Between the End and Where We Lie Lyrics
Is this everything? I've dreamed of so much more
Between the end and where we lie
Here all our hopes and dreams are scavenged from the floor
And fed into machines that feed on vacant eyes
[Verse 2]
All of my dreams always find me
Far beyond these fake fluorescent skies
I know there must be something more, if I could only find the door
Then I could free myself and see the world outside
[Chorus 1]
Where daylight breaks on you and shines into the
Gray that sleeps beneath your skull
Daylight breaks on you and burns away the
Gray that suffocates your soul
[Verse 3]
For now I hold a key and though I may be lost
I know that I will find my way
I search endlessly but every time I've thought
That I was near, the smoke and mirrors lead me astray
[Verse 4]
See the pit boss, steal each tick tock
Time it seems will suffer at our hands
I look for exits in the haze, the dense electric twilit maze
I've heard that there is one that leads to sunlit lands
Where daylight breaks on you and shines into the
Gray that sleeps beneath your skull
Daylight breaks on you and burns away the
Gray that suffocates your soul
[Bridge]
Daylight
Daylight
Daylight
Daylight
[Chorus 2]
Daylight, they tell me that it's just a myth and
They try to betray me with a kiss and
Daylight, they tell me that it can't exist and
They might never know just what they've missed
[Outro]
As daylight pours fire into my gray eyes
Pours grace into my gray life
Breaks in and lights the way
I can't live without the day
About
This song is about being found in a dark and disorienting place, dreaming and somehow knowing that there is something more real and free outside in daylight. A casino functions as a metaphor for this world while searching for that greater, more real, spiritual reality beyond it. Dustin wrote that C.S. Lewis' similar metaphor in The Silver Chair inspired this image.
This song also contains many references to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave (which inspired C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair image). In that story, a group of people are chained in a cave, and all that they’ve ever seen is the inside of the cave. One man manages to break his chains and escapes from the cave, freeing himself to see the world outside. At first, he’s startled by the brightness of the daylight, but his eyes begin to adjust and he sees the world for what it is. Then, he goes back to the cave to get everyone else out and show them the outside world, but they refuse.
Thrice’s 2016 song, “The Window” explores very similar themes and imagery.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 2.Between the End and Where We Lie
- 4.Atlantic
- 5.For Miles
- 7.Music Box
- 11.Red Sky
- 12.Flags of Dawn
