"To Darkness"

"To Darkness / Kripa"

Take my eye

and my whole heart

in your hands

in your hands

and board the yacht

as it departs

leave me on the shore

but I will hunt no more

Hold my sin above my head

and take me home instead

take me home instead

I will not speak of your sin

there is a way out for him

the mirror shows that

your values are ocean

The door, my heart was floored

I knew my weakness, oh hold,

my hand can sign me not to darkness

You know, my heart was floored

I knew my weakness, oh hold,

my hand can sign me not to darkness

~ Mumford and Sons, on Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, and the Dharohar Project

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So I was cruising through Amazon this morning, and this album came up in my recommendations.  I was intrigued by the fact that it was a blend of Indian music (which makes me happy) and Mumford & Sons (which I like because of the lyrics).  There are only four songs in this collaboration, and I instantly loved two of them, "To Darkness" and "Mehendi Rachi."   The latter has lyrics like "Perhaps I'll be a bird one day/ if I'm good enough," which you know speaks right to my feathered soul.  It's great.  

This one, though, I am almost positive that this one is sneaking Faustus in.  It feels Fausty.  It may well be that I have just finished teaching the play and watching the downfall and everything feels Fausty right now, but somebody else take a look at this and tell me if the allusion works for you, too.  I know M&S do the whole literary thing, and I think there's a mirror that's important in the Gounod opera (or perhaps even in the Goethe version) of the story.  


(I've searched everywhere to make sure I've got the right lyrics here.  There are several alternate versions of them floating about.  Some of them are clearly wrong.  There are still a couple of words here I'm not quite sure about....  The words "can sign" could just as easily be "consign" ...)

Or maybe I'm just seeing Mephistopheles in every corner now....  That's probably not good, is it?  I'm going to be super-thrilled if I've found this gem tucked into a corner, though.