Shadow of the Day

Maybe I should be starting a song appreciation kind of topic but I know my feelings for songs may not always come. Anyway, this is a stunning song from Linkin Park. The lyrics are rather ambiguous. A lot of people have different interpretation of the lyrics. Even the ending for this music video is being debated on. I shall present my take on the meaning of this song and share some other interpretations.

Shadow of the day

I close both locks below the window.
I close both blinds and turn away.
Sometimes solutions aren't so simple.
Sometimes goodbye's the only way.

And the sun will set for you,
The sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.

Pink cards and flowers on your window,
Your friends all plead for you to stay.
Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple.
Sometimes goodbye's the only way.

And the sun will set for you,
The sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.

And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.

And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in grey,
And the sun will set for you.



So, is this a sad song or an encouraging one? Most people think it is some sort of encouraging song as they interpret it.

“Sometimes solutions aren’t so simple. Sometimes goodbye’s the only way.”
- Sometimes there are problems in life that does not have a solution; maybe letting go and move on is the best and only way.

- Some problems in life have no solution. Perhaps saying goodbye to this world (ending one’s life) is the only way out.

“And the sun will set for you,The sun will set for you.And the shadow of the day,Will embrace the world in grey,And the sun will set for you.”
- The shadow of the day is a metaphor for us as human beings to change the world, and we can't make it perfect, but we can embrace it in grey (Black and white, meaning we should try to be on the white part, even though the black part might always be with us, and that life can't be neither one of those colors, or we lose our balance).

- The Sun will set for you describe how things are eventually going to end and get better. The shadow of the day to me means the bad things that had happened that day. He's basically describing how with all the bad things that are happening, you have to remember that "the sun will set for you" and things will get better.

- "Will embrace the world in gray" -- Meaning how we lived today (shadow of the day) is what gives our outlook on life. In this song... the person is depressed so he shuts off the world which just furthers the depression. "And the sun will set for you" -- Just ties right back into the other two lines. Each and every day you have a new chance to embrace life and living, but it’s the choices you make in the today that will make tomorrow what it becomes.

- My interpretation: The writer is using subtle words to cover grave pain and sadness he feels. “The sun will set for you” I question the time frame the writer is trying to make us picture – the evening. Many sad circumstances are based on something ending and the day ending implies something sad. If it is an encouraging song, why choose to make the sun set for you instead of it rise for you? If the word “for” is changed to “on” ie: The sun will set on you, this will definitely depict a very unease image on the listeners. “The shadow of the day will embrace the world in grey” I disagree with people saying that there are sad things happening in life and we should just embrace them because the sun will still set for you. When the whole world is ‘embraced’ in grey, oh my… what a sad phrase… the writer’s choice of the word ‘embrace’ can imply that the situation has forced him to the corner but he still wants to believe in something good, hence embrace seems to be a more subtle word to describe the unimaginable bad thing (shadow of the day). Coupled with the whole song “beginnings/solutions aren’t so simple, goodbye is the only way” it portrays a really bad and bleak situation, especially when “your friends all plead for you to stay” but you think that goodbye seems to be the only way.