"Light The Lanterns" (also known as "Illumination Night" or "Legacy") is an unidentified folk-rock song discovered from a cassette tape labeled "Demo - Listen Today" and the recording is speculated to date back to 1985 based on the tape's sound. Musically, the track features a female lead vocalist, backing vocals, slide guitar, piano (possibly a Yamaha CP-70 or CP-80), fretless bass, and what is believed to be a dulcimer.
Search History
The song was first posted to Youtube on September 28th, 2019, by user Windows to Sky. It was discovered on a cassette tape in the Los Angeles area from the mid 1980s labelled "Demo - Listen Today".
Another upload of the song was posted onto November 19th, 2019 by a user named Simon Hill, made just to remaster the song but due to the uploader privating the original upload of the song, it has became the most popular upload of the song for a while until it's sudden takedown off of Youtube.
In 2020, the original upload was set to private after the uploader recieved harassment from an internet troll who had accused them of recording and creating the song. Since then, the original uploader had expressed their disintrest in the search.[1]
The song tells the story of Martha's Vineyard’s annual Grand Illumination, an event where thousands of paper lanterns light up the night in a celebrated tradition[2][3]. Despite its detailed references to the island, somehow no local organizations or historical societies recognize the song.
In the chorus, the lyrics mention the iconic "gingerbread houses" in Oak Bluffs, a landmark beloved by island visitors. This detail suggests the song’s creators may have been American.
Over time, the song was reuploaded to YouTube by multiple other users, such as Realized Janusz, JayKay, LostwaveFinder, Zumi, Black Cat, Revolutionary_War, Aero, Ofrix, LostwaveTT, AlianTheObscure, SpikeytheCactus, Q, 𝑀𝑟. 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑠, Rocketballboi, and multiple others, amassing over 250k views.
On June 16th, 2024, the song's authenticity was defended on the r/lostwave subreddit, where users provided evidence explaining why the track should not be considered a hoax.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
She was born on a magic island
There's a certain mythology
I was already on the outside
I wanted to be what I wanted to be
She took me to illumination night
To pass on a legacy
[Chorus]
Crazy ladies in gingerbread houses
Light the lanterns for the shipwrecked sailors
Celebrate the homecoming
Celebrate the moment when
The will to live collides with love
Lights the lanterns everyone
And pray that the rain won't come
[Verse 2]
She left me with Grace the next year
She went away; I don't know where
Grace got drunk at a Chinese restaurant
So all I saw were the lights extinguishing
I'm going back on illumination night
To see if I can light the lights
[Chorus]
Crazy ladies in gingerbread houses
Light the lanterns for the shipwrecked sailors
Celebrate the homecoming
Celebrate the moment when
The will to live collides with love
Lights the lanterns everyone
And pray that the rain won't come
[Instrumental Bridge]
[Chorus]
Crazy ladies in gingerbread houses
Light the lanterns for the shipwrecked sailors
Celebrate the homecoming
Celebrate the moment when
The will to live collides with love
Lights the lanterns everyone
And pray that the rain won't come
