Do Not Always Fear the Dark
DO NOT ALWAYS FEAR THE DARK
Words & Music by Scott Logan
PERFORMANCE NOTES
The opening section captures the hesitation and fear that come with walking into the dark. Perhaps these words are an internal monologue standing at the threshold, trying to decide if you are brave enough to step into the darkness and close off the light behind you. Have fun with the spoken “darkness swallows” section! Start with hushed whispers, and then build in both intensity (add vocalization) and speed as you prepare to sing “Stand at the threshold…”
After the decision is made to step outside, the music shifts to a warm, encouraging major key, and the text becomes the voice of a friend or a parent or someone else older and wiser. From m.41 on, this should be sung with warmth, confidence, and almost a sense of triumph. I encouraged my students to think about someone in their lives past or present who is/was going through trials, sadness, fear, uncertainty. It was my students’ job to imagine themselves coming alongside that person, wrapping an arm around his/her shoulder and singing the words directly to that person.
ABOUT THE TEXT
From an early age, most people develop a healthy fear of the dark. Children need nightlights in their bedrooms to keep away the monsters and the boogie man. Adults are careful to avoid questionable parts of their towns after dark, especially if they are alone. We keep candles and flashlights handy when thunderstorms roll in. Darkness is also frequently equated with evil fear, depravity, depression, secrecy. Religious and secular thought alike often divide the world into light (good) and dark (evil)
Barbara Brown Taylor’s book Learning to Walk in the Dark (which I HIGHLY recommend), delves into the positive aspects of darkness. She examines many lessons that can only be learned in the dark, and she celebrates some of the wonderful things that take place after the sun goes down. I wanted to capture the fear associated with darkness and the mental shift that occurs when we realize how much magic and wonder can be found in the dark.
My dad passed away in May of 2025 after a sudden illness that landed him in the hospital for several weeks, and after a surgery that was not enough to save his life. I wrote this piece during the summer following his death. That same summer, our family cat of fourteen years succumbed to a battle with cancer, and we had to put her down right before school started. Then, in September of 2025, our country endured multiple school shootings and the murder of Charlie Kirk the same week as the 24th anniversary of the attacks on America on 9/11/01.
Whatever darkness you may be experiencing, there are often lessons to learn and blessings hidden in the dark. And when you come through your darkness, I encourage you to seek out someone else who is walking through darkness. Hold their hand, sit with them, pray with them, whatever you can do to help them. There are blessings in the dark; but even when the blessings or lessons are hard (or impossible) to see, darkness doesn’t last forever.
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