Tanya Donelly (born July 14, 1966, in Newport, Rhode Island) is an American… Read Full Bio ↴Tanya Donelly (born July 14, 1966, in Newport, Rhode Island) is an American singer/songwriter and guitarist based in New England who cofounded Throwing Muses with stepsister Kristin Hersh, then went on to work in The Breeders and Belly in the 1990s. In the late 1990s, she settled into a solo recording career, working largely with musicians connected to the Boston music scene.

Donelly is best known for her Grammy-nominated work in the mid-1990s as lead vocalist and songwriter for Belly, when she scored a national radio and music television hit with her composition "Feed the Tree." Belly recorded on Sire/Reprise Records and 4AD; Donelly's solo works have been released on Warner Brothers Records and 4AD.

Over the years she has listed several musical influences. In one interview she named her guitar-playing influences as Marc Ribot, the Beatles, and former bandmate Hersh. More recently she mentioned Leonard Cohen as a songwriting hero, citing her then-current listening favorites as Lucinda Williams and Joan Wasser, and listing Boston-based groups like the Dambuilders, Pixies, and Count Zero as past favorites. Although Donelly mainly performs her own original songs, she has in recent years added covers by Robyn Hitchcock, Nina Simone, and the Beatles to her repertoire.

Darkside
Tanya Donelly Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

From the dark side of the sun
My supernatural one
You fell into grace
Move slowly if not carefully
Then in silence sometimes

Blighted and solo
This is where I come in reeling

Our future waits on the field of fair play
I will meet you there someday

You come on like a sunburn baby
My runaway old flame
I know you come in peace
But I'm still afraid

From the dark side of the sun
My supernatural one
You fell into my grace
Suffer me if not gladly
Then in silence sometimes
Our future waits on the field of fair play
I will meet you there someday

You come on like a sunburn baby
My runaway old flame
I know you come in peace
But I'm still afraid

Blighted and solo
This is where I come in

Overall Meaning

Darkside by Tanya Donelly is a song that is open to interpretation but generally, it is believed to be about a woman who has had a tumultuous past with a lover who she is unsure about reconnecting with. The opening lines “From the dark side of the sun, my supernatural one” suggest that the lover in question might be an otherworldly presence or someone who brings light to a dark place. It could also be interpreted as the person being both positive and negative at the same time, much like the sun which can provide warmth and light but can also cause sunburn and damage.

As the song progresses, the lyrics describe a sense of apprehension about reconnecting with this person “You come on like a sunburn baby, my runaway old flame, I know you come in peace but I'm still afraid”. The singer is still unsure about whether they want to let this person back into their life but acknowledges that their pull is strong “Blighted and solo, this is where I come in reeling, our future waits on the field of fair play, I will meet you there someday”. There is a sense of acceptance that the future is unknown but that they will eventually have to face it and make a decision regarding this person.

Overall, Darkside is a song that captures the complexity of relationships and the uncertainty that can come with reconnecting with someone from one’s past. The lyrics suggest a reluctance to let go completely while acknowledging that there is a strong connection.

Line by Line Meaning

From the dark side of the sun
From the deepest and most obscure parts of the universe.

My supernatural one
You, my love, are beyond natural or physical laws.

You fell into grace
You entered my life with grace, elegance and beauty.

Move slowly if not carefully
Be mindful of your actions, not just quick to act.

Then in silence sometimes
Sometimes it's best to not say anything at all.

Blighted and solo
My life has been touched by darkness and loneliness.

This is where I come in reeling
But that is where you come in to help me, to give me hope.

Our future waits on the field of fair play
We both hold our future in our hands and it is up to us to determine it.

I will meet you there someday
I hope to meet you one day in that field of fair play where anything is possible.

You come on like a sunburn baby
You move towards me with so much warmth and intensity, like the sun's heat.

My runaway old flame
You are my old love that still burns strong.