After the release of their debut album Enter in 1997, the band became prominent in the Dutch underground scene. It was not until 2001 that they became known to the general public, with the single "Ice Queen" from their second album Mother Earth, which reached No. 2 on the Dutch charts. This was followed by the band winning the Conamus Exportprijs, a Dutch music award, four years in a row, and a fifth in 2016. Their next albums The Silent Force (2004) and The Heart of Everything (2007) debuted at No. 1 on the Dutch charts and expanded their international recognition. In 2008, they released Black Symphony, a live album recorded with the Metropole Orchestra. This was followed in 2009 by An Acoustic Night at the Theatre, another live album, this time with acoustic renditions of the songs.
The band's fifth studio album, The Unforgiving, was released in March 2011 and was one part of a transmedia effort, alongside both a comic book series and a series of short films that together encompass a story. The album saw the band increasingly venturing on new musical territories outside symphonic metal. Their sixth studio album, Hydra, was released in early 2014 in Japan, Europe, and the United States. The album advanced the band's exploration of new musical genres and features guest appearances from various artists: Finnish singer Tarja Turunen, who appears in the lead single "Paradise (What About Us?)"; Howard Jones, former vocalist of American metalcore band Killswitch Engage; Dave Pirner, lead vocalist of American alternative rock band Soul Asylum; and American rapper Xzibit. The band had extensive airplay on BBC Radio 2 in the United Kingdom with one of the songs from the album, "Whole World Is Watching" featuring Pirner.
Their latest studio album, Resist, was released in February 2019 and incorporates influences from other musical styles such as industrial and EDM. By 2016, the band had already sold more than 3.5 million albums worldwide.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Within_Temptation
Studio albums
Enter (1997)
Mother Earth (2000)
The Silent Force (2004)
The Heart of Everything (2007)
The Unforgiving (2011)
Hydra (2014)
Resist (2019)
Bleed Out (2023)
Jane Doe
Within Temptation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was this the only way ?
I couldn't let you stay ?
Run away, hide away
the secrets in your mind.
Sacrificed just her life,
for a higher love
No matter how many stones you put inside.
She'll always keeps on floating in your mind.
With every turn of your head you see her face again,
until the end, over and over again.
Why, you just won't leave my mind ?
Was this the only way ?
I couldn't let you stay ?
Told the truth she laughed at you.
Something snapped inside.
She had to go or they would know,
all you tried to hide
The sins of your life are now catching up with you.
You can't stay ahead. There's nothing you can do.
With every turn of your head you see her face again,
until the end, over and over again.
Why, you just won't leave my mind ?
Was this the only way ?
I couldn't let you stay ?
(repeat 2x)
Within Temptation’s song Jane Doe tells the story of someone who cannot escape the memory of a woman who once meant a lot to him. The lyrics reflect the internal struggle of the singer as he tries to come to terms with his past and the secrets he has been keeping. The line “run away, hide away the secrets in your mind” suggests that he has been trying to bury his past, but his efforts have proved futile. He tries to rationalize his actions by saying “was this the only way, I couldn't let you stay”, implying that he was forced to do what he did.
The chorus, “why, you just won't leave my mind? was this the only way? I couldn't let you stay?” repeats multiple times, emphasizing the singer’s inability to move on from this chapter of his life. The next verse talks about how the woman laughed at the singer when he tried to tell her the truth. He snapped and realized that she had to go or else everything he was desperately trying to hide would be revealed. The line “the sins of your life are now catching up with you” suggests that the singer’s past is finally catching up with him and he is unable to keep running from it.
The song ends with the repetition of the chorus, reinforcing the idea that the singer cannot escape his past and the memory of the woman he had to let go. The haunting melody adds to the overall melancholic tone of the song and emphasizes the internal turmoil the singer is experiencing.
Line by Line Meaning
Why, you just won't leave my mind ?
I can't get you out of my thoughts, constantly wondering why this is the case.
Was this the only way ?
Did we really have to end things this way, or was there another option?
I couldn't let you stay ?
As much as I wanted to keep you close, something inside forced me to push you away.
Run away, hide away
You try to escape your problems and keep them hidden from the world.
the secrets in your mind.
You hold onto dark secrets that eat away at you mentally and emotionally.
Sacrificed just her life,
Someone had to pay the ultimate price because of your actions, and it resulted in loss of life.
for a higher love
The sacrifice was made in the name of love that is supposed to be pure and just.
No matter how many stones you put inside.
No matter how hard you try to suppress certain feelings, they will always resurface and affect you.
She'll always keeps on floating in your mind.
The person you lost still lingers in your thoughts and memories, not allowing you to move on.
With every turn of your head you see her face again,
Regardless of where you go or what you do, the image of the one you lost haunts you constantly.
until the end, over and over again.
This cycle of memories and regrets will never come to an end, no matter how much time passes.
Told the truth she laughed at you.
When you confessed the truth to someone, they didn't take it seriously and their reaction hurt you deeply.
Something snapped inside.
That moment was a breaking point for you and caused a shift within your psyche.
She had to go or they would know,
To keep your secrets safe and hidden, the person you loved had to be removed from the equation.
all you tried to hide
The truth about your past and the secrets that you've kept bottled up for so long had to be protected at all costs.
The sins of your life are now catching up with you.
Your past actions are finally coming back to haunt you and you're facing the consequences.
You can't stay ahead. There's nothing you can do.
No matter how hard you try to outrun your past, it will always catch up to you and there's nothing you can do to change that.
Contributed by Josiah B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.