'Dark Til Daylight' by Morgan Wallen - Lyrics and Meaning

Since 2021's release of Dangerous: The Double Album, Morgan Wallen has been on the fast track to country music superstardom.

Bolstered by 2023's standout record, One Thing At A Time, the Tennessee native has become the biggest name in the format, even infiltrating across genre lines and landing singles atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

After a little over two years, the award-winning entertainer has finally arrived with a new batch of music in the form of his 37-track opus, I'm the Problem, arriving May 16 and sprawling with his next era of record-breaking hits and beloved fan-favorites.

Just past the halfway mark of the record sits the cinematic country-rocker, 'Dark Til Daylight.' Chronicling the darker parts of heartbreak, Wallen takes us on a whiskey-tinged night drive.

A rare outside cut for the Tennessee native, 'Dark Til Daylight' was written by Rocky Block, Jimmy Robbins and Chris Tompkins, with careful production oversight from none other than Joey Moi.

Taking on a rather eery and dramatic tone, the tune finds Wallen not so much singing as he is using his signature rap-like cadence across the nearly four-minute mid-tempo, country rocker.

"When I’m sittin’ here alone
Gettin’ drunk and gettin’ stoned
I’m thinkin’ ‘bout you

Been a hard wall to climb
Swear to God I’m doing time
Here without you

Sun’s sinkin’ low, here we go
Another shadow to fight through
That’s what I do
A whole damn night through"

We find our narrator down in the dumbs as he gets cross-faded and can't get his old flame off his mind. It seems to have been a while since they split, and he's done alright with getting over her, but here he is again at the bottom of the barrel.

As the sun goes down and the liquor comes out, it gets harder and harder to fight off the waves of feelings and regret that wash over him as his demons come out to play in the nighttime.

"It’s sinkin’ in what coulda been
I’m with her, you’re with him and that ain’t right
Sunset is when it starts
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight
I’m strung out, I’m a mess
Words and whiskey on my breath
See how faded I can get
By sunrise
Yeah, I’m falling apart
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight"

The full depth of the love he lost is sinking in as the sun gets lower and the moon comes out. While both he and his ex are with other people now, he can't help but consider how differently things could've turned out if they tried a little harder for each other.

He's high and drunk as he tries to numb the pain of heartbreak, and his mind is going to some dark places just like the sky is snuffing out the light for the day.

"I’m sinkin’ up, and comin’ down
That’s a slow way to drown
It’s what I’m used to

A touch that cuts you deep
It’s hard to find, it’s hard to keep
It’s hard to lose too

Another smoke, another flame
Another rush to the brain
But it ain’t you
That’s what I do
A whole damn night through"

Balancing the alcohol and the weed in equal measure, it would seem that this is a pretty normal occurrence for our narrator.

It's almost as if he's addicted to the pain and the darkness that comes over him when these feelings come up as he throws back another drink and lights up another joint.

"It’s sinkin’ in what coulda been
I’m with her, you’re with him and that ain’t right
Sunset is when it starts
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight
I’m strung out, I’m a mess
Words and whiskey on my breath
See how faded I can get
By sunrise
Yeah, I’m falling apart
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight"

As is often the case of late, the ‘Thought You Should Know’ singer-songwriter has so far remained tight-lipped on how the song came about.

However, when revealing the release date for I'm the Problem, Wallen provided fans with an insight into the theme of introspection that courses through the project as a whole.

“I have been a problem, for sure, and I've got no problem admitting that. But there are other sides to me as well," he explained. "I've spent the last 11 months really trying to figure out, 'Do I still want to be the problem? Is it time to move past that phase in my life? I think it probably is, and this might be the last time I get a chance to honestly say it.”

When I’m sittin’ here alone
Gettin’ drunk and gettin’ stoned
I’m thinkin’ ‘bout you

Been a hard wall to climb
Swear to God I’m doing time
Here without you

Sun’s sinkin’ low, here we go
Another shadow to fight through
That’s what I do
A whole damn night through

(Ooooh)
It’s sinkin’ in what coulda been
I’m with her, you’re with him and that ain’t right
(Ooooh)
Sunset is when it starts
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight
I’m strung out, I’m a mess
Words and whiskey on my breath
See how faded I can get
By sunrise
(Ooooh)
Yeah, I’m falling apart
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight

I’m sinkin’ up, and comin’ down
That’s a slow way to drown
It’s what I’m used to

A touch that cuts you deep
It’s hard to find, it’s hard to keep
It’s hard to lose too

Another smoke, another flame
Another rush to the brain
But it ain’t you
That’s what I do
A whole damn night through

(Ooooh)
It’s sinkin’ in what coulda been
I’m with her, you’re with him and that ain’t right
(Ooooh)
Sunset is when it starts
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight
I’m strung out, I’m a mess
Words and whiskey on my breath
See how faded I can get
By sunrise
(Ooooh)
Yeah, I’m falling apart
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight

Sun’s sinkin’ low, here we go
Another shadow to fight through
That’s what I do
A whole damn night through

(Ooooh)
It’s sinkin’ in what coulda been
I’m with her, you’re with him and that ain’t right
(Ooooh)
Sunset is when it starts
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight
I’m strung out, I’m a mess
Words and whiskey on my breath
See how faded I can get
By sunrise
(Ooooh)
Yeah, I’m falling apart
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight

(Ooooh)
It’s sinkin’ in what coulda been
I’m with her, you’re with him and that ain’t right
(Ooooh)
Sunset is when it starts
Sky ain’t all that’s getting dark ‘til daylight

--

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