Linkin Park: Shadow of the Day Meaning
Song Released: 2007
Shadow of the Day Lyrics
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...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:The song is about a failed attempt at suicide. lead singer chester bennington even admitted that it's difficult to play the song in a concert w/o breaking in tears. The first verse is about his attempt, he locks the doors and windows and shuts himself off. The line "Sometimes solutions aren’t so simple. Sometimes goodbye’s the only way." shows how he was at the end of his rope and decided to end it. The second verse is his stay at the hospital. "In cards and flowers on your window, Your friends all plead for you to stay" shows the fact that his friends surround him hoping that he will pull through. The chorus coul be talking about reaching a conclusion you think is right(the sun setting) only to have the problems of the life take away the blacks and whites and leave the world a murky grey.
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2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:The writer could be speaking of his spouse, girlfriend, friend or family member(let's say the person is his wife). I imagine she is very ill, nearing the end of her life. He has held on to the hope that she will recover but ultimately realizes he must let her go(the solution). The decision is his only, so he "closes/locks the window" on the rest of the world's opinions. With the "window" being shut and locked, "the world" must leave their thoughts "on the window"(as opposed to INSIDE the window). To make the right decision, he must block out the thoughts and feelings of everyone else. He closes the blinds to shield the sun(life) from her so that she may finally rest in peace. Once the "sun has set" she will no longer feel pain, and he will no longer have to hold on to his hopelessness. This new beginning(for both of them) is not simple, BUT it's the only way.
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:I think it is about having to leave someone you thought you loved behind (husband, wife, gf, bf, etc) and how this bad time in your life will be over and a new, better day is on the horizon. How you can feel so alone but know that in the end it is for the better. It sounds like a depressing sone but IMO it is a positive song and I can relate to a 't' to this song.
It is about new beginnings..
love it... -
I close both locks below the window
I close both blinds and turn away (letting go and letting my late husband free)
Sometimes solutions aren't so simple
Sometimes goodbye's the only way, oh (even though it’s painful and hurtful, we have to say goodbye)
And the sun will set for you (so healing will happen)
The sun will set for you (and you can enjoy life again)
And the shadow of the day (sadness and loneliness; mourning and grief)
Will embrace the world in gray (But those will pass and fade)
And the sun will set for you (those will turn into dancing and joy)
In cards and flowers on your window (you have other people thinking about you, who loves and cares for you)
Your friends all plead for you to stay (hold on and never give up, it will get better)
Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple (you will meet new people, new partner in life)
Sometimes goodbye's the only way, oh (My late husband also saying goodbye and letting me go and letting me live my life freely.
My late husband was a very loving, mindful and understanding person. He always thinks of other people specially his family. This song happened to play on the radio on the day we left Disneyland after I had said my piece In memory of him. He loved Disneyland! -
My interpretation is that he had chose to leave his sorrows behind and move on. He could be leaving the place that had given him that sorrow and move in another one.Although the ' Place' could be either a house or the world
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I used to think the song was about the death of a person but after getting divorced I believe it about divorce . The song is very specific . I close BOTH blinds and I close BOTH locks . To me the word both means his and hers . Closing the blinds and locking BOTH locks is saying its over . Locked up , done . The sun will set for you is the marriage . When the sun sets the day is over . If the sun sets on your marriage its over. He goes on to say sometimes goodbye is the only way . To me this also is talking about the end of a relationship or divorce . Sometimes solutions aren't so simple . Your friends all plead for you to stay . When I got divorced so many friends and family pleaded cant you work it out for the kids . Again for me that he mentions both blinds and both locks is talking about a couple . The song could have simply said close the blinds and lock the window . Which would change the complete meaning . The sun will set for you , Yes it will !! He sings . He is talking about his marriage or a marriage .
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This song came out around the time my stepfather committed suicide. I cry every time I hear because it is so fitting. My mom left him and he just didn't feel he could go on. So he called me one morning and told me he loved me and that he was going away for a few days and that he left note explaining everything. By the time I got to him, he had pulled all of the blinds and shot himself. And I found him lying in his bed. Finally no hurting.
I close both blinds and turn away.
Sometimes solutions aren’t so simple.
Sometimes goodbye’s the only way.
I guess everyone has their own interpretation but this is mine. -
According to my own experience this song is about someone suffer from depression and mental illness.whenever i hear this song it makes me cry because i feel like i can relate to the lyrics.i suffer from social anxiety disorder and asperger syndreme.my life is so lonely and miserable.i once tried to commit suicide but it failed but i still want to die as i dont have a normal social life.im a 19 years old girl and dont have any friends or a boyfriend.i think suicide is only solution to my problem and when chester sings "sometimes solutions are not so simple,sometimes good bye is the only way" it remindes my life so much.
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This overall message of this song is obviously about death. Whoever the singer is referring to is probably just about to give up the ghost. For certain reasons, the person the writer is alluding to is in a state where death seems to be the only way out. ( its probably a terminal illness or critical medical condition, judging from the second verse. )I have chosen to break my interpretation down verse by verse.
