Song Meaning
The lyrics open with a stark image of struggle and retreat, as the speaker describes swimming "without arms" towards a "newly found cave." This immediate sense of futility is quickly followed by a deliberate act: closing "blue eyes" to a personal light. It's a powerful setup of intentional self-deprivation.
The core tension emerges from the speaker's decision to extinguish an internal "light that once stayed inside of me." This isn't just any light; it's explicitly identified as the "Light of you," suggesting a profound connection to another person. The act of closing eyes to this light implies a painful, chosen detachment, perhaps from a past relationship or a former self defined by that connection.
The contrast between the physical struggle and the internal, deliberate act of closing eyes is striking. The "cave" serves as a potent metaphor for a new, isolated existence, a place where the speaker chooses to dwell in darkness. The specific detail of "blue eyes" adds a touch of vulnerability to this otherwise resolute act of turning away.
What truly resonates is the shift in perspective in the final lines. The speaker moves from a personal narrative to a broader, almost philosophical observation: "For all that we see / Is carried beneath what we believe." This suggests that the decision to shut out the "Light of you" isn't merely an emotional reaction, but a fundamental reordering of perception. The lyrics imply that losing this light has altered the very lens through which the speaker now understands reality, making the internal darkness a new, perhaps inescapable, truth.