A question about the song "Into the West"

Cafe Society
1

Into the West, sung at the end of PJ’s The Lord of the Rings movie by Annie Lennox, has some lyrics I don’t quite understand:

*What can you see on the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea a pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home

And all will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
All souls pass
*

And all will turn to silver glass???

It sort of sound vaguely Elvish, but what does that refer to? The rest of the song makes perfect sense to me, but not those lines. I understand that some of the lyrics were taken from the books-- were those? The only thing I can think of is that your memories of your life before will seem unreal, and you’ll be renewed “in the West”. When you look back, all you’ll see is “a light on the water”, which looks like “silver glass”. But I’m not at all confident of that.

2

Gandalf’s description of dying:

3

Wow, that was quick.

But I’m still not sure what Gandalf is saying. Why do things turn to “silver glass”?

4

A nuclear strike, I’m guessing?
:wink:

5

Well, I’m assuming it’s a metaphor for something, but what? Or maybe it just sounds cool…?

6

“Silver glass” could be a symbol for a mirror; you would see yourself in death, “reflect” upon it and proceed to the other side.

7

This world becomes transparent, revealing the Real world, perhaps?

But “silver glass” does sound like a mirror, so…I’m not sure.

8

As Frodo sails into the west, in the book, the description is of a grey curtain of rain that rolls back like Silver glass. It’s then that Frodo sees the Undying Lands under a swift sunrise. Silver glass seems like a poetic description of grey rain suddenly illuminated by a sunrise.