The dark night of the soul “In the company of wolves” by Incubus

What is the dark night of the soul?

As they, the band Incubus, have explained about this song, it is about a rite of passage, which consists in any activities or facts that a person has to do to become a different person. Many cultures have their own rites of passage, for example to change from childhood to adulthood, and thus, you have to do them compulsory. But the thing with life is, that it has its own rites ready for you, just in case you didn’t have any. For me it is this long and dark night of the soul process, which breaks you in pieces, turns you upside down, changes everything you were before so you have to start from the beginning again.

After living there, in that darkness, you realize you went through it and came out being a completely different person. You had to face your own demons, you have to be surrounded by your fears, your wolves, you have to look them in the eye, and ask: “Who are you?. Why are you here? What do you want to tell me?”… and questions of that type, because the truth is, you only feel you are lost somewhere you were never before, even if you live in the same place as always and you still have your family and friends with you.

There’s much more you can learn on the internet about this deep and profoundly changing process some have to undergo, but in this web you have some details about it that can help you to better understand. The important is the fact that we need to understand that although painful, scary and difficult, we need to face all of our dark side to be able to trully find ourselves and learn to live again with a completely new perspective on life. And I promise it’s hard, very hard, but really rewarding once out of it.

The song

I loved it the first time I listened to it, and it was my favourite from that album too. Also, I listened to it hundreds of times on repeat, I usually do this when a song hooks me. But it wasn’t until now that I couldn’t completely  understand its meaning, or at least, what the song is saying to me has gone to a completely different level. You can perfectly tell the difference between the two parts of this process in the song. There’s one part where the story is told from the outside, on a more neutral tone if you like. And then, you have the second part where everything changes.

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The music gets slower, deeper and darker. The bass sounds like an anxious heartbeat, the voice whispers from the inside, trying to describe what was going on from his point of view. “It was the longest night of my life”. This “night” can last for months or years, but what is real, is that you’ll see the day light eventually, and in that moment, looking back, and deeply breathing, you realize you are really alive now and you know that, through this process, you have finally learnt who you truly are.

For me its brilliant and beautifully written… I love it. It completely takes me there, surrounded by my wolves, becoming friends, feeling cold and tired, lost and lonely. Seeing Aurora’s lights so, so far you believe light will never come back to you ever again. But you still trust, you hear yourself, you listen to your heart and feel that that’s the only way out, and hope burns within you, there’s the only light you have. Your own. And it can be seen from the outside, in your eyes, like glowing embers.

The lyrics

IN THE COMPANY OF WOLVES

I was lost but now I am found.
The line was crossed, vessel run aground.
The boy is gone, let’s grieve and let him go
He left at dawn. But it’s a new day, don’t ya know?

In the company of wolves
I sat in silence
observant and afraid.
It was there
with their eyes like glowing embers,
the man you see was made.

I was low but now I am high.
It helps to know serenity from ennui.
Something’s wrong, something’s wrong when it all remains the same.
So face the fire and come into your name.

In the company of wolves
I sat in silence
observant and afraid.
It was there
with their eyes like glowing embers,
the man you see was made.

Even I can’t recall how many days I had been out there for
but when Aurora’s lights ceased to shine
I was alive, I think, for the first time.
Infinity it falls in feathery folds but she bites
like loveless ice
And with her belly full, she culled this Rite of Passage
It was the longest night of my life.

Even I can’t recall how many days I had been out there for
but when Aurora’s lights ceased to shine
I was alive, I think, for the first time.
Infinity it falls in feathery folds but she bites
like loveless ice
And with her belly full, she culled this Rite of Passage
It was the longest night of my life.