Here Comes the Night Time by Arcade Fire Lyrics Meaning – Decoding the Dusk in Their Relentless Rhythm

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Arcade Fire's Here Comes the Night Time at Lyrics.org.

Lyrics

When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down you head inside
‘Cause the lights don’t work
Yeah nothing works they say you don’t mind
Here comes the night time
Here comes the night time
Here comes the night time

And the missionaries
They tell us we will be left behind
Been left behind
A thousand times, a thousand times

If you want to be righteous
If you want to be righteous, get in line
‘Cause here comes the night time

Here comes the night time
Here comes the night time
Here comes the night time
Here comes the night time
Here comes the night
Here comes the night time
Look out, here comes the night time!

They say, heaven’s a place
Yeah, heaven’s a place and they know where it is
But you know where it is?
It’s behind the gate, they won’t let you in
And when they hear the beat, coming from the street, they lock the door
But if there’s no music up in heaven, then what’s it for?

When I hear the beat, my spirit’s on me like a live-wire
A thousand horses running wild in a city on fire
But it starts in your feet, then it goes to your head
If you can’t feel it, then the roots are dead
And if you’re the judge, then what is our crime?
Here comes the night time

Here comes the night time
Here comes the night time
Here comes the night time
Here comes the night time

Here comes the night!
Here comes the night!
Look out, here comes the night!
Here comes the night!
Here comes the night!
Here comes the night, the night, the night, the night time!

Now the preachers they talk
Up on the satellite
If you’re looking for Hell, just try looking inside

Here comes the night time, the night time
Here comes the night time, the night time
Here comes the night time, the night time
Here comes the night time, the night time
Here comes the night time, the night time

When you look in the sky, just try looking inside
God knows what you might find
When you look in the sky, just try looking inside
God knows what you might find
Here comes the night time

In the pulsating track ‘Here Comes the Night Time’ by Arcade Fire, listeners are taken on a haunting journey through the transformation that darkness brings. As the sun sets on the horizon of Arcade Fire’s imaginative soundscape, we are left contemplating what truly hides behind the shroud of night — a theme that resonates well beyond the boundaries of melody and into the fabrics of society.

Perhaps it is the allure of the unknown or the face we choose to show when the night cloak wraps comfortably around our inhibitions. Arcade Fire has a history of pushing us to consider the nuanced layers of existence, and ‘Here Comes the Night Time’ proves no exception. As we tear apart the complexities behind the lyrics, there’s a feeling of unraveling a much grander narrative—a commentary on spirituality, exclusion, and the soul’s undying search for freedom.

Dusk’s Unsettling Welcome: Embracing the Inevitable Darkness

The recurring line ‘Here comes the night time’ is not merely a description of the day’s end but an incantation. It suggests resignation to an inevitable shift not just in light, but in perception and existence. With the night comes a sense of disconnection, a nod to the failing artificial lights perhaps also highlighting societal dysfunction — ‘Yeah nothing works they say you don’t mind’. This could mirror our complacency in flawed systems, the darkness serving as a metaphor for ignorance.

Arcade Fire is known for weaving discontent and awareness into their lyrics, and this song is a masterful exploration of those themes. There’s an edginess to that willingness to step into the night, to engage with what might be broken or lost in the obscurity.

The Gatekeepers of Paradise and the Rhythmic Resistance

When singing about heaven’s locale ‘behind the gate, they won’t let you in,’ we encounter the theme of exclusion and the critique of institutional gatekeeping—perhaps in religious, social, or even musical establishments. The locked door against the beat signals a refusal to let the freedom and wildness of music infiltrate a supposedly pure and controlled space, suggesting a resistance against anything that challenges the status quo.

The song seems to advocate for music and rhythm as transcendent forces, powerful enough to unsettle the heavens and ignite the human spirit. This motif runs deep, intertwining our primal instinct to move with music’s potential to unite and defy.

A Whisper to the Righteous: Lines that Echo Through the Echo Chambers

Arcade Fire provocatively addresses those who ‘want to be righteous,’ suggesting that this pursuit might be blinding rather than enlightening. There’s a satirical bite in the suggestion to ‘get in line,’ perhaps mocking the idea that virtue can be queuing up for validation, waiting for someone else’s nod to move through life correctly.

It’s these lines that cleave through the soul, challenging the listener to question their perceptions of righteousness and how they align with institutional definitions that dictate who is left behind, and who is deemed worthy of moving forward.

The Hidden Meaning: Revealing the Allegorical Night

Beneath the veneer of a simple nightfall narrative lies the allegory — the night represents more than just the end of the day. It signifies societal neglect, the downtrodden, and those left out of the heavenly gates of accepted norms. It’s in this space that the band finds its rebellious heartbeat, rallying a cry for those who’ve been forgotten or left to fend for themselves when the proverbial lights go out.

By cloaking this message within the catchiness of a dance beat, Arcade Fire ambushes the listener with depth, disguising a call to action and awareness within the layers of their music. The night, with all its revelry and mysteries, becomes a battleground for the silenced voices to rise.

Heaven’s Beat and the Search Inside: The Echoes of ‘Here Comes the Night Time’

The final strains of ‘Here Comes the Night Time’ leave us with a resounding notion to ‘look in the sky, just try looking inside’. It’s a plea for introspection, for searching beyond the external distractions to find what’s truly divine within our own conscience or soul. There’s a hint of the existential here—a call to personal revelation that surpasses the earthly and enters a realm of inner spirituality.

A chilling reminder that the beat—both within and without—continues regardless of who’s listening, presiding over us like an omnipresent force. ‘Here comes the night time’ becomes an affirmation of accepting and confronting what comes when the curtain of daylight falls, when the revelry begins, and when we face the truths that only the night can tell.