Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)

Melanie Safka, known professionally as Melanie, is a folk singer-songwriter who became an icon of the peace movement and counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her song 'Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)' encapsulates the spirit of this era, with its call for unity, peace, and resistance against darkness. The song was inspired by Melanie's experience performing at the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969, where she witnessed a sense of communal bonding and shared hope among the festival-goers.

The lyrics of 'Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)' suggest a collective experience of hardship and healing ('We bled inside each others wounds'), emphasizing the idea that shared struggles can lead to a shared sense of peace ('We all sang the songs of peace'). The 'white birds' in the song symbolize peace and the act of letting them 'smile up at the ones who stand and frown' is a poetic way of saying that those who choose peace and love can influence others who are resistant or hostile to those ideals. The repeated call to 'lay down' is an invitation to put aside differences and burdens, to come together in solidarity.

The imagery of raising candles high serves as a metaphor for hope and the power of collective action ('if you don't we could stay black against the night'). Candles, often used in vigils and protests, represent light in the darkness, a beacon of change and a testament to the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. The song's refrain is both a warning and a message of empowerment, suggesting that without action, darkness prevails, but with it, there is a possibility to 'stay dry against the rain'—to find shelter and strength in unity.