In the wake of the 249th and 250th mass shooting events of 2019 in the United States of America, I’ve been hearing references to the “dark corners of the internet” where extremists — particularly white supremacists — gather to share their evil misunderstandings of life on Earth and cheer each other on in their shared neuroses and brutal insanity and twisted sins.

This, of course, put me in mind of “Dark Corners,” a song I wrote back in the 1980s before the internet made these evil spaces so widely available.

Dark Corners

You can know your heart—
you can know your mind—
know yourself as wise and kind,
and still be shocked by the things you find
          in dark corners.
 
You can know your husband—
you can know your wife—
know somebody for all your life,
and still never know the things they hide
          in dark corners . . .
 
. . . where the rattling bones
mark the danger zones—
dark corners—
we’ve all got ’em.
 
You can know your neighbor—
you can know your street—
know the cop who guards your beat,
and still be frightened of things you meet
          on dark corners.
 
You can know the state—
you can know the church—
know how it all is supposed to work,
but even our leaders have things that lurk
          in dark corners . . .
 
. . . where the rattling bones
mark the danger zones—
dark corners—
we’ve all got ’em.
 
Behind some genteel Southern manners
there’s a monster on the move.
And its kind runs rampant around the world—
fearing only love and truth they hide
          in dark corners . . .
 
. . . where the rattling bones
mark the danger zones—
dark corners—
we’ve all got ’em.
 

Words by Michael Cody
Music by Michael Cody, Mark H. Chesshir, Gene Ford, Steve Grossman
Publishers: Window on the West / SCL Music / Aslan’s Den

This remains true, I think, but I didn’t realize at that time how dark and dangerous those dark corners could really be.