This paper is a reflection upon a central tension within discourse analysis. On the one hand, the use of the word discourse signals a desire to understand social interaction as it emerges for the people engaged in that interaction, yet on the other hand, the word analysis signals that language use will be studied in terms that are external to the sense-making of its participants. The discussion focuses in particular on critical discourse analysts, motivated by emancipatory goals, for it is for them that the tension is most acute. The paper proposes that greater theoretical emphasis be placed by critical discourse scholars on the analyst’s interpretative labour. In particular, it argues that a more hermeneutic discourse analysis can begin to turn this central problem into a strength.