At the end of the epic journey that is the Lightchasers album, Cloud Cult brings down the curtain with this anthem.
What strikes me about this song is how it’s not about the crew’s success after a long and arduous journey. It’s about not finding what they were looking for and giving up. Throughout much of the song, the Captain seems to be in denial of the truth that their mission is ending in failure. Despair sets in as the crew makes last-ditch efforts to keep going, but ultimately they run out of steam.
But only after they stop struggling, a new resolve and new sense of hope enters the scene, and the ever-present proclamation of the Captain takes on a new meaning.
We feel our hearts break as the engines fade.
Still need to find it. Still need to find it.
So we took the written words of our philosophers,
and built a fire from it. Let’s get those engines lit.
We took the church’s veil and built a mighty sail.
to carry forth this ship. but we’re still losing it.
And I heard the captain say, I heard the captain say,
“We’ re so close to it, so very close to it.
We still have energy in us.”The mission’s over now, and my breath is running out.
Can’t let go of it, can’t let go of it.
I didn’t mean what I said, I didn’t mean what I said.
I love you more than this. I love you more than this.
Then lights they fill the air, or were they always there?
I finally see it. I finally see it.
And I heard the captain say, I heard the captain say,
“You’re always close to it, so very close to it.”
There’s so much energy in us.
It’s not about a triumphant arrival, more like a triumphant renewal. We go on not because we’re certain we’ll find it. It’s not a promise, it’s not a certainty. We go on because we still have hope, we still have faith. Faith is belief in something you can’t see. And hope and faith are something that come from within. Nothing and nobody can take it away from us.
This song reminds me that I am attached to a tank of everlasting energy. It always makes me cry when I realize that. And it inspires me to carry on.