The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Death" by the artist "White Lies"

In the song "Death" by White Lies, the lyrical protagonist confronts the existential fear of death while on an airplane. Ascending into the sky and gazing down at the "little world" below evokes thoughts about the fragility of life and the inevitability of death.

The safety of the clouds appears illusory against the backdrop of the aircraft's vulnerability. The protagonist ponders what keeps them aloft, whether there is "love beneath these wings," hinting at higher powers or fate. The thought of a potential crash triggers terror, which he tries to conceal, "covering my mouth like I'm going to cry."

The fear of death becomes the central theme, permeating the entire song. The lyrical hero confesses, "I'm so scared of death" and "fear has got a hold of me."

Nocturnal imagery - the sunset ("the sun bleeds into the dead sea"), running, the sky - intensifies the feeling of anxiety and unease. The plane's trajectory is likened to life's journey, where the choice of direction remains in the hands of someone else ("who decides which road we take?").

Disturbing thoughts haunt the protagonist even in sleep: he closes his eyes "while my hands are shaking," facing a new day. He feels like a pawn in someone else's game, lacking control over his own destiny ("who is it that's in control?"). Fear is so strong that the protagonist "draws his own grave."

At the song's end, he envisions his death as an event capable of shaking heaven and earth, awakening the souls of the dead, and causing the stars to tremble. The final juxtaposition of "love" and "death" emphasizes the impossibility of one existing without the other and the inevitability of the end for all living things.