We've All Gone to Sleep

Grouper's song "We've All Gone to Sleep" is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of the boundary between dreams and reality. The lyrics evoke a sense of collective retreat into sleep, suggesting a universal desire to escape the waking world. The repetition of phrases like "We’ve all gone to sleep" and "We wait for our dreams to fill our heads" underscores a longing for the solace and escape that dreams provide. This can be interpreted as a metaphor for the human tendency to seek refuge in dreams when faced with the harshness of reality.

The song also delves into the disorienting experience of waking up. Lines such as "And when we awake, staring at the ceiling" and "You use the sky as cover" paint a picture of a world that feels both familiar and alien upon waking. The sky, often a symbol of freedom and vastness, is used here as a cover, suggesting a protective but also potentially isolating barrier. This duality reflects the complex emotions that come with transitioning from the dream world back to reality.

Grouper, known for her ethereal and ambient musical style, uses minimalistic yet evocative lyrics to create a dreamlike atmosphere. The cautionary advice, "Don’t get too lost in dream world, you might never come back," serves as a reminder of the dangers of becoming too detached from reality. The song's closing lines, with their repetitive emphasis on sleep, reinforce the cyclical nature of this escape and return, highlighting the perpetual human struggle to balance dreams and reality.