"And if you don't believe the sun will rise, stand alone and greet the coming night in the last remaining light"
About this Quote
The subtext is classic Cornell: solitude isn’t romantic here, it’s compulsory. You don’t wait for a crowd to validate your faith; you perform belief in private, when it’s least rewarded. “Greet” is the sharpest verb in the quote. It implies dignity, even courtesy, toward darkness - not surrender, not denial. He’s not telling you to pretend the night isn’t coming. He’s telling you to meet it upright, to practice the posture of endurance.
Context matters because Cornell’s catalog is crowded with spiritual weather: grunge-era disenchantment, addiction’s looping negotiations, the long hangover of the 90s dream. This line reads like a late-stage survival tactic from someone who knew that hope can’t always be felt, only enacted. The sunrise becomes less a guarantee than a discipline: you keep watch, you keep your station, you conserve a sliver of light long enough to make it to morning.
Quote Details
| Topic | Loneliness |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cornell, Chris. (n.d.). And if you don't believe the sun will rise, stand alone and greet the coming night in the last remaining light. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-if-you-dont-believe-the-sun-will-rise-stand-64322/
Chicago Style
Cornell, Chris. "And if you don't believe the sun will rise, stand alone and greet the coming night in the last remaining light." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-if-you-dont-believe-the-sun-will-rise-stand-64322/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And if you don't believe the sun will rise, stand alone and greet the coming night in the last remaining light." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-if-you-dont-believe-the-sun-will-rise-stand-64322/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.














