Imagine Dragons: Demons Meaning
Song Released: 2013
Covered By: Jasmine Thompson
Demons Lyrics
And the cards all fold
And the saints we see
Are all made of gold
When your dreams all fail
And the ones we hail
Are the worst of all
And the blood’s run stale
I want to hide the truth
I want to shelter you
But...
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I think the first two stanzas just give a general dark and hopeless background for the situation.
Then the third stanza says, "But with the beast inside", which implies that he's trying to hide something from someone, he also says, "There's nowhere we can hide" to whoever he's trying to hide it from. So whatever he's trying to hide is part of him; he can't escape it.
Now to the first chorus. "When you feel my heat." That could literally be his body heat. Or it could be something else. I have a guess, but I'll get back to that later.
"Look into my eyes/It's where my demons hide... Don't get too close/ It's dark inside". I'd infer from this, and other lines in the song, that the person he's talking to is a lady friend of some sort. When she gets close to him his darkness is more apparent. Simple enough.
The next stanza, "At the curtain's call..." Is for the sole purpose of emphasizing the despair of the situation.
But next we see the "masquerade" calling out at the "mess you made". Again, I have a guess about the "mess", but I'll get back to it later.
"I am hell bound". Those are some serious words. But could this be a metaphorical hell? Like the hell he would be in if his G-Friend broke up with him if she found out what he's hiding?
The last three stanzas are where it comes to the real grit and grind. "They say it's what you make/I say it's up to fate". This "thing", whatever it is, cannot be helped. It is subject to fate, or luck. Hmm.
"It's woven in my soul/I need to let you go". The whole song is essentially in second person; he's talking to his woman-friend the whole time. But here it changes. He's still talking to someone or something. I'd say something.
Now, could "woven in my soul" be anything other than his literal soul? Could he be referring to the innermost depths of his body instead? I think so.
With that context, put this together: "When you feel my heat... It's woven in my soul." Could this heat possibly be woven... in his bowels?
I believe the song is about a man who is trying desperately to hold in a fart, maybe even diarrhea, (call back to mind the "mess you made"), because he doesn't want his girlfriend to be subject to the horrible smell.
This makes even more sense in the next stanza. "Your eyes, they shine so bright/I wanna save that light". I think you can assume with plenty of assurance that her eyes won't be shining brightly if he lets out the south wind.
Although I'm not sure about the last two lines before the final chorus. "I can't escape this now/Unless you show me how."
This implies that his girl can show him how to avoid farting. I have to admit, the song lost me there. But who am I to judge? Maybe she has Beano. -
It's about trying to protect your loved ones by keeping you past inside and not exposing them or yourself to those memories.
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As a Christian, and knowing that an Imagine Dragons band member is Mormon, I'm sure this is about the apocalypse leading up to the Second Coming. I don't think he's speaking to a woman, I think he's confessing to God. He talks about saints made of gold: idols. No matter what we breed, we are still made of greed: the human race has tried to perfect the world, but without God's mercy and grace, it will never work. He says he tries to shield "you" from the truth, but he knows deep down that God knows he's a sinner. Unless you show me how: he's asking for God to give him eternal life (he's accepting Jesus). Notice how dark and pessimistic it is almost till the end. Deeply religious song. Love how emotional and true it is; most artists try to hide their beliefs. I'm glad the writer/writers of this song stayed true to their beliefs.
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Demons. A very confusing and confused song.
This first verse:
"When the days are cold/And the cards all fold/And the saints we see/Are all made of gold" This verse goes along with the second verse:
"When your dreams all fail/And the ones we hail/Are the worst of all/And the blood's run stale" He is making a statement on the world. I would like to think that he is talking about a dystopian place or perhaps what he thinks our world may be like centuries from now, but I don't know. What I do know however, is that he is saying in this song that he feels that the world he lives in is completely messed up. Everyone has forgotten morals. "The days are cold" -- no one shows warmth toward their fellow human being anymore. "The saints we see are all made of gold" -- the people that this world loves, admires, respects, and looks up to are those that have the most money, not the ones who live by good morals and follow their religion and know what they believe in and are true good people.
