The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade

Album: The Big Roar (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A track from The Joy Formidable's first album, "The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade" has rather poetic lyrics written by frontwoman Rhiannon Bryan. She often expresses inner turmoil in her songs; this one finds her singing about a "childish heart that won't wait," and a person who is both the greatest light and the greatest shade. It's a nuanced look at how those how have the most emotional impact on us can be both the light and the darkness, all in one person.
  • In a Songfacts interview with Rhiannon Bryan, she described this as one of the songs that defines the band. It was a milestone in their songwriting - Bryan writes the lyrics and bass player Rhydian Dafydd composes the tracks. Said Bryan: "I felt that was the point in the band where Dafydd and I were really starting to build this really special chemistry in terms of writing together. Just because, just very concisely, he'd written that - all the music - as a demo in one night, and I came back to find he'd written all of it musically. He left, and when he came back, it was fully constructed, lyrically."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Sam Phillips

Sam PhillipsSongwriter Interviews

Collaborating with T Bone Burnett, Leslie Phillips changed her name and left her Christian label behind - Robert Plant, who recorded one of her songs on Raising Sand, is a fan.

70s Music Quiz 1

70s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

The '70s gave us Muppets, disco and Van Halen, all which show up in this groovy quiz.

Who Wrote That Song?

Who Wrote That Song?Music Quiz

Do you know who wrote Patti Smith's biggest hit? How about the Grease theme song? See if you can match the song to the writer.

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."