# Name song lyrics that reflect Jung's "Shadow" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 21, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056 "2007-02-21T04:26:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/1 "2007-02-21T04:26:03Z")
I have always been interested in Jung’s concept of [the Shadow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung#The_Shadow), especially as it appears in music lyrics. Two examples: 1. Stairway to Heaven: _And as we wind on down the road, our shadows taller than our souls_ 2. 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? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/2 "2007-02-21T04:59:14Z")
Kevin Gilbert’s [Shadow Self](http://www.kevingilbert.com/40abc/shadow.html) 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 ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/3 "2007-02-21T13:45:15Z")
**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! ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/4 "2007-02-21T16:59:15Z")
[QUOTE=The King of Soup] **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. [/QUOTE] You had me going there for a minute! I just found this song by _Tool_: > [@](#): > > See my shadow changing, > Stretching up and over me. > Soften this old armor. > Hoping I can clear the way > By stepping through my shadow, > Coming out the other side. > Step into the shadow. > Forty six and two are just ahead of me. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/5 "2007-02-21T17:22:09Z")
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”? > [@](#): > > it’s only your shadow, never yourself > It’s only your shadow, nobody else > It’s only your shadow filling the room Putting Shadow lyrics into Google gets 2,500,000 hits. Lots of material there to work with. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/6 "2007-02-21T17:55:36Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] 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? [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/7 "2007-02-21T19:37:21Z")
I think Sting is (or was) really into Jung. The Police did “[Shadows in the Rain](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/police/shadows+in+the+rain_20110099.html)” and of course, “[Synchronicity I](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/police/synchronicity+i_20110088.html)” and “[Synchronicity II](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/police/synchronicity+ii_20110059.html),” 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) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/8 "2007-02-21T20:23:14Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/9 "2007-02-21T21:03:43Z")
on _[Cul-De-Sac](http://www.asklyrics.com/display/Genesis/Cul_-_De_-_Sac_Lyrics/147589.htm) (from Duke)_ (by Genesis): > [@](#): > > Wake up now, this is the time you’ve waited for. > Far below, where shadows fester as they grow, > An army thousands strong, obsessed by right and wrong, > They sense their time is coming near. Also, although there is no direct reference to “the Shadow” the lyrics to _[Iris](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/live/iris.html)_ (by _Live_) appear to reflect a struggle with one’s dark side/demons, during, ahem, an “interesting moment”… > [@](#): > > I liked the way my hand looked on your head > in the presence of my struggle ---
**Author:** ![Kira7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Kira7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kira7)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-song-lyrics-that-reflect-jungs-shadow/393056/10 "2021-11-01T04:57:10Z")
# Sarah McLachlan - Building A Mystery" “Can you look out your window without your shadow getting in the way?”