Send away for a priceless gift
One not subtle,
One not on the list
Send away for a perfect world
One not simply
So absurd
In these times of doing what you're told,
Keep these feelings
No one knows
Whatever happened
To the young man's heart?
Swallowed by pain,
As he slowly fell apart...
And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
[Forty-five]
Swimming thru the ashes of another life,
[Another life]
No real reason to accept the way
Things have changed
Staring down the barrel of a 45...
Send a message to the unborn child,
Keep your eyes open for a while.
In a box high up on the shelf,
Left for you, no one else
There's a piece of a puzzle known as life,
Wrapped in guilt, sealed up tight. [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shinedown/45.html ]
Whatever happened
To the young man's heart?
Swallowed by pain,
As he slowly fell apart!
And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
[Forty-five]
Swimming thru the ashes of another life
[Another life]
No real reason to accept the way things have changed,
Staring down the barrel of a 45
Everyone's pointing their fingers,
Always condemning me!
Nobody knows what I believe,
I believe...
And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
[Forty five]
Swimming thru the ashes of another life,
[Another life]
No real reason to accept the way things have changed,
Staring down the barrel of a 45...
And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
[Ooooohhh...]
And I'm swimming thru the ashes of another life,
[Ooooohhh...]
There is no real reason to accept the way
Things have changed
Staring down the barrel of a 45...
I was reading and interview with brent smith (lead singer), and he said it wasnt literally a gun, but a metaphor saying a man takes a good hard look at his life and has deciding that his life needs to change. Im guessing the 45 means he is starting his life anew
I really don't care what the meaning of this song is, except the fact that i love it. It has it's own sentimental reason for me. I heard this song i want 2 say 4 the 1st time that i remember on my 30th bday w a man that promised me he'd change my life and he did. I am so thankful that i have him in my life. He keeps me grounded n has made me realize the finer points in life n sees no flaws in me. He has looked at me w complete adoration from the very first time we met.
This dude is totally depressed with the way life is and how his life is
he doesnt think he can go on feeling this way
and the only way he thinks he can stop feeling this way is to shoot himself
very morbid
but some people think this way and he's just sooo dissapointed and for him nothing going to change so he should just leave this life so he wont have to deal with pain, or dissapointment, or sorrow, or anything else
The lyrics tell a story of his disappointment in the changes the world has taken over time. When he says
"send away for a priceless gift
one not subtle,
one not on the list
send away for a perfect world
one not simply
so absurd"
he's saying that to make him happy the world has to change. He's upset that the world is so messed up in this age, and most likely he doesn't feel that his beliefs and ideas fit in to how today's society works ("everyone's pointing their fingers, always condemning me! Nobody knows what i believe, i believe... "). Now he feels that the only escpae from this hell of a world is suicide, hence the "staring down the barrel of a 45" lyric. The ending of the sone leaves us with an image of him with a gun against his head getting ready to take his last breath.
This song to me is about realizing that you need to make some changes in a ones life. So the 45 is the person getting rid of the things he needs to change.