Searching for Silver

A Reflection on a song by the Gray Havens

Have you ever heard the phrase “breathing a lie through silver”? If you’re a fellow Tolkien nerd, then you’ve probably read his outstanding essay On Faerie Stories. He quoted this phrase, attributing it to one of the men he wrote letters to (perhaps C.S. Lewis?).

This friend claimed that fairy tales — and all myths — were just breathing lies through silver. To this, Tolkien replied:

“Dear Sir, I said—Although now long estranged,

Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed.

Dis-graced he may be, yet is not de-throned,

and keeps the rags of lordship once he owned:

Man, Sub-creator, the refracted Light

through whom is splintered from a single White

to many hues, and endlessly combined

in living shapes that move from mind to mind.

Though all the crannies of the world we filled

with Elves and Goblins, though we dared to build

Gods and their houses out of dark and light,

and sowed the seed of dragons—’twas our right

(used or misused). That right has not decayed:

we make still by the law in which we’re made.”

(Mythopoeia)

What does this mean, exactly? Allow me summarize Tolkien’s argument in just one sentence.

Truth is still true, no matter where you find it.

Of course, it may be buried beneath unending layers of falsehood or misinterpretation. We must use discernment to filter through the falsehood. Fairy tales and myths may be wreathed in silver, but (to quote my friend, Lady Larke) “When the silver is melted away, there’s truth.”

We Saw the World With Different Eyes

A handful of months ago, I was listening to the Gray Havens’ album Where Eyes Don’t Go (alternatively called Where It Goes). One of my favorite things about TGH is their lyrics. I love to read the words to the songs I’m hearing. When the song Silver came on, I had some trouble understanding the metaphor. So I texted two of my friends (fellow TGH fans, of course!) for aid.

It was Lady Larke who made the connection for me between this song and Tolkien’s essay. “Basically,” she explained, “the song is about seeing truth.”

My other friend, Romana, continued the interpretation. “It’s about searching for truth and testing what you found against other truths you already knew.”

With these new insights in mind I replayed the song, and when it reached the chorus, I understood what my friends were saying.

“We will cross any water, any water,

And if we find there's a song that's getting stronger,

We will sound all our silver songs,

And we will know if they belong.”

In the above stanza, the word silver can be interpreted as either “truth” or “lies.” It holds a double meaning. The “silver songs” can be either truths previously known or truths yet to be tested.

The sailors (that’s who speaking in this song) are contrasting the truths they find with those they already know to be true. In this way, they find if the new “silver songs” belong and can be believed.

“We were taken through the shadows,

We were carried through the night,

When the sun appeared,

My God my fears of silver melted in the light,

And we saw the world with different eyes.”

When you discover the truth — when that thing you’ve been taught over and over finally clicks in your mind — it’s like a light turns on somewhere. You understand. You see. I’m sure many of my readers will know what I’m talking about.

I’m so grateful to my dad for teaching me discernment from an early age, because now “my fears of silver [lies]” are gone.

“Now the echoes were getting louder,

And a chorus filled the air,

When the voices fell they broke the spell,

That tied us to our silver chairs.”

Certainly, many TGH fans have already made the connection between this song and Lewis’ Narnia book, The Silver Chair. Throughout the latter half of that story, Jill and Eustace are deceived repeatedly. They ignore the signs (the ‘truths,’ if you will) given to them by Aslan, thus endangering themselves. It's not until the very end, when Rilian shouts in the name of Aslan - the last sign - that they compare the truths and find who​​​​​​​ they really should believe.

Listen to the Gray Havens’ song here.

Searching for Silver

There are many things in life and literature which aren’t just black and white. You need to read not only with discernment, but also with nuance. Nuance is not fence-sitting. It’s that little gray area between “this is bad” and “this is good.” (Silver, by the way, is usually gray-colored. “Coincidence? I think not!!”) While we all will have preferences — books we like or don’t like — we shouldn’t dismiss a fairy tale, myth, or secular book with a light “it’s not Christian so it’s bad.” Look for the silver.

If you’ve read my About page, you’ll know what the Key of E is for: Treasure-seeking. I’ve been privileged to learn how to use discernment in all areas of entertainment (and life!). I’m searching for silver, and I want to share my discoveries with you.

---