Video Premiere: Eliza Gilkyson – “Dark Night of the Soul”
Eliza Gilkyson’s new single, “Dark Night of the Soul,” surges with joy as Don Richmond’s unfurling Dobro runs play call and response with his mandolin licks. The upbeat tempo prompts dancing, and it’s just right for a spin across the dance hall floor. Gilkyson’s warm vocals invite us to sing along fervently, and the song’s refrain—“Keep your light on/Vow to fight on/Through the dark night of your soul”—is custom made for protest marches and political gatherings. The swaying rhythms of the song encourage joy and hope in the face of the dark times in which we find ourselves—”There’s some bad news going round/Our whole world’s turned upside down”—reminding us of those who’ve come before us—Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ida B. Wells—who have fought for justice in the face of “other dark times such as these.” As she says, “The song had started out originally as a celebration of a potential Harris win but morphed quickly after the election into an upbeat call to resist and stay in the fight for justice and democracy in the days and years to come.”
The video for the song evokes the spirit of unity as dawn gradually rises out of night and one light after another comes on, finally lighting up the entire world and diminishing the darkness around it.
Gilkyson comments on “Dark Night of the Soul” “I think we collectively plunged into a dark place with these election results, and I am reminded of the historical ‘Dark Ages’ when culture and consciousness were supposedly in decline. Historians are more likely to think nowadays that it was a time of collective regrouping from which new thought was born over time. It may be the same for us now. Let’s hope we emerge from this current dark time with new ideas about how to repair our systems and go forward into the creation of a better world. We simply must pull ourselves together and stay sentient and useful so that we are prepared and capable of handling the present and imagining the future. I hope ‘The Dark Night of the Soul’ reflects my commitment to that vision and inspires others to do the same.”
“Dark Night of the Soul” is the first single from her forthcoming album Dark Ages, on the Realiza Records label, scheduled for Spring 2025. Her new song takes its place alongside Gilkyson’s “The Great Correction,” “Requiem,” and “Sanctuary” as one of the great songs of protest and hope of our time.
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Video by Linda Schaible
More about “Dark Night of the Soul” HERE
