Dying Clock

Album: released as a single (2025)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This 9-minute progressive rock song is from A Light Within, a band from Kansas City that specializes in thought-provoking atmospheric music. Their lead singer, Kyle Brandt told Songfacts the story behind it:

    "Artistically, I've never been drawn to writing in a way that feels overly direct or bound to a single meaning. I prefer to work in metaphor, opening space for listeners to discover their own connections within the words. Still, I'll admit that when this song was written, A Light Within was struggling to keep things alive in the wake of the COVID pandemic. For me, the piece became a meditation on how much I've cherished creating music with the people in this project - even as the dream of turning it into something larger has dimmed.

    You turned to lock the door. Hung up the phone, turned off the lights. Then you threw the key away and drained the battery out.

    Lyrically, the song wrestles with the ache of holding on when circumstances demand separation. It explores the tension between refusal and resignation, and the restless energy that lingers in the aftermath. The voice at its center refuses to let the flame die, circling back again and again to the friction of compromise and loss.

    Conceptually, the track is built around the gradual fading of a clock's rhythm. It begins with a steady, natural tick, but midway through the tempo slows, mirroring a more languid pace. By the end, the clock's pulse disappears entirely - a sonic metaphor for endings, memory, and the quiet persistence of time slipping away."
  • Kelli Scott from the band Failure played drums on this track.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dean Pitchford

Dean PitchfordSongwriter Interviews

Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."

David Sancious

David SanciousSongwriter Interviews

Keyboard great David Sancious talks about his work with Sting, Seal, Springsteen, Clapton and Aretha, and explains what quantum physics has to do with making music.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Jackie DeShannon - "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"

Jackie DeShannon - "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"They're Playing My Song

It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.