Then, he says:
"I wanna hide the truth/I wanna shelter you/But with the beast inside/There's nowhere we can hide". He is talking about this one person who still has purity, innocence, and a sense of right and wrong. He wants to help them escape the cynical world they live in, but he doesn't know how, because he feels like he is going bad too.
"No matter what we breed/We still are made of greed/This is my kingdom come/This is my kingdom come" He feels like there is no way out. Bad people are just getting together and creating more bad people. He feels like this society is too far gone, so he might as well give up.
"So they dug your grave/And the masquerade/Will come calling out/At the mess you made". Perhaps he is metaphorically stating that the evil people in the world they live in don't want this pure person around. They think that the pure one is wrong.
"Don't wanna let you down/But I am hell bound/Though this is all for you/Don't wanna hide the truth" He is telling this pure one that he wants to help her but he feels like he is being taken over by evil and like there is no way for him to stop it.
"They say it's what you make/I say it's up to fate" So basically, he's saying that the way of life where you try to live life to the fullest and be the best you can and everything is what you make it isn't true; he wishes it were. He believes that he has no control over his fate and that none of that that I stated above could be possible.
"Your eyes, they shine so bright/I wanna save that light/I can't escape this now/Unless you show me how" He is telling her/him (the pure person) that they are so amazingly pure. He can't believe how they managed it. And he is pleading with him/her that they show him how to be pure, or else he will be doomed to being utterly evil forever. -
I remember from the official music video of the back stories they put in it. I kind of though that the song retraces to what people have to hide, and the secrets they keep. The 'demons' would be the secrets, and in the line, 'unless you show me how', would be crying out for help.
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I like to see that this song can affect so many. I think it's great that there can be general meanings. I do think it possible that for the writer of this song that the biblical references are exactly that. Perhaps, refereeing to the boy with cancer...the singer met with him and found he was placed on a pedestal by this boy-Tyler. So, line by line, he is tracing his emotion by meeting with this boy. I agree very much with the interpretation from the original poster. But the saints reference...I think it means this- when the saints we see(both literally as in past actual saints and figuratively as in people we suppose to be saint-like) turn out to be nothing more than something we've built in our minds using the most precious medium available. IOW, fake, not real. He's saying that when we realize that everything is over and the buzz has worn off and we come back to reality...
Perhaps Tyler was a boy of strong faith and discussed this with the singer. The writer doesn't want to let Tyler down, but in his effort to hide his demons, he begins to face them. His view of the world and mankind is bleak. He focuses on maintaining Tyler's innocence but realizes at some point that if he cares so much as to protect this boy from these demons that possess him, then he may not be as bad as he first thinks. Thus, Tyler may show him how to return to light. Just my humble opinion and imaginings. Oh yeah, the blood runs cold... This happens in death and I believe that is a reference, like the saints. The singers faith is dead. Jesus's blood no longer spills for him. But Tyler does give him hope. God bless that boys soul. -
Well this song contains a lot of biblical elements. The other parts of the song were broken down well but the biblical references were lacking. When they say kingdom come they are alluding to the coming of Christ. The coming of Christ is a purge of all sin in the world and a final confrontation against the devil. So in my opinion the message of that verse is saying that this his confrontation with the demons. That this is it for him and he will make his stand. Demons are another biblical allusion. They could represent the evil in us all or the challenges that face us in life. The Devil sends demons to kill, steal, and destroy. When he says "your eyes they shine so bright" that is also a biblical allusion. Eyes shinning bright is like youthfulness of spirit. This fraise is used often in the Bible to describe elderly servants of God and can be interpreted as purity. Sin is also used a lot in the song. Sin means to miss the mark and is another biblical allusion. It could mean how we all sin at one point or another in our life. Sinners are just people who haven't repented. Hell is also a biblical allusion. We all have an idea of hell and when he says he is "hell-bound" he may be saying that he has no hope or that he has done something so bad that he is guaranteed to go to hell. The Bible says that those who repent will be forgiven of their sins. At the end of the song it could be saying that whoever he is with has not done anything wrong or has not sinned yet and that maybe he/she "could show him how".
