I have always been interested in Jung’s concept of the Shadow, especially as it appears in music lyrics.
Two examples:
Stairway to Heaven: And as we wind on down the road, our shadows taller than our souls
Boulevard of Broken Dreams: I walk alone, My shadow’s the only one that walks beside me
I some ways, you can interpret lyrics as a projection of the writer, thus invoking the Shadow, but I am interested in obvious references to the Shadow in lyrics.
Whatcha got?
Kevin Gilbert’s Shadow Self is pretty about the darker (destructive) nature of humans.
Some of the lyrics :
But there is no one I have not known
And no one’s vengeance I do not own
(There I am - Just look at me)
I am there in the back of your mind
I am uncaring, I am unkind
(There I am - You’re looking at me)
Creep up behind you when you fill with hate
I get excited when you’re irate
I make you crazy, make your conscience numb
I’ve got the anger gonna get you some
Well, there’s always Cat Stevens:
I am being followed by Carl Jung’s shadow,
Jung’s shadow, Jung’s shadow. I’m
Psychoanalyzin’ with Carl Jung’s shadow,
Jung’s shadow, Jung’s shadow.
And if I ever lose my mind, cognitively misaligned
My anima left far behind, oh if … I won’t have to think no more.
And if I ever lose the memes that help me navigate my dreams
And “what is” isn’t what it seems, oh if … I won’t have to sense no more.
I am being followed by Carl Jung’s shadow,
Jung’s shadow, Jung’s shadow. We’re
Collectively unconscious with Carl Jung’s shadow,
Jung’s shadow, Jung’s shadow.
And if my psyche goes to pot, my whole symbolic world is shot
My poor persona starts to rot, oh if … I won’t have to feel no more.
And if I ever, in this state, fail to individuate
And introversion is my fate, oh if … I won’t have to grow no more.
The archetypes that bind me, don’t yield the simple fact
Why can’t my shadow find me, if opposites attract?
Analysis is much more fun with Jung’s shadow,
Jung’s shadow, Jung’s shadow. 'Cause
A sultry Latin mama is Carl Jung’s shadow,
Jung’s shadow, Jung’s shadow.
Yo te quiero, Jung’s shadow!
You had me going there for a minute!
I just found this song by Tool:
Shadow tales, mythology, folklore, and otherness appear in almost every human society since we have written evidence. I know Jung is concerned with universals, but how then do you tell whether a shadow reference has anything to do with Jung? Or do you just want anything that uses a shadow metaphor?
If so, how about Britney Spears’ “Shadow”?
Putting Shadow lyrics into Google gets 2,500,000 hits. Lots of material there to work with.
I would think that inclusion of the term “shadow” in a song, and not having that term mean “reflection on the ground due to the sunlight” would be appropriate, regardless of whether or not there is a direct “reference” to Jung.
So, as much as I despise Ms. Spears, inclusion of her lyrics would be dead-on.
I think Sting is (or was) really into Jung.
The Police did “Shadows in the Rain” and of course, “Synchronicity I” and “Synchronicity II,” which includes the lyric:
Many miles away
Theres a shadow on the door
Of a cottage on the shore
Of a dark scottish lake
(in which “shadow” carries both the literal and Jungian meaning)
Sarah McLachlan asked:
“Can you look out the window without your shadow getting in the way?”
Unless she has much dirtier windows than I, I assume she means ‘shadow’ in the metaphorical.
on Cul-De-Sac (from Duke) (by Genesis):
Also, although there is no direct reference to “the Shadow” the lyrics to Iris (by Live) appear to reflect a struggle with one’s dark side/demons, during, ahem, an “interesting moment”…