Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 148 - My Dark Places

My Dark Places

Acoustic Version

Jake Burns

I realise that I've posted about this song before but the theme of the song is one that never seems to go away. Depression is a tough issue for folk. We maybe don't grasp hold of the fact that it touches the lives of so many from family members, loved ones, and close friends. It has claimed the lives of artists and filmstars over the years and today some are in that dark place and yet are afraid to talk about it.

Here in the UK we recently had a week of spotlighting issues to do with Mental Health but the harsh reality is that for some people the dark place is somewhere they live 24/7. 

I love the fact that Jake Burns has been quite open talking about Despression and his own situation and of course eventually writing this song which he said was quite "carthartic". 

In an interview with Tyler Vile of Punk Globe he had this to say, "...I'd heard of people who suffered from depression, I probably knew people who had suffered from it, but I didn't realize it because they were very good at hiding that sort of thing. I hadn't actually realized how disabling it is. I didn't want to anything, so that's why it took so long to write the song. I didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to seize the day. People would call me up and say, "Hey, do you want to go out for a beer?" I went, "You know what, I'm just going to stay home," I started making excuses and lying. It was very cathartic to actually write about it. I had the idea for the tune first, which is unusual for me. When I write, I start with a really strong title so that I kind of know where the song's going to go. The guitar part for this one came to me one day when I was fooling around at the studio, so I recorded it. It followed a standard verse-chorus-verse pattern. Once I had the chords and the melody in place, I went, "what's it about?" I sat at the computer, played it over and over again, and started to feel helpless about the whole thing. I could feel the depression creeping up on me again. One minute I'm absolutely fine, the next minute, for no reason whatsoever, a dark cloud just comes over me. I started to write down how I felt and the only thing I changed when I felt better was that I went back and put a positive spin on the last verse. It is a serious subject, a lot of people suffer from this, and many people are embarrassed about it. It's not that you're being weak; it's just that you've been too strong for too damn long and you can't take it anymore. I'm sort of terrified of becoming a poster boy for depression, but I'm happy to stand on the stage and be able to talk about it and I'll talk about it to anyone who wants to bring it up afterwards. Talking about it made me feel better and I think it helps a lot of people to realize that they're not alone."

On SLF's FB Page they even give out a link to Suicide Hotlines for those battling with depression. Jake also has spoken a little about it when the band play live as well (Check out a performance of My Dark Places from back in March this year in Nottingham).

Personally I think the song contains so much of a picture of what Depression is and also some of the things that might aid in the battle. My favourite lines in the song are:

"Well, I got there in the end
With the help of many friends
Some who helped by simply just believing"

Maybe today the song shines a light on your dark places, or maybe you might be a friend to someone struggling with this weighty issue in their life, whatever the case let's hope some good things come your way.

My Dark Places - Jake Burns
Well it cuts just like a knife

Takes away your love of life
 Puts out your fire and leaves you in the ashes
And you lay there in the hole
What you loved now leaves you cold
It's hard to get the strength to face the morning
Somedays you really feel like hiding
Somedays you you swear you'll never go out anymore

And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places
And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places

Well the days drag slowly by
All you want to do is cry
Nothing makes sense nothing has a reason
And the world is not the same
And you're the one to blame
Before too long you feel just like a prisoner
Some days you really feel like screaming
Some days you swear you'll never smile anymore 

And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places
And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places

It's something they can't see yet it seems so real to me
Can't explain just how I feel when what I feel is no emotion
It's not a tragedy, yet that's how it seems to me
I wish you could see or even for one minute be me

Well, I got there in the end
With the help of many friends
Some who helped by simply just believing
And the days look brighter now
yet I know someday, somehow
I could end up back there in an instant
Some days I really feel like laughing
Some days I realise I must stay on my guard

And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places
And I'm not going back
I'm not going back to my dark places

 Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!