Verse 1
I close BOTH locks below the window
I close BOTH blinds and turn away
( In this first two lines, the singer isn't talking about himself but the person about to die. Think of it as a first person statement made by the person in question. Note the use of BOTH indicating there are two locks and two blinds. Here, he is figuratively talking about closing both his eyes. The eyes are sometimes referred to as the 'window of the soul' when used within a religious context. The body is seen as just a house and the real person is a spirit inhabiting it. Closing the 'locks' and 'blinds' and turning away indicates the person is shutting his eyes for the last time and giving up on holding on to mortality. He is turning away from living, and turning towards the afterlife blocking out the world he's always known forever.)
Sometimes solutions aren't so simple
Sometimes goodbye's the only way
(Here he's stating that whatever solution that would have prevented this from happening is more complicated than what seems to be the only way left: dying. Sometimes death is all that is left. It could be because the person is tired of fighting or because of the inevitability of death)
Verse 2
With Cards and flowers in your window
Your friends all beg for you to stay
(This is why I believe it's a terminally sick person or someone in critical condition. These two lines paint a clear picture of a hospital room where flowers and cards are on strewn all over the window sill, from friends and family expressing get well wishes. 'Get well soon' and 'beg for you to stay' mean the same thing..loved ones expressing a desire for the person to delay their journey to the afterlife. If the person gets well then the person won't have to die just yet.)
Chorus
And the sun will set for you
And the Shadow of the day will embrace the world in grey
(To understand the chorus, 'day' represents a lifetime. The sun setting indicates the end of the 'day' (the end of a lifetime). The 'shadow of the day' is the phenomenon of death. The end of life as we know it. It swallows up the world that once existed embracing it in 'grey', where grey represents uncertainty. It's like life fading out to an ephemeral and uncertain afterlife. Note he sings 'the sun WILL set for you'. This is a dual message, referring both to the person he's singing about sand the listener. The WILL used here alludes to the inevitability of death. For the person he's singing about, it's happening soon but for the listener, it will happen one day. However, expressing a lifetime as a 'day' probably sends across the message that death is not just the end of a day, but the beginning of another... 'the afterlife'. -
This might be about Chester's drug addiction since it was written around that time.
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It's obvious. He turns off the alarm. 5 minutes to midnight (dooms day). He's sleeping alone with a wedding ring. He's locking door and closing the blind because it is choice to pull the plug on his loved one and it's so hard (solutions aren't so simple, goodbyes the only way) embrace the world with gray sun will set for, he's saying his goodbye. Pink cards and flowers on your window, people begging you to stay - obvious but nothing will bring her back. Beginnings aren't so simple - now he's talking about himself (it's his 5 minutes to midnight). Goodbyes the only way - he's dead without her and hes committing suicide.
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This song is definitely about loss - current or past or future. I think, given my own depressive tendencies - it is more about suicide than anything.
Shadow of the Day will embrace the world in grey - the noose tightens around the neck or the click of a bullet in the chamber.
Sun will set for you - death.
Close both locks below the window and close both blinds and turn away - to me that is locking oneself from which there is no escape.
Sometimes solutions aren't so simple - despite what others may say, this can be very true, at least for the affected.
Sometimes goodbye's the only way - sometimes, it is. Loss can be so great, so profound, that there is no recovery. Or value of life is no longer there; persons with chronic, deteriorating conditions can feel this way...
Cards and flowers on the window - post death sympathies.
This song could only be written by a tortured soul or someone that has experience with major loss. It is very poignant. -
I think the song can be interpreted by everyone's choice he chooses best. My personal interpretation is that the person in the song has a relationship or a freindship that will break up soon "Sometimes solutions aren't so simple. / Sometimes goodbye's the only way." The doesn't think it would make sense to give another chance. He/ she wants to bring as much space as possible between him-/ herself and the other person ("I close both locks below the window. / I close both blinds and turn away.") The metaphor of the setting sun is used to describe coming darkness. So he/ she also maybe also fears to part. But: the next morning will come for sure and with it new daylight. Maybe with help, maybe without, he/ she will start new and forget that 'night', in other words that bad time.
(I'm German, so I apologize for eventual grammar and language mistakes) -
I heard its about suicide, although chester went through a sever drug addiction, so it may have something to do with that. Im probablyy wrong though :S
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I heard a shocking story about this song: The band had a concert (unfortunately I do not remember where) and just a few weeks later they watched TV and saw the place where this concert was. Then they wrote this song.
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.
Actually they don't want to believe in this, they don't want to see it, so they close the blinds of th window. But they have to accept this event.
And the sun will set for you,
The sun will set for you.
And the shadow of the day,
Will embrace the world in gray,
And the sun will set for you.
The sun will set to let the world be shaded, to let the world lament.
Pink cards and flowers on your window,
Your friends all plead for you to stay.
Actual everything should be so nice, and though nobody is happy about this occurence, it cannot be averted. -
This is a song about letting go of someone you love. This is very evident throughout the song. "Sometimes solutions/beginnings aren't so simple" These verses tell of death and "beginnings" refers to heaven. He is asking for his loved one to rest in piece through the chorus, "The sun will set for you." The opening verse of "I close both locks below the window / I close both blinds and turn away" refers to him trying to let go: turning away. It's a beautiful song--very emotional.
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I feel as though this song alludes to the New World Order, supposedly coming in the near future.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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