Sleepwalking
Bring Me The Horizon · Sempiternal (Deluxe)
A cry from the edge that reaches for a hand
What do these signals mean?
- Edifying: Points the heart toward God, truth, hope, or love.
- Worth Weighing: Real good and real concern together. Test it before you take it in.
- Take Caution: Leans toward what could dull or mislead. Approach carefully.
- Consider Avoiding: Celebrates what Scripture warns against. Little here builds up.
Weighed against Scripture
“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
The psalmist describes being lifted from a pit of destruction and set on solid ground. The bridge of this song longs for exactly that kind of rescue from someone willing to reach in.
“For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:”
Psalm 88 is one of Scripture's darkest laments, with the writer overwhelmed and near death. The songwriter's experience of suffocation and falling into holes finds honest company here.
“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
God's promise to be present through deep waters and fire stands in contrast to the song's felt absence of any anchor. The longing in the song is precisely for what this verse offers.
This song captures the numb, drifting feeling of depression or emotional crisis with raw honesty. The 'edge of the world' imagery and the question of whether to disappear are bleak, but the song does not answer with nihilism. Instead it pivots to a desperate plea to be pulled back and given a reason to start again. That reaching quality keeps it from being simply dark. It is closer to a Psalm of lament than a victory cry, and that distinction matters.
No profanity or explicit content. The imagery is dark and suffocating, but the language itself is clean throughout.
The song sits at a place of dissociation and despair, but it does not settle there. The bridge, 'take my hand and give me a reason to start again,' is a genuine plea for rescue rather than a celebration of hopelessness.
BMTH were working through real emotional and mental health struggles in this era. The song reads as honest lament from inside a dark place, not a glorification of it.
The line 'should I sink or swim, or simply disappear?' may resonate deeply with someone in a dark place. If that question feels personally real to you right now, you do not have to stay there alone. Please reach out to someone you trust, or contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
If you’re struggling, you don’t have to carry it alone. In the US you can call or text 988(Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), any time.
When you listen to this song, does it help you name something heavy so you can hand it to someone, or does it pull you further into the fog?