Half Light I

We’re on to the seventh song on Arcade Fire’s album, The Suburbs.

Carrying on with my notion of a rock opera, this song might be called an andante, a fairly slow movement. It has a steady drum beat complemented by the strumming of the electric guitar. I really enjoy the harmonies in the slowed-down piece, after the faster, more complex pace of the first couple of tracks.

The song seems to me to be about young people, trying to find their way out of the norms of their parents and society, through adventures with their friends. Ironically, as the light of day fades, they become more awake, though still somehow aware there are secrets held in the houses they pass, riding their bikes in what should be their care-free years:

“You told us that
We were too young
Now that night’s closing in
And in the half light
We run
Lock us up safe
And hide the key
But the night tears us loose
And in the half light
We’re free

Strange how the half light
Can make a place new
You can’t recognize me
And I can’t recognize you

We run through these streets
That we know so well
And the houses hide so much
But in the half light
None of us can tell
They hide the ocean in a shell
The ocean in a shell”

(from”Half Light I,” by Regine Chassagne, Will Butler, Jeremy Gara, Timothy Kingsbury, Richard Parry, Win Butler)

Now you know a little about why this is my song of the day for today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.

This is the official audio for the song from Arcade Fire’s YouTube channel. Please remember to click on “thumbs-up” on the video if you appreciated the artists’ work.