When The Sun Goes Down
Mark Collie Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well, I do alright in the daylight
Sunshine seems to keep you off my mind
But as evening shadows fall around me
It won't be long before I cross the line

And when the sun goes down
I go crazy, I feel like a stranger in this town
But that lonesome feeling overtakes me
Heartaches come around when the sun goes down

Now each day I ask the same old questions
Lord, what did I do the night before?
My friends give me the same old answers
And I promise I won't do that anymore

But when the sun goes down
I go crazy, I feel like a stranger in this town




But that lonesome feeling overtakes me
Yeah, those heartaches come around when the sun goes down

Overall Meaning

In the Mark Collie’s song “When the Sun Goes Down,” the singer describes his struggles with addiction as it relates to the passing of time during the day. The song describes how he is able to deal with his problems during the day when he is doing well and focused on other things, but as the night begins to fall, he begins to feel the pull of substance abuse once again. The lyrics describe his frustration with himself as he repeatedly fails to kick the habit and the pressure he feels from those around him to change his ways.


The opening lines of the song start with the singer admitting that he manages to keep his mind off addiction during the day, but as the darkness creeps in, he struggles to stay away from the temptation of his addiction. He vividly describes how he goes “crazy” as the sun goes down and becomes an outsider in his town. Moments of weakness become more frequent, and he feels himself surrendering to the temptations that he had promised himself he would resist.


The second verse of the song shows the internal struggle of the singer as he tries to kick the habit. He asks himself the same questions every day and hears the same old responses from his friends. He feels guilty for the actions he has taken the night before and the effects it is having on his body and mental wellbeing. The despair that he feels is evident in the words, “But that lonesome feeling overtakes me, and those heartaches come around when the sun goes down.” The song uses the sun as a metaphor to depict the moments of darkness that the singer goes through and the temptation that it brings.


Line by Line Meaning

Well, I do alright in the daylight
I can manage to keep my mind off of you during the day


Sunshine seems to keep you off my mind
The sunlight helps me forget about you


But as evening shadows fall around me
But as the day turns to night, my thoughts turn back to you


It won't be long before I cross the line
It won't be long until I give in to the temptation to contact you


And when the sun goes down
As soon as it gets dark outside


I go crazy, I feel like a stranger in this town
I become overwhelmed with emotion and feel like a stranger in the place where I used to feel at home


But that lonesome feeling overtakes me
But the feeling of loneliness becomes too much to bear


Heartaches come around when the sun goes down
The pain of heartbreak becomes more intense when night falls


Now each day I ask the same old questions
Every day I wonder what I did the night before


Lord, what did I do the night before?
I pray for answers about what I did the previous night


My friends give me the same old answers
My friends tell me the same things over and over again


And I promise I won't do that anymore
I promise myself I won't make the same mistakes again


Yeah, those heartaches come around when the sun goes down
The pain of heartbreak becomes more intense when night falls




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MARK COLLIE, MARTY STUART

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

More Versions