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For me its not what I think they are talking about but what the song means to me, I suffer from mental illness and have done since I was 16- when it comes to talking about I want to hide the truth, I dont want people to know what I have exactly. It is the demon inside, which if I get ill can come out and when it comes to relationships with others, not romantic I have that in my life, my spouse but others in general, I dont want people to get to close lest the discover this demon inside I try to keep to myself so much, I dont want to seem different to them from then on, people have such terrible stereotypes and assumptions of those who have one of those illnesses are like- they see the ones who go off the deep end and think- we all must be that wa. This song means alot to me because its says what I cant say to others, how I feel about what I deal with every day and yes I would love to be shown how to without feeling scared.
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The song is about a guy talking to a girl he loves, telling her that he is monster and he needs to let her go because the demons inside him willl hurt her, purposefully or not. He didn't want to show her what kind of person he really was at first because he thought that would hurt her too, but he realizes now that she will be hurt worse if he doesn't tell her and let her go than if he tells her and lets her go.
"Your eyes, they shine so bright. I want to save that light" shows that the girl is good and kind, and he wants her to get away from him because that "light" might be extinguished by his darkness.
"I can't escape this now unless you show me how" shows a grain of hope that maybe her goodness might be strong enough to drive away the demons inside of him. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Very interesting comments ( I'm here the first time). I looked closer into the song because a) I liked it and b) wanted to know the context of "my kingdom come". Well, for me as a christian I have to say that from a biblical viewpoint he's very right - we are born as sinners and as the bible states, "greed is the root of all evil" - it is only by accepting Christ as our Savior ( from sin and darkness ) that there is a way out for him ( the singer) going to hell as he states himself. Basically he realized it and wants to protect a loves one from this realization. Thank God for Christ - He can bring Light ( I am the light of the world)- hopefully the singer or songwriter will know that before its too late.
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It means that he has challenges that he wants to keep person involved with from seeing. He sees her as naive and a need to protect her from himself. He wants to hold on to their relationship but is torn because he doesn't want to hurt her with his challenges. He let's her know he needs to let her go for her own well-being but recognizes she is the one loving innocent who can influence him to become a better person. She brings light and hope to his darkness.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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In the beginning, it mentions that "the saints we see are all made of gold." To me, this says that people who we think are perfect (or close to perfect) have a greedy side too (because they are metaphorically made of gold). It is also possible that the song may mean that something is causing the person to be nice that most people may be disappointed in. For example, if a teenager's parents pay them to be nice, are they really nice?
Later, it states that our role models are the worst ones to follow: "When your dreams all fail and the ones we hail are the worst of all." This line simply says that idols are dangerous. If you really look up to someone who has flaws (because everyone has flaws), you will eventually, whether you know it or not, take on those flaws in an effort to be like that person. It's sad but true. It has also given me second thoughts about role models.
Later on, it says, "I wanna hide the truth/I wanna shelter you/But with the beast inside/There’s nowhere we can hide." Basically, the person singing the song wants to help the one they love, but end up confessing that there's nothing they can do to shelter them from the cruel and unforgiving world. The singer knows that, although they try to be as good of a human as they can, there is no way to stop the sin that is waiting to emerge from inside. The singer could try to protect them from the world, but it would be pointless because the flaws would emerge on the person they were trying to protect. This is also sad but true, but reenforces the idea of the song interpreting that no one is perfect.
Thus, the chorus to the song:
"When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide
Don’t get too close
It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide
It’s where my demons hide"
Of course, the author does not actually mean that they have physical demons inside of them, but demons are a reference to the sin and flaws that rest within. The rest is pretty much self explanatory:)
The rest of the song goes on to support the "thesis" more if you take the time to read into it.
Overall, the singer loves the person they are singing to, the intended audience. He wants to protect the intended audience from the darkness of the world, but it comes out as warning of the lingering dangers because he can not do anything to prevent his inner "demons" from hurting them.
If you ask me, this is a pretty depressing song. It is also and eye opener to see that other people actually notice that this world has become crueler over the years.
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