The Nite Jewel project is a remarkable combination of revisionist Bronx pop and hazy musical impressionism. Like her ex-pop peers, Ariel Rosenberg and Geneva Jacuzzi, she records solely on portable 8-track cassette deck, often composing her songs by layered tape edits. In Nite Jewel’s case, however, the quality of her chosen medium seems to be neither a means nor an end, but rather a device to lend an ethereal kind of efficacy to the golden age of alternative disco. As influences, she has cited dance floor greats Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam and Debbie Deb, 90’s R&B, as well as Experimental, New Age, and ShoeGaze.
In The Dark
Nite Jewel Lyrics
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But don't try to understand
Oh oh oh oh
Have you been your open door
But you don't try to keep anymore
Stand right there come across
Oh i need you for all i've lost
Oh oh oh
Chorus:
Holding hands in the dark
I'll hold my hands up in the dark
Holding hands in the dark
I'll hold my hands up in the dark
Tell you my thoughts in vain
Oh i've got nothing but complaints
Oh oh oh
Ever been just like a .
But you don't get a.much anymore
Oh oh oh
Chorus:
Holding hands in the dark
I'll hold my hands up in the dark
Holding hands in the dark
I'll hold my hands up in the dark
I've begun to conceive
Like other lady be for me
Oh oh ohh
Ever been been an open door
Do you walk through me once more
Stand right there you are my love
Never knew just how much
Oh oh oh
2 x Chorus:
Holding hands in the dark
I'll hold my hands up in the dark
Holding hands in the dark
I'll hold my hands up in the dark
The lyrics to "In the Dark" by Nite Jewel are about a relationship that is changing and losing its intimacy. The first verse talks about how the singer is sharing her love with her partner but acknowledges that he may not be able to understand her or their relationship anymore. The second verse discusses how they used to be close and intimate, but that has changed, and the singer is left with nothing but complaints. The chorus repeats the phrase "holding hands in the dark," which could symbolize the last remaining connection between the two, even though it's in a place as dark as their current situation.
The third verse seems to be a plea to the partner to see the singer as she once was, like other "lady"s before her. She wants to be an open door to him again, to be walked through once more, but at the same time, she acknowledges him as her love and how much she needs him. The final repeat of the chorus feels like an echoing of the singer's feelings, wanting desperately to hold onto the remaining love they share.
Overall, "In the Dark" seems to be about the struggle to hold onto love, even when it seems to be slipping away. The chorus's repetition reinforces this idea, as the only moments of joy in the relationship are in those fleeting moments of holding hands in the dark.
Line by Line Meaning
I'ma share a love a man
I'm going to love a man
But don't try to understand
But you won't be able to comprehend it
Oh oh oh oh
Ohhhh
Have you been your open door
Have you been welcoming
But you don't try to keep anymore
But now you don't make an effort to maintain it
Stand right there come across
Stay here and come close to me
Oh i need you for all i've lost
Oh, I need you to fill the void in my life
Chorus:
Refrain:
Holding hands in the dark
Holding hands in the darkness
I'll hold my hands up in the dark
I'll raise my hands while holding yours in the dark
Tell you my thoughts in vain
Express my thoughts to you pointlessly
Oh i've got nothing but complaints
Oh, I've got nothing but grievances
Ever been just like a .
Ever been like an open book
But you don't get a.much anymore
But you don't understand me as well as you used to
I've begun to conceive
I've started to understand
Like other lady be for me
Like other women before me
Do you walk through me once more
Do you come back to me one more time
Stand right there you are my love
Stay right here, you are my love
Never knew just how much
I never realized how much
2 x Chorus:
Refrain twice:
Contributed by Gabriel I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.