One of the great depression metaphors, in this song lead singer Ronnie James Dio is feeling isolated and trapped, unable to release the tremendous potential inside him - like a rainbow in the dark. Dio has mentioned his time as Black Sabbath lead singer as inspiration for the lyrics; he felt "alone and rejected" when he left the band. Along with Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice, he formed Dio in 1983.
Along with "Holy Diver," this is one of Dio's most popular songs. It's heavy on keyboards, which helped make the song more accessible to a pop audience, something Van Halen did with great success on their album 1984.
"Rainbow In The Dark" is one of Dio's most enduring songs, but Ronnie James Dio tried to murder it with a razor blade. "It's a song I really dislike," he explained in a track-by-track interview. "When it was finished, I announced to everyone that I was going to take a razor blade and cut the tape up. I went for the razor blade and they went, 'No, No! Don't!' For me it was too poppy for the album. I didn't want to create a piece of pop because I came from Black Sabbath, a band that allowed me to do anything as dark as I wanted to do it. I didn't want those people who liked what I did in Black Sabbath to say, 'Now he's changed. He's become a pop artist.' But they talked me out of it and I thanked them over and over. I still feel the song is too poppy, but it works.
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