Do 'Darkness of night' and 'Dark of night' mean the same thing?
The singer says 'Dark of night' in this song: [at 1:47]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih3aAx-S5xg

But what's the difference between 'Dark of night' and 'Darkness of night'?
Thank you in advance.

Question

Do 'Darkness of night' and 'Dark of night' mean the same thing?
The singer says 'Dark of night' in this song: [at 1:47]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih3aAx-S5xg

But what's the difference between 'Dark of night' and 'Darkness of night'?
Thank you in advance.

Answer

"the dark" and "darkness" have the same meaning.

"darkness" is the common noun in everyday speech.

"the dark" is more commonly seen in literary language but also the everyday expression "to be afraid of the dark".