shine in the darkness

Let us stand witness to these crimes

Let us speak out with the plain truth

Let us hold fast in these dire times

Let our words soar over the din of battle
Let our minds see through the lies of men
Let our hearts welcome honest strangers
Let our hands bring healing, and build again

Comments

@jmcdaid 6h

The sense of determination and -- yes -- hope is really palpable. "Yet the sun shines down on every sight" is a sly line that does a lot of heavy lifting. To see, bear witness, and illuminate, i mean, what, really, do we as songwriters try to do?

@laurenoxford 1d

i’m so glad you came back to this song and finished writing it. it’s a thing of beauty, and so necessary right now. i love that it’s anchored in the natural world too—i’m always hoping for more protest songs that don’t lose sight of our planet and the cosmos. 💙

i can’t wait to hear the demo <3 and this DOES need a demo

@nwhosings 1d

The way you hold the constant of natural light opposing the atrocities happening right now speaks to me. The natural world is the place I can most easily find hope, and I'm glad others feel that way too.

@danielkelly 1d

Some strong words of perspective and hope Deirdre, much needed today.

@robinleaf 1d

This is beautiful Deirdre! I like the contrast of the beauty with all the things that are terrible. The last stanza is especially lovely. I'm glad you joined the skirmish! At some point I want to get a hold of you because I would like to get information on the Milwaukee filkers group. 😛

@melodic 1d

From one aching heart to another, it's good to see these beautiful words describing shared perspectives on dark times through a hopeful lens. Looking forward to the demo should you end up sharing one!