What does Demons mean?

Imagine Dragons: Demons Meaning

Album cover for Demons album cover

Song Released: 2013


Covered By: Jasmine Thompson


Get "Demons" on MP3: Get MP3 from iTunes

Demons Lyrics

When the days are cold
And the cards all fold
And the saints we see
Are all made of gold
When your dreams all fail
And the ones we hail
Are the worst of all
And the blood’s run stale
I want to hide the truth
I want to shelter you
But...

  1. anonymous
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    Dec 19th 2013 !⃝

    Well, I'm pretty much restating what everyone else has said. He really wants to hide the cruel reality of the world from someone, but also wants them to not be niave when they go into the world. He also wants to hide his "Demons", or the not-so-great parts of him. He views the person as pure and innocent, and he wants them to remain that way, but does not want them to be taken advantage of.
    In summary, he sees the cruelty in the world and himself,and he wants to hide it from someone, but wants them to be prepared. He wants them to stay innocent and pure.

  2. anonymous
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    Dec 11th 2013 !⃝

    This song is about the Catholic church and priest molestions.
    The days are dark for the church their house of cards fell. The priest or saints were golden. The priest we hailed were the worst of all and the blood of christ or church is tainted with sin. The molested boy/man doesn't want to tell he wants to protect the church and his faith but cannot and sees the church is where his demons hide or are protected. He says don't go there be afraid of what happens there. This is where salvation is suposed to happen. When the services end the molestation happens. death of the purity of the church grave is dug the masicurade is the public trials and the mess the church and the money paid out. He comes to terms with what happened and wants to rid himself of the anger and hate and truely finds god and for his help to forgive and find salvation.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  3. anonymous
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    Dec 7th 2013 !⃝

    I think the"And the saints we see Are all made of gold" actually refers to the money that governs our lives

  4. anonymous
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    Nov 24th 2013 !⃝

    The main theme of this song is hiding. With lyrics like 'Dug your grave in the masquerade', and 'I want to hide the truth', the singer gives us a feeling that he is hiding from something, which are, in fact, his 'so-called' 'Demons'. Furthermore, he also gives us the sense that he is telling someone, most likely a child, all that is wrong with the world and that he wants to protect the person, but is unable, and he feels ashamed about that. However, another really major theme is greed and protection. 'And the saints we see are all made of gold' is a line that is more thought out than most people realize. It means the people that we idolize/ the people who we look up to [The saints we see] are better than what we can ever be [are all made of gold]. This line makes more sense with a line that comes later on in the song, 'No matter what we breed, we are still made of greed'. What he's saying is that no matter what we do, how hard we try, or what comes as the result [no matter what we breed], humans still want something more [we still are made of greed]. When it gets to the chorus, he is talking about how he is ashamed about all of the 'greed' that he has (his demon), and how he needs to protect the child from greed.

  5. anonymous
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    Nov 23rd 2013 !⃝

    This song sounds good to the ear and has a catchy melody, however after listening to the song several times and reading the lyrics it appears that Imagine Dragons are spreading a message that all will fail. I agree that all humans have Demons but I disagree that they are inside. According to scripture we battle our flesh. God sent the Holy Spirit as our comforter and is inside all who are open to receive him. The light fades out and greed and judgement sets in when we lack understanding of mans purpose. We were made to Love even our enemies and spread Good news. This song can lead a lost person to depression and acceptance that life battles cannot be defeated. Demons have no authority over us, they are just a test and if we have Thick Flesh ( or dimmed spirit) they can and do confuse many people to forget who we are. We are in end times and the Devil is working harder than ever to win souls. Study to show ourselves approved.

  6. anonymous
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    Nov 21st 2013 !⃝

    Sounds like he sold his soul to the devil to become rich. But that's just me.

  7. anonymous
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    Aug 22nd 2013 !⃝

    The interpretation of this song can only be made by those who look deep inside where their demons lie. the best part about songs are that they can be interpreted any way the listener wants to. Music is a way of expressing the true feelings and the inner demons of the artist. anytime an artist comes out with an inspirational song, the artist leaves it up to the listener to actually connect with the song. And when they do, that is where the interpretation of an artists song becomes to reality.

  8. anonymous
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    Aug 13th 2013 !⃝

    Do you really think Christ will come back. Do you think Jesus was the son of "god". He said he was, he didn't have proof. And if there is a god, he gave up on man a long time ago. And to me, this song is about lucifer coming, and we can't hide from him. Same with the song radioactive. He talks about the new age and how he is radioactive. All systems go... Sun hasn't died.

  9. anonymous
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    Aug 8th 2013 !⃝

    Personally, this song is about being unable "to hide" from the directed, masked members of the cabal conjured up from behind the iron curtain of control and lies. Fortunately, he/they understand that they should let it be and let it go. While there is no "light to save" as the blood has run stale and the days are cold, in the end, even if the corruption and greed has not directly affected the subject, there is no need to reveal to what extent the corruption and greed extends. The subject will never "show him how" to open Pandora's box because the narrator knows it would not be accepted. This basically means that if one chooses not to repeatedly and mindlessly "go back" to the same sounding board day after day, that the other does not need to inject themselves into every avenue explored (aka youtube) so that one may effectively let you go as well and be a wisp of a spirit travelling as anonymously as seemingly possible through the world wide web just as everyone else in the world unaware of Big Brother no matter what shape he assumes. Either that or be completely honest and revealing just as a friend would when it's been years and fucking years. Good god, man. Something is wrong with you.

