Appropriate lyrics for our time

The Indigo Girls are one of my fav groups of all time. Their lyrics are always thought provoking and encourage introspection and discussion. I thought I would post some of their lyrics to a song called "Prince Of Darkness". I find that this song is a call to people not to be dragged under or seduced by life's dark aspects. What do you think of these lyrics. The lyrics in brackets are are being sung at the same time as the lyrics before them by a different person.

Prince of darkness

my place is of the sun and this place is of the dark
and i do not feel the romance i do not catch the spark
my place is of the sun and this place is of the dark
and i do not feel the romance i do not catch the spark

i don't know when i noticed life was life at my expense
the words of my heart lined up like prisoners on a fence
the dreams came in like needy children tugging at my sleeve
i said i have no way of feeding you, so leave
but there was a time i asked my father for a dollar
and he gave it a ten dollar raise
and when i needed my mother and i called her
she stayed with me for days
now someone's on the telephone, desperate in his pain
someone's on the bathroom floor doing her cocaine
someone's got his finger on the button in some room
no one can convince me we aren't gluttons for our doom
but i tried to make this place my place
i asked for providence to smile upon me with his sweet face
yeah but i'll tell you
my place is of the sun and this place is of the dark
and i do not feel the romance i do not catch the spark
my place is of the sun and this place is of the dark
(by grace, my sight grows stronger)
and i do not feel the romance i will not be
(and i will not be a pawn for the prince of darkness any longer)

maybe there's no haven in this world for tender age
my heart beat like the wings of wild birds in a cage
my greatest hope my greatest cause to grieve
and my heart flew from its cage and it bled upon my sleeve
oh the cries of passion were like wounds that needed healing
i couldn't hear them for the thunder
i was half the naked distance between hell and heavens ceiling
and he almost pulled me under
now someone's on the telephone, desperate in his pain
someone's on the bathroom floor doing her cocaine
someone's got his finger on the button in some room
no one can convince me we aren't gluttons for our doom
but i tried to make this place my place
i asked for providence to smile upon me with his sweet face
but i'll tell you
my place is of the sun and this place is of the dark
and i do not feel the romance i do not catch the spark
my place is of the sun and this place is of the dark
(by grace, my sight grows stronger)
and i do not feel the romance i do not catch the spark
(grows stronger)
by grace
(my place is of the sun)
my sight
(and this place is of the dark)
is growing stronger
(i do not feel the romance)
i will not be a pawn
(i will not be)
for the prince of darkness any longer

words and music by emily saliers

Well, maybe I'm just an optimist, but I think we live in a really exciting age. Technology is moving at an incredible pace and we're connected via the internet with people from all over the world. Its one big Global Community with vast amounts of knowledge available at the click of the mouse.

Of course there are lots of sick people out there, but those kind were around in all the other time periods too- we just had less communication options available to find out about it. For example, I heard of Andrea Yates through TV and this site-otherwise I'd probably never known a thing about her. There were many people just like her in past generations as well.

It seems all I hear from the generation before mine is "Young people these days"- usually accompanied with a shake of the head or a rolling of the eyes. Well, I want to ask them- wasn't it you who raised us? They're so quick to shove us aside and say the world's going to Hell in a handbasket because of us.

I'm not very quick to proclaim doom and gloom in regards to society these days because while terrible things DO happen, theres never been a time when people were so free to choose their lifestyle. From religion to sexuality, people don't have to be afraid to step outside the box.

This of course, is just my little ol opinion

Anyone else want to comment?

Very well said, both of you, SusieQ and Melissa.

I think that it all depends on the perspective of the world that you choose to have. No matter what generation, or what period of time, if you choose to focus on the negative you will see the world as a horrible place.

It is sometimes difficult not to see the world as a horrible place with only the bad things making the news. How many times have you seen stories like some of the ones that people post here, like the wonderful horse rescue story or how many cats have been saved by the people on this site alone? Almost never!

Life is what you make of it, just like Susan said. No point in blaming anyone else for your problems, or the next generation for the world's. You can accept it and move on, or dwell and be miserable.

I don't agree with the majority opinion here. I happen to like the Indigo Girls, and actually that song is from years ago so it wasn't influenced by 9/11. I think at least one of them was a victim of abuse, probably molested as a child, but I know nothing of their private lives. I just get that impression from some of the music. They often deal with difficult issues in a very honest way, but my impression is that they are trying for healing or helping other people heal. I think, though, that their music sounds more optomistic and upbeat when you hear it, than you might think from just reading the lyrics like Ady posted them.

I second what Susan said - I'm certainly not bashing the group! My first post was just a reaction to the lyrics and what had been posted so far.

In just reading the lyrics, I can see where it could be taken both ways - either doom and gloom or as a "make the world a better place" song. Again, all about perspective and what you choose to make of it! I also can definitely see what Sunlion says about the lyrics being more upbeat in the music. After all, they were written to be heard in music which can definitely put a different twist on how gloomy or upbeat the emphasis of the song is.

I don't think anyone bashed them. I think not everybody has heard the song, and when I hear it, what sticks in my head is the power of being able to say, This place sucks, I don't have to live here, I don't understand why so many people are attracted to this and I'm not going to participate in perpetuating the evil / negativity any more. I think that's what the chorus is saying:

My place is of the sun and this place is of the dark,
and I do not feel the romance, I do not catch the spark.
My place is of the sun and this place is of the dark,
(by grace, my sight grows stronger)
and I do not feel the romance, I do not catch the spark.
(and I will not be a pawn for the prince of darkness any longer)

I love this group and while a lot of their songs can both be viewed in positive and negative light I always find a redeeming message in them. Knowing what I know of the group they have to constantly struggle as openly gay musicians and fierce activists. I feel that because of their struggles (I believe 1 was sexually abused as a child) their lyrics are very profound. I find this song to be their anthem against the darkness in the world.