Lennox embarked on a solo career in 1992 with her debut album, Diva, which produced several hit singles including "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". The same year, she performed "Love Song for a Vampire" for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Her 1995 studio album, Medusa, includes cover versions of songs such as "No More "I Love You's"'" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale". To date, she has released six solo studio albums and a compilation album, The Annie Lennox Collection (2009). With eight Brit Awards, which includes being named Best British Female Artist a record six times, Lennox has been named the "Brits Champion of Champions". She has also collected four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. In 2002, Lennox received a Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from Billboard. In 2004, she received the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West", written for the soundtrack to the feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Lennox's vocal range is contralto. She has been named "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1 and one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2012, she was rated No. 22 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music. In June 2013 the Official Charts Company called her "the most successful female British artist in UK music history". As of June 2008, including her work with Eurythmics, Lennox had sold over 80 million records worldwide. As part of a one-hour symphony of British Music, Lennox performed "Little Bird" during the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. At the 2015 Ivor Novello Awards, Lennox was made a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (The Ivors Academy), the first woman to receive the honour. Lennox and her Eurythmics partner Dave Stewart were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, and the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
In addition to her career as a musician, Lennox is also a political and social activist, raising money and awareness for HIV/AIDS as it affects women and children in Africa. She founded the Sing campaign in 2007 and founded a women's empowerment charity called The Circle in 2008. In 2011, Lennox was appointed an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for her "tireless charity campaigns and championing of humanitarian causes". On 4 June 2012, she performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace. In 2017, Lennox was appointed Glasgow Caledonian University's first female chancellor.
Studio albums
Diva (1992)
Medusa (1995)
Bare (2003)
Songs of Mass Destruction (2007)
A Christmas Cornucopia (2010)
Nostalgia (2014)
Don't Let It Bring You Down
Annie Lennox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With the lorries rolling by
Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load
And the buildings scrape the sky
Cold wind ripping down the alley at dawn
And the morning paper flys
Dead man lying by the side of the road
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around
Blind man running through the light of the night
With an answer in his hand
Come on down to the river of sight
And you can really understand
Red lights flashing through the window in the rain
Can you hear the sirens moan?
White cane lying in the gutter in the lane
And you're walking home alone
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around
Old man lying by the side of the road
With the lorries rolling by
Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load
And the buildings scrape the sky
Don't let it bring you down
It's only castles burning
Find someone who's turning
And you will come around
Annie Lennox's song Don't Let It Bring You Down has an ambiguous meaning as it was open to interpretation. The song is a warning to its listeners not to get caught up in the harsh realities of life but instead look for hope and light to guide them. The song mentions various incidents such as "Old man lying by the side of the road," "Cold wind ripping down the alley at dawn," and "Red lights flashing through the window in the rain" to depict the difficult life situations. However, the song urges the listeners not to let these difficult situations bring them down as they are temporary and to move towards a brighter future.
The repeated chorus, "Don't let it bring you down, it's only castles burning, find someone who's turning, and you will come around," is significant in explaining the meaning of the song. The phrase "it's only castles burning" is a metaphor that explains that the difficulties faced by the characters mentioned in the song are temporary and not catastrophic. The line "find someone who's turning" suggests that one can find hope and guidance through others who have gone before them and found their way through similar difficult situations.
The song encourages people not to give up hope when faced with difficult situations but to persevere and find a way through. It is a song of hope and resilience in hard times, and its powerful lyrics and melody have helped many people to overcome their struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
Old man lying by the side of the road
An old man is lying on the ground near the edge of a road.
With the lorries rolling by
Big trucks are driving past the old man.
Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load
The full moon seems to be sinking in the sky because it appears to be heavy with the burden of the earth below.
And the buildings scrape the sky
Tall skyscrapers are towering over the city and they seem to be scraping the sky.
Cold wind ripping down the alley at dawn
A strong, chilly gust of wind is blowing through a narrow side street at dawn.
And the morning paper flies
Newspapers are flying and fluttering in the wind.
Dead man lying by the side of the road
A lifeless body of a man is sprawled near the edge of a road.
With the daylight in his eyes
His eyes are still open, but he's not alive anymore.
Don't let it bring you down
Don't let these depressing and unpleasant things affect you or make you feel hopeless.
It's only castles burning
These negative events are only temporary and not worth getting too upset about.
Find someone who's turning
Find someone who's looking at things positively and who can help you feel better.
And you will come around
With the help of a positive person, you can get over the negative events and see the good again.
Blind man running through the light of the night
A blind man is running through the illuminated streets at night.
With an answer in his hand
He appears to have knowledge and understanding of something.
Come on down to the river of sight
Join him at the river where you can have a clear view of the surroundings.
And you can really understand
If you take a moment to pause and reflect, you can see things more clearly and understand them better.
Red lights flashing through the window in the rain
Red lights are flashing and reflecting off a window on a rainy day.
Can you hear the sirens moan?
Can you hear the sirens of the emergency vehicles wailing mournfully?
White cane lying in the gutter in the lane
A white cane, used by the visually impaired, is lying in the dirty water channel at the side of the road.
And you're walking home alone
You are walking home by yourself.
Don't let it bring you down
Don't let the negative events make you feel hopeless or despairing.
It's only castles burning
These negative events are temporary and not worth losing hope over.
Find someone who's turning
Find a positive person who can help you feel more optimistic.
And you will come around
With the help of a positive person, you can overcome negative events and see the good in things again.
Old man lying by the side of the road
The same scene from the beginning is repeated.
With the lorries rolling by
The same trucks are passing by.
Blue moon sinking from the weight of the load
The full moon is still sinking low in the sky.
And the buildings scrape the sky
The tall buildings continue to dwarf the other structures around them.
Don't let it bring you down
The message is repeated to remind us not to give up hope.
It's only castles burning
The negative events are still temporary.
Find someone who's turning
Still, it is important to find a positive influence to help you through.
And you will come around
With a positive attitude, you can overcome any obstacle and find the good in life once again.
Lyrics © Broken Arrow Music, Peermusic Publishing, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: Neil Young
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind