Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: emo
Song Meaning of “Langoliers” by Iron Chic
“Langoliers” is a song about escaping an oppressive situation and finding hope and solace in unexpected places. The song speaks to the idea that adversity can bring out strength and determination that wasn’t previously known.
The song opens with a harrowing image of suffocating under the weight of expectation and the pressure to conform. There is an intense feeling of being unable to breathe and feeling completely trapped. The lyrics also provide a sense of the overwhelming fear of confronting oneself with the need to find a way out of the situation, and of standing up for oneself in the circumstances: “I can feel the weight of the gun so heavy on my chest/so hard to stand proud and own the truth/Like these invisible hands that pull me along into the reckoning that lies ahead”.
As the song progresses, a spirit of rebellion and hope emerges as the narrator begins to rise up against their oppressors. The lyrics depict a new source of strength that lends the narrator power and courage to fight against the “Langoliers” that oppress them. The titular Langoliers are a metaphor for the adversities and constraints that threaten to quash hope – but the narrator realizes that they can confront these obstacles if they maintain their courage and use their newfound strength to push against the boundaries of the status quo: “We all got our weaknesses/We all got our laziness and all our wrongs undone/We’ll carry our sins/We will piece together a way to get to live our lives on our own terms”.
The last line of the song perfectly captures the spirit of liberation, determination and self-assertion that comes from overcoming a powerful adversary: “We can be free, we can be sealed away, the Langoliers won’t get us today”. The lyrics suggest that even in the darkest of moments, finding the courage to stand up, to break free, and to seek solace in unexpected places can give hope and help to create a new tomorrow.