Finding Creativity in History

I Believe in Love - BarlowGirl

How long will my prayers seem unanswered?
Is there still faith in me to reach the end?
I'm feeling doubt, I'm losing faith,
But giving up would cost me everything.
So I'll stand in the pain and the silence
And I'll speak to the dark night

I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining,
I believe in love, even when I don't feel it
And I believe in God, even when He is silent
And I, I believe

Though I can't see my story's ending
That doesn't mean the dark night has no end
It's only here that I find faith
And learn to trust the one who writes my days
So I'll stand in the pain and the silence
And I'll speak to the dark night

I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining
I believe in love, even when I don't feel it
And I believe in God, even when He is silent
And I,

No dark can consume Light
No death greater than this life
We are not forgotten
Hope is found when we say
Even when He is silent

I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining
I believe in love, even when I don't feel it
And I believe in God, even when He is silent
And I, I believe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXyXNC15clQ
(This is a live video. I could not find one that wasn't, but it does have them explaining how they wrote the song as well)

I've heard this song many times at BarlowGirl concerts, and have heard the story on how the girls wrote this song, and thought it would be an interesting idea to show a song that took on a part of history for an idea, as well as a quote written by someone else. In short, the band was reading a book about the holocaust and came upon a story of people returning to a concentration camp and written on one of the walls of the men's camp was the lines of the chorus

"I believe in the sun even when it's not shining,
I believe in love, even when I don't feel it
And I believe in God, even when He is silent"

They then took those lines and created this song, that may not only be seen as a story of the thoughts the man may have had during his time in the camp, but can also be taken for our own lives. There are a few techniques and pieces of the song I wanted to share with you all.

There are many words and ideas that we see repeated throughout the song. These include faith, dark or darkness, and silence. Many of these create similar thoughts and ideas, but are used to form an emphasis on what the speaker is feeling, and create and image of their surroundings. We can tell from the tone that the speaker is in a dark place in their life and is struggling to find hope to continue on. This feeling of darkness connects with the chorus, in believing "in the sun" even through this darkness and struggles or pain. This darkness can also symbolize isolation, as nothing else can be seen or felt, just the solitude. And with the bridge, we see the realization that "no dark can consume light", that this darkness will not last forever.

Along with darkness we have the word silent or silence. This is not simply speaking of a silence from the world around them, but is hinting at the silence of God. Like many people during the Holocaust, the speaker is crying out to God and wondering where He is. We see the connection being played on from the quote from the concentration camp to the speakers life. They are seeking his voice, but instead find silence and feel they are "speaking to the dark night". When it comes to the word faith, this is creating the contrast to the situation around the speaker. Though faith can likely mean belief, it can also be associated with strength, or will. The speaker is losing "faith" or the will to keep on living on hoping for things to get better.

One of my favorite parts of the song is the second verse. Here the speaker is creating metaphor of life and stories. It states "though I can't see my story's ending" and that they will "learn to trust the one who writes my days. This is creating the idea that our lives our stories that have already been written, regardless if we know what is contained in the pages. The speaker cannot see where their life will take them, but is attempting to find faith and trust that their lives have been written out for their good.

The chorus also shows some juxtaposition, as we are led to compare these three thoughts. The speaker knows the sun is still there when they cannot see it, or there is love in the world when they cannot feel it, so therefore they can still believe in God when he's silent. I believe it's a wonderful song that can embody the situation of the man at the concentration camp, and can as well, depict our lives in the everyday form.

I hope that this song has shown you some new techniques or ideas in writing. While it is wrong to steal another person idea as your own, or plagerize what someone has written, that does not mean that we are not allowed to seek inspiration from other people's lives or ideas. We have to make sure to make it our own, such as the band did here. Repeating words also helps for emphasis on the theme you are trying to depict, and the tone is likely the most useful in helping your audience understand what you feel or believe. Other forms of figurative language, like metaphors or juxtaposition, can also help create a comparison or image for the audience as well. Have fun experimenting with these techniques and ideas.