The character Damon in The Vampire Diaries is not an uncharted name to most, however, fully understanding his character can be difficult. Indeed, he is a vampire of many complexities: brutal yet caring, irrational yet cunning, ruthless yet emotional… Over 8 years, 171 episodes, his story is one filled with loss and regret. Just summarizing him in one pithy paragraph is difficult, and yet, the song ‘Down’ did it, in 4 minutes.

The simple piano introduction demonstrates a perfect marriage of music and moment: the tone of subtle sorrow visualizes Damon’s pain when he was lying on the ground at night, forced to confront the loss of his life, his dream, his love, and his humanity. He’s almost blending into the silent darkness, so lonesome, clinging on to the last hope of someone saving him from himself and the world.

I don't know where I'm at
I'm standing at the back
And I'm tired of waiting

The moment we understand Damon’s outrageous actions, is the moment we percept his feeling of lost- the first layer of Down. Damon had been at the “back”, viewing all ecstasies falling on his little brother Stefan. A closeup to him, and we can see his well-covered scars, feel his deep-hidden reluctance to accept fate. This single image is a more powerful representation of Damon’s life than any description: he’s defeated again and again, yet he’s coming back, again and again.

Not ready to let go
I'm missing way too much
So when do I give up what I was wishing for

Moving on to the second image- Damon’s sorrow for his lost. He’s clinging to the last parts of his dream, his love, and his humanity, because he doesn’t want to “miss” anything anymore. But he’s already been losing everything. This is an externalization of every failure in his life interrogating his soul: “when” do you “give up?”

I shot for the sky
I'm stuck on the ground
So why do I try, I know I'm gonna fall down
I'll never know why it's coming down, down, down

Then, there’s the image of hopelessness. The song reinforces that fate is playing a game of mischief with Damon. He dreams to be a kind, moral, loving savior. But he’s “drowning” in the harsh reality of being remembered as a brutal, selfish, and irrational demon. The more he fights, the harder he’ll “fall”, and the more is “coming down”.

I can't find another way around
I don't wanna hear the sound
Of losing what I never found

We couldn’t lose what we “never found”. This juxtaposition is perhaps the most powerful section. The darkness of fate trapped Damon, along with his vigor, dignity, and dream. The night devoured his struggles, leaving endless painfulness with the audiences.

For me and many other Vampire Diaries fans, this song will always be Damon. His mixture of love and hate, kind and ruthless, and dream and fate… But on the other hand, there’re no parts of the lyrics that directly refers to him. It could also be any other characters or anyone you can link to in the real life. The real trick is, a song doesn’t need to be complex to be effective.