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The WORLD
By: Nightmare

Within the spreading darkness,
we exchanged vows of revolution
An evil flower that sprouted because it was loved
Because I can’t let anyone interfere
With everything that’ll come about from now on
The future that the fruit
told me of
The city that has forgotten reasoning
The present is distorted black
Dreams, turn into ideals
Why? Am I a broken Messiah?
Everyone wished for a “finale”…
Within the spreading darkness,
we exchanged vows of revolution
An evil flower that sprouted because it was loved
I can’t let anyone interfere
With everything that’ll come about from now on
Someday, I’ll show you a shining sky
Why? Am I a broken Messiah?
Everyone dreamt of a “paradise”…
Within the spreading
darkness, we exchanged vows of revolution
An evil flower that sprouted because it was loved
I can’t let anyone interfere
With everything that’ll come about from now on
Someday, I’ll show you a shining world


“The WORLD” by Nightmare is basically a summary of the Outsiders in song form. The Outsiders is all about the contrast between two different worlds, the Greasers and the Socs. After so many years of injustice and sadness, Ponyboy decides that he wants to change society somehow. Within the spreading darkness, could be a metaphor for the drive-thru. The drive-thru is when Ponyboy really first talked to a Soc. The exchanged vows of revolution were the thoughts that Ponyboy had about changing society. The evil flower that sprouted because it was loved can be seen as the Socs. Socs had no limits to what they could do. The Socs’ parents loved their children too much to put restraints on them. Ponyboy could be referring to the Socs when the line says, I can’t let anyone interfere. The future that the fruit told me of could be Cherry Valance. Cherry and Ponyboy talked about how the Socs and Greasers were the same at the drive-thru: “‘Things are tough all around,’” (p.35). After having this conversation with Cherry, Ponyboy sees that the world is corrupt and separates people from each other by class.

One of the lines from the song is the city that has forgotten reasoning. The city can be interpreted as Ponyboy’s city. The society he lives in doesn’t pay attention to the problems of the lower class, or the mischief caused by the upper class. The present distorted black describes the entirety of this community. If you pay the cops off, they will leave you alone. This allows the rich to commit crimes, and the poor to take the heat for the smallest of things. Dreams turn into ideals is a line that really shows a turning point in Ponyboy. His dream is that the Greaser’s side of the story will be told and that the Greasers and Socs will be seen as equals. When your dreams turn into ideals it means that you are ready to make your dreams happen. Everyone wished for a “finale”, is a really important line in this song. The “finale” in the book is the rumble. The rumble was Greasers against Socs to see who would keep control. All the Greasers wanted was a finale, a chance to prove that they were just as good as the Socs. The rumble was a big part in Ponyboy’s dream of having an equal world. The last line of the song is a promise. Someday, I’ll show you a shining world, is a promise that Ponyboy makes to everyone. He is going to share the Greasers’ story with everyone: “And I decided I could tell people, beginning with my English teacher,” (p.180). “The WORLD” is an excellent summary of the Outsiders in song form.