“Rainbow in the Dark” was written by Ronnie James Dio along with his bandmates in Dio—primarily guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist Jimmy Bain, and drummer Vinny Appice. It was released in 1983 on the album Holy Diver.
Lyrics to Rainbow in the Dark by Dio
When there’s lightning, you know it always brings me down
‘Cause it’s free and I see that it’s me
Who’s lost and never found
I cry out for magic, I feel it dancing in the light
It was cold, I lost my hold
To the shadows of the night
No sign of the morning coming
You’ve been left on your own
Like a rainbow in the dark
A rainbow in the dark
Do your demons, do they ever let you go?
When you’ve tried, do they hide, deep inside
Is it someone that you know
You’re just a picture, you’re an image caught in time
We’re a lie, you and I
We’re words without a rhyme
There’s no sign of the morning coming
You’ve been left on your own
Like a rainbow in the dark
Just a rainbow in the dark, yeah
When I see lightning, you know it always brings me down
‘Cause it’s free and I see that it’s me
Who’s lost and never found
Feel the magic, I feel it floating in the air
But it’s fear, and you’ll hear
It calling you beware
Look out
There’s no sight of the morning coming
There’s no sight of the day
You’ve been left on your own
Like a rainbow
Like a rainbow in the dark, yeah
You’re a rainbow in the dark
Just a rainbow in the dark
No sign of the morning
You’re a rainbow in the dark
Could Dio’s music be understood in psychoanalytic terms?
He’s saying lighting is free and alive and that brings him down because that’s not how he feels about himself. He experiences jealousy and envy because he is lost and alone and feeling alienated from others.
He cries out for magic, he can feel the magic dancing, he wants to be rescued and is desperate so he calls for a powerful salve.
He’s trapped in the darkness, there is no sign of relief, the night has taken over, he’s scared and on his own.
Psychoanalysis is the rainbow in the dark Dio writes about. You’re alone, you want or you need something to change, you cant figure out a way to escape the darkness, and yet there is a rainbow in the dark – treatment can help you find your way to becoming free and strong like lightning. You can find your lightning again or discover it for the first time.