Sleep
Eric Whitacre / Brigham Young University Singers Lyrics

The evening hangs beneath the moon
The sun has set, and the night has arrived, as a dark evening envelops under the shining moon.

A silver thread on darkened dune
The bright light of the moon produced a shiny path on the sandy dunes, which otherwise would have been dark and lifeless.

With closing eyes and resting head
As I am about to sleep, my eyes automatically shut, and my head lies comfortably on the pillow, devoid of any stress or tension.

I know that sleep is coming soon
No matter how worked up I might feel, I am aware that sleep is a terrific pacifier and that it would soon take over me.

Upon my pillow, safe in bed
My head rests against the soft pillow, marking the beginning of a comfortable night in bed.

A thousand pictures fill my head
My mind is swarmed with countless images and thoughts that keep popping in and out of focus, with me unable to make sense of them.

I cannot sleep my minds a flight
I can't seem to calm down and restrict my thoughts to one single thing, which keeps fogging up and taking off like an airplane from a runway.

And yet my limbs seem made of lead
Although I can't be at ease mentally, my body feels too heavy and weak, almost as if my muscles have turned to lead.

If there are noises in the night
If there are sounds or disturbances in the silence of the nighttime, that might make me feel even more anxious and unable to sleep.

A frightening shadow, flickering light
If there's a creepy figure, or an eerie flickering of light, that might make me feel even more scared or panicked.

Then I surrender unto sleep
But I am aware that I won't be able to make myself relax, so all I can do is submit to slumber and succumb to the unease that surrounds me.

Where clouds of dreams give second sight
As I doze off into the realm of sleep, I am transported into a new world of imaginary clouds and dreams, giving me an entirely new way of looking at things.

What dreams may come both dark and deep
What kind of dreams will fill me in the depths of sleep, dark or lighthearted ones, that I can't predict or shape; it's a surprise waiting for me to unravel.

Of flying wings and soaring leap
It's possibly anything, of flying like an angel in the sky, or leaping like a maverick on the ground, something entirely different from mundane life.

As I surrender unto sleep
No matter what's in store for me in my slumber, I don't have control over it, I can only let go and submerge myself willingly into the state of sleep.

As I surrender unto sleep
The thought of surrendering to sleep is taken up once again, emphasizing how the only way out now is to let go and immerse into a peaceful state of slumber.