“Rose in the Dark” by Cleo Sol

Throughout “Rose in the Dark”, Cleo refers to the person she is singing to as “baby”. And perhaps what is being put forth can be most easily understood in a romantic context, though such is not specified as being the case, nor does this narrative have to be understood as such. 

Rather, what the thesis sentiment revolves around is the vocalist celebrating that she has undergone a major-positive change in her life. That is what the title alludes to. It is basically about her undergoing such a transformation despite the circumstances around her being less-than-ideal. The titular “dark” is synonymous with some type of depression. 

And the implication, if the listener uses his or her imagination a bit, is that said depression may have been caused by the vocalist’s relationship with the addressee, i.e. the latter having broken the former’s heart in the past. 

And even some years afterwards, Sol was still dealing with the emotional ramifications. But she has grown in the process and also engaged in constructive activities such as forgiving herself for mistakes made.

Takeaway

Perhaps the easiest way of understanding this is by imagining that the vocalist has recently recovered from a messed up romantic experience. But at the end of the day, what the intended message really boils down to is her learning to keep things in their proper perspective and how to gradually heal sentimentally. And resultantly, the vocalist feels that she is a better person now than when she first entered her funk.

Cleo Soul and “Rose in the Dark”

Cleo Soul is a singer from London who traces her musically-inclined parentage back to Jamaica, Spain and Serbia. She has been formally involved in the music industry since the early 2010s. Thus far, she has dropped a couple of full-lengths, 2020’s “Rose in the Dark” and 2021’s “Mother”. And relatedly, Cleo, who was born in 1991, seems to have really gotten serious on the musical tip around the late 2010s.

This song is the title track from Cleo Sol’s debut studio album. The entire project is the product of an indie label known as Forever Living Originals. 

Cleo wrote the song alongside another London-based musician called Inflo. Inflo is also credited as the track’s official producer.

In December of 2021, “Rose in the Dark” was one of the most shazamed songs in America.