Hold Back The Darkness

Hold Back the Darkness
Written by Lawrence Gowan, Ricky Philips, Tommy Shaw, Will Evankovich
Lead Vocals by Lawrence Gowan

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People back home, wondering how have you been
It's been 29 days, have you gone out and made any friends?
Do you need any money, is there anything else we can send?
Please tell us you've stayed away from the darkness again

I wonder if you've ever known how it feels to be free
Well, one thing's for sure, you don't know what it's like to be me
I'm trying to break free from these chains, won't you give me a break?
Now, you just got to give me a chance to make my own mistakes

And I feel no pain
Nothing can touch me, and I'm gonna win
And I'm not holding back, not reining it in
You hold back the darkness, and I'll see the sun rise again

And I feel no pain
Nothing can touch me, and I'm gonna win
And I'm not holding back, not reining it in
You hold back the darkness, and we'll all see the sun rise again

Interpretation

A young man, off on his own, hears from his parents, concerned for his well being.  Perhaps he has a history of mental illness, or perhaps his parents are just afraid to let him go.  He wants to be independent, and he needs to defeat his inner demons alone, to learn from his mistakes in order to grow. He may be self-medicating with alcohol or other drugs to numb the pain, or perhaps he is legitimately breaking through and finding hope and light to keep the darkness at bay.