  10. anonymous
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    Aug 8th 2013 !⃝

    Though illustrative of many thematic elements present in society or interpersonal relationships, massive deception where revelation of the truth is more damaging than keeping the truth concealed is inherent in the meaning.

    Clearly the narrator has devised an expansive network of deception and lies all for "you," the audience. Careful construction of reality aided by a multitude of masked faces only further evade the truth hidden beneath cloak and dagger. This isn't so much a need for the narrator to reveal the truth but to gain acceptance and commitment to the façade much like attempting to coerce the audience into "sympathy for the devil." Political leaders and big business; architects of what is socially acceptable thus lies to console the world when what we allow is grafted in to the very fabric of the lies and our reality.

    His intentional lack of pronunciation also adds to parallel meanings which make a song that much more interesting. He does not annunciate the "ld" in "gold" and instead chooses to allow our ears to hear "go" instead. Considering that co[ld] and fo[ld] are clearly heard, leaving the "ld" sound off gold is important. Saints could represent morality urging the audience to "go" and depart from the dealing hand of the upper-crest and the politicians who are equally controlled much like the masses. Or, it could simply mean to go and depart from the driving factor...greed.

    Also, "and the ones we hail" sound much like, "and the wounds won't heal" strengthening the concept of the wounds inflicted by greed never heal. There is a duality in his words which are remarkable in that they are able to represent the beast while underhandedly exposing reality if you are willing to defy what you are eroded into believing even if "they dig your grave in the masquerade."

    When truth is exposed, innocence is lost and it comes with a dire price. A question of are we willing to pay the price of discovering what the dealer has prescribed or do we turn a blind eye and live happy and fruitful lives never aware that our hands are ultimately tied?

    Oh, and when "thy kingdom come, that will be done on earth as it is in heaven"...so don't accept the "mark of the beast." That was so obvious that I had to throw that in as a funny.

    Anywho, really awesome song in many different ways!

  11. anonymous
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    Aug 6th 2013 !⃝

    so for me it has two meanings
    first:
    it talks about a demon we all have inside us. that one thing we try to hide by putting a mask on. and that no matter how hard we try to destroy or hide that part of us it will always be there because its a part of us.
    second:
    this man wants to protect that person he loves so much from other people demons and from his demon too because he knows how hard and evil the world can be and he doesn't want that person to suffer as much as he did.

  12. nobodyyouknow
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    Jul 17th 2013 !⃝

    It's about how he wants to take care of someone. He wants to shelter them, keep them safe. But he knows that he isn't good enough, that he fails.

  13. anonymous
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    Jul 14th 2013 !⃝

    "One by one, it spotlights someone in the audience and takes them outside of the concert hall into their real life. The story zooms in on that person’s own demon, whether it’s the woman who has just lost a loved one, the young man battling from anorexia (or some disease that has left his body decimated), the son bullied by his father, or the soldier struggling from PTSD. No one goes into any situation without his or her own baggage, and it’s very possible, given the deep connection that Imagine Dragons has with its fans, that the scenarios played out here come from true stories the band has heard.."

  14. anonymous
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    Jul 14th 2013 !⃝

    Taken from a yahoo member, Emerald.
    "The members of the Imagine Dragons are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in other words they are Mormons [refer to first link]. I am not making fun of their beliefs, either, as freedom of religion is to be respected and is law. The song appears to be a slam against the Catholics because he sings 'and the saints we see are all made of gold' and that is out of the Roman Catholic Church [RCC]. He goes on to talk about how he is destined for failure and is doomed to fate throughout the song. He tells his love to 'not get too close' because he is so full of sin it is dangerous. He says things like he says he's made of greed and so is everyone. 'This is my kingdom come' is a mocking of RCC belief in the will of God and all things working towards God's ultimate goal for His kingdom come. It is a Christian as well as an RCC belief, but the RCC is the target of this song because Christianity does not involve saints and gold [just look at the pageantry going on with the election of the new pope, as a current example of RCC extravagance]. He eventually tells his girl to leave him because he is fated for Hell. The Mormons belief system is very different from Christian or catholic. They believe in polygamy [multiple wives] selected by the Mormon community, not yourself, as the determining factor for entrance into heaven, and not salvation. This may be why he says he can't love his girl and tells her to leave as well as simply because he is a wretched sinner. You need to understand religious theology to fully grasp the subliminal messages in the song, but it's primary one is simply that we are all sinners and bad inside and if they are to listen to the RCC, which Mormons do not, he is hell bound which is why he is poking fun at the catholic belief system."

  15. anonymous
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    Jul 8th 2013 !⃝

    In the music video our "demons" are the part of us that we don't want other people to know about. Our demons are things we struggle with, it makes us sad and we don't want other people to know about them. This is how I interpret it... I only show you the part of me that I want you to see but when we get closer I show you who I am.




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