“The Range of Light” is the album’s conclusion, which brings about some optimism and celebrates beauty. During his numerous walks in the Sierra Nevada, John Muir found a new name for the sublime Californian mountains: “the range of light.” More recently, Cheryl Strayed echoed Muir’s idea in her memoir Wild, while highlighting the importance of social interaction too, and not only Muir’s (individualistic?) view of isolation in nature. At the crossroads of these two literary works, the song explores the advantages and drawbacks of both nature and mankind. No change or ecological transition will be possible without a strong collaboration between nature and culture. As a result, the song is an attempt (without any naivety) to reconcile nature with man, but also the idealistic with the practical, and the spiritual with the concrete (hence the line “I would be king if my prayers meant a thing, and I would burn if there were something to be learnt”). There is also an explicit link between the chorus, which establishes the background of the song. Therefore, “man’s efforts” are compared to “God’s works,” which both constitute a whole that is worth standing for and defending (« I’m so honored to stand for such a sight »). Then, the final « my truth » refers to a decision to commit to something greater than oneself. Indeed, I strongly believe that music and culture should always support and promote what is just, and accompany our efforts to improve everyone’s daily life. The album is my first contribution to this objective, which has never been so clear since the current coronavirus crisis began. May this album strengthen your efforts to fix our world, while it keeps on brightening up or appeasing every day that is given to us.
Take care,
D.L.
0 Comments