Songfacts®:

• Here, John Legend reflects on the struggles endured by Martin Luther King and other civil rights activists. He explained to the Los Angeles Times:
  
  "The idea of struggle and the idea of putting your life on the line for an important cause, the metaphor we use is that they're chasing a fading star into the dark. They're struggling for an end they may never see. Everything I talk about - improving our schools, prison reform, making sure everyone has an equal opportunity - I don't know if we'll ever get there, frankly, I'm pessimistic. But I'm optimistic enough to know that even the little wins count. So the struggle is worth it."
• Legend asks in the chorus: "What good is a dream when the dreamer dies?"
  
  "I don't have any firm belief in the afterlife," explained the singer to the BBC. "So in the song I'm like, 'Is it worth it to die for a cause?'"
  
  "I guess my resolution at the end is, 'You know what? You got to go for it. You've got to struggle, and try to make the world better," he added. "We might as well go ahead and march into the dark.'"