Your day has officially been made: John Legend's Darkness and Light album has arrived. Full of romantic anthems, powerful soul jams, and collaborations with artists like Chance the Rapper and Brittany Howard, Darkness and Light may be Legend's best album yet. While there are just 12 songs on the album, each one is loaded with powerful imagery, inspiring declarations of love, and the pure, undiluted sexiness fans have come to expect from Legend's smooth vocals. All of the lyrics contained on Darkness and Light will stick with you the moment you hear them. Legend is just that talented.
You can't just quote the entire album back at people though — I mean, you could, but it would take awhile. If you are looking for a little Twitter inspiration for your next epic quote tweet, then Legend is here for you, guys. While all of Legend's lyrics are unique, some stand out more than others. These 12 lyrics from Darkness and Light are the absolute best Legend has to offer. They are by turns wise, hot, and meaningful on a multitude of levels, and they are just begging to be shared.
Here are the absolute best lyrics from Darkness and Light . Prepare yourself, because you are about to be in awe of Legend's latest masterpiece.
1. "Legend Is Just A Name / I Know Better Than To Be So Proud / I Won't Drink In All This Fame / I'll Take More Love Than I'm Allowed"
Right from the first song, "I Know Better," Legend establishes his goal is to make his most personally truthful album yet. These lyrics are all about how Legend feels humbled to be in the position he is in, and to have so much love in his life. "I Know Better" is Legend's ode to being older, wiser, and blessed with the ability to sing his story as he sees fit.
2. "My Folks Downstairs Still Waitin' In Line / They Never Been In These Rooms / Never Stayed With These Folks / Never Laughed At The News, Never Hated These Jokes"
There is a price attached to moving up in the world, and Legend explores it along with Chance the Rapper in the deceptively cheerful "Penthouse Floor." The lines above hit particularly hard, as they demonstrate the divide between where you come from and where fame takes you. The idea that fame can take you to untold heights while leaving your family behind is a poignant reminder of what is most important in life.
3. "Who Was I Before? I Don't Know / And Who Am I Now? / Your Body Shows How The Past Just Has No Meaning"
The titular song "Darkness and Light" is an evocative look at a night between two people, and how they completely dissolve into each other. The hotness is strong with this one — so strong in fact, being intimate with someone can completely erase the past.
4. "We Became Their Favorite Secret, Love For Love And Not For Fame / Oh, When I Was Your User, Your FaceTime Abuser, Dose After Dose 'Til We Crashed / Now They Bet On Our Game, Say We'll Go Down In Flames, It's Too Good But We Never Could Last"
This one is for you, Legend and Chrissy Teigen devotees. Legend sings eloquently about the struggle of being a couple in the spotlight in "Overload," and these lyrics take a swipe at the tabloid machine for rooting against love. In the end, Teigen and Legend's relationship is between them and them only, as it should be.
5. "I Don't Know Who's Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone / So I'm Gonna Love You Now, Like It's All I Have"
Need a reminder to be in the moment? "Love Me Now" serves one up in a melancholy lyric designed to make you think about lost loves and making the most of all your relationships.
6. "I Rise, You Fall, We Wreck It All / My Pride Is At Your Beck And Call"
When it comes to being sensual, Legend has cornered the market. All of the lyrics that make up "What You Do To Me" will make you sweat, but this line is one that demands your attention.
7. "Know I Won't Let The Blue Flame Die / We Can't Lose Hope Just Yet"
"Surefire" manages to be as inspiring as it is heartfelt. This lyric is about what people can accomplish together, and it deserves to be shared as often as possible.
8. "Will You Think Like Me? Will You Have Your Mother's Fire? / Maybe The Way We Are Will Not Be How You're Wired"
Yes, Legend wrote a song for his daughter and it is every bit as perfect as you are imagining. "Right By You" is Legend's ode to little Luna, but his curiosity about the kind of person she will grow up to be is one all parents will share.
9. "We Kiss Like Lovers / And Cupid Hovers"
No one spins a web of sexiness quite like Legend. In "Temporarily Painless," two strangers find solace in each other, and the scene Legend paints is far more romantic than it has any right to be.
10. "Well What If I Refuse To Learn? / I See A Flame, I Wanna Get Burned"
"How Can I Blame You" takes a darker turn thanks to its subject matter: the temptation to cheat. This introspective track's standout moment has Legend wondering why he can't learn from past mistakes. The sentiment is one everyone will have experienced at some point in their lives, making Legend's situation all the more relatable.
11. "I Will Try To Pull The Wool Over My Eyes / You Thought It Would Keep Me Warm / You Said It Was Cold Outside"
"Same Old Story" hits you as harshly as an icy, winter breeze. There is so much longing packed into such a short song, it will take your breath away. The imagery of pulling the wool over your eyes to prolong the inevitable is particularly powerful.
12. "All Of The Greatest / Greatest Of All / We're Chasing Their Fading Star / Who'll Be The Latest / The Latest To Fall?"
The music industry lost many of its brightest stars in 2016, and whether it was his intent or not, "Marching Into the Dark" plays out like an anthem to the revolving nature of stardom.
These 12 lyrics are among the best the album has to offer, but make no mistake, Legend's Darkness and Light demands to be devoured in its entirety.
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