Song: The Allegory of the Cave

My dear friends Candace and Andrew, fellow philosophers, challenged me to write a song about The Allegory of the Cave by Plato.  Here's my song with lyrics posted below:




And for an incredible animation of Plato's story, I HIGHLY recommend you watch this:

This thing standing in front of me

Is a shadow of what I used to see

It lied to me

I see my neighbor sitting next to me

He doesn’t see the things the way I see

He’s in a trance, the shadows dance

If I turn around

I won’t make a sound

I see the puppets all dancing 

And the shadows they’re casting

I’ll try to get away

And see the light of day

It’s probably good for my health

To see the thing in-itself

I nervously unshackle my hands

I shake the dust off of my pants

I wobble when I stand

I see a light beaming up ahead

It blinds my eyes and it hurts my head

I face it uncertainly

The tunnel opens and I move on

I cannot see but I walk on

My eyes are burning with the truth

My skin is sunburned with Deleuze

When I exit from the cave

The shadows all go away

It’s just wisdom and myself

I see the thing-in-itself

I step back in and the darkness

Puts everything out of focus

Again I can’t see

When it all comes back to me

I see the slaves just staring

And believing, and deceiving

Do I leave the cave?

Or help my fellow slaves?

Will they believe what I say

Or ad hominum my face?

Will they ever see the light?

I’ll use logic to show I’m right

I’ll try to lead them to what I felt

Truth and the thing in itself