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Our Shangri-La Lyrics
It's the end of a perfect day for all the surfer boys and girls
The suns dropping down in the bay and falling off the world
There's a diamond in the sky, our evening stone in our Shangri-La
Get that fire burning strong right here and right now
Its here and then its gone, theres no secret anyhow.
We may never love again to the music of guitars in our Shangri-La
Tonight your beauty burns into my memory
The wheel of heaven turns above us endlessly
This is all the heaven we got, right here where we are in our Shangri-La.
Tonight your beauty burns into my memory
The wheel of heaven turns above us endlessly
This is all the heaven we got, right here where we are in our Shangri-La.
In our Shangri-La
In our Shangri-La
The suns dropping down in the bay and falling off the world
There's a diamond in the sky, our evening stone in our Shangri-La
Its here and then its gone, theres no secret anyhow.
We may never love again to the music of guitars in our Shangri-La
The wheel of heaven turns above us endlessly
This is all the heaven we got, right here where we are in our Shangri-La.
The wheel of heaven turns above us endlessly
This is all the heaven we got, right here where we are in our Shangri-La.
In our Shangri-La
In our Shangri-La
Song Info
Submitted by
redmax On Oct 04, 2004
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"tonight your beauty burns into my memory."
i MELT every time i hear this line
Paradise? eh. i have to question that one.
Knopfler doesn't write love songs, he tells stories. I'm stealing a quote from someone else's post on Romeo and Juliet (a song written by Knopfer and performed by his band, Dire Straits). Here it goes: remember that Mark Knopfler never really wrote songs to convey emotions but he was more of a story teller. And while most of his songs carry a lot of emotion, you need to look into the lyrics to understand the song.
"This is all the heaven we got, right here where we are in our Shangri-La." They are not in Paradise, its just a great one night stand. But don't let that stop you from loving the song, its really great.
noooooo, tpf. aye! check out where he was in life at the time he wrote Romeo and Juliet. remember: MK's an intensely private man. he likely wouldn't say it was a love song---he'll give facts about it. re-examine Romeo and Juliet. check out his first marriage to a girl named . . . Cindy, is it? check out that period in his life when he was calling his brother's or friend's flat 'home.' dude.
noooooo, tpf. aye! check out where he was in life at the time he wrote Romeo and Juliet. remember: MK's an intensely private man. he likely wouldn't say it was a love song---he'll give facts about it. re-examine Romeo and Juliet. check out his first marriage to a girl named . . . Cindy, is it? check out that period in his life when he was calling his brother's or friend's flat 'home.' dude.
Yes, amazing song - actually the live version is better, with a more interesting introduction on the piano.
The point of this song is not a nice location - that is completely missing the point. Yes, Shangri-La means a paradisical location, but it's wrong to read too much into that in this case. Shangri-La is actually the name of the studio where Knopfler recorded the whole album - URL here: http://www.beejtar.com/#
This song is not about a place but is actually about love, youth and companionship. The singer knows youth doesn't last for ever - "it's here and then it's gone", "we may never love again". All the "surfer boys and girls" are the spirit of carefree youth, and the singer is one of them. Not only that but he has his lover with him, and all the friendship, passion and freedom blend into a Shangri-La of the emotions - there is a place, but it's a place in his head/heart.
The pleasure is not unalloyed - that would make the song shallow. There's a pang of pain there as well, because the singer knows that tonight is the best it can be, and that there may never be any more moments in his life like this.
But that doesn't mean it is a one-night stand, as someone says above. Why spoil it by saying that? "We may never love again" doesn't mean "This is a one-night stand"; it means "We may never love anyone else as much as we love each other at this moment."
Yes - no one writes them like MK; and he seems to have got better with time.
Yes - no one writes them like MK; and he seems to have got better with time.
I agree largely with songanalyst's interpretation - the location might have some bearing on the song's meaning; alternatively it may simply serve as a romantic backdrop to the strong feelings which motivated him to write this beautiful lyric.
I agree largely with songanalyst's interpretation - the location might have some bearing on the song's meaning; alternatively it may simply serve as a romantic backdrop to the strong feelings which motivated him to write this beautiful lyric.
He refers to an occassion many of us may have had, when we experienced a moment of overpowering love and closeness with someone we held very dear. The painful 'twist in the tail', however, is the recognition that this moment was likely to have been...
He refers to an occassion many of us may have had, when we experienced a moment of overpowering love and closeness with someone we held very dear. The painful 'twist in the tail', however, is the recognition that this moment was likely to have been fleeting, and may never occur again.
One of the best songs by one of the greatest song writers we have.
Does no one here like Mark Knopfler....? This song is AMAZING!
i do i do i do !!! love 'im !!! have been for decades. i'd be so happy if i could even just . . . oh, i dunno . . . touch his elbow or something. if he spoke to me, i'd piddle. he's the best balladeer i've EVER heard, and an icon of a guitar virtuoso. "like" him? there's no word to adequate describe my admiration for him and his work. OH yeah. i like him, alright.
i do i do i do !!! love 'im !!! have been for decades. i'd be so happy if i could even just . . . oh, i dunno . . . touch his elbow or something. if he spoke to me, i'd piddle. he's the best balladeer i've EVER heard, and an icon of a guitar virtuoso. "like" him? there's no word to adequate describe my admiration for him and his work. OH yeah. i like him, alright.
This is the perfect song if you want to feel like you are in a tropical paradise, alone and in perfect harmony with nature.
You are right he doesn't do love songs he does tell stories but I believe hes writing about a great night in paradise.
ah but he DOES write love songs. what about Golden Heart? Nobody's Got the Gun? Romeo and Juliet? This is Us? and on one of his new cds there's the one about the damaged ship that's out of commission for awhile. that one has an interesting parallel with his recovery period following the hit-and-run accident where a young woman mows him down while he's riding one of his great motorcycles. fenderpaman, take the shades off your eyes. look closely for those love songs. cheers!
ah but he DOES write love songs. what about Golden Heart? Nobody's Got the Gun? Romeo and Juliet? This is Us? and on one of his new cds there's the one about the damaged ship that's out of commission for awhile. that one has an interesting parallel with his recovery period following the hit-and-run accident where a young woman mows him down while he's riding one of his great motorcycles. fenderpaman, take the shades off your eyes. look closely for those love songs. cheers!
Given that the song was recorded at Shangri-La Studios in southern California, I think some folks feel it's about that specific place. To me, it's a statement made to a soul mate- that night is their heaven, and should they never have another, what they do have will sustain them. I think it is about the passage of time, the wheel of heaven turns without end, and so does their love. To me 'tonight your beauty burns into my memory' ranks right on up there with 'kiss you through the bars of a rhyme'. I also think ' I think my heart would break in two- I kiss your cheek and keep my self from waking you'. A master of lyrical revelations.
This is what sets Knopfler apart from most others, not only is he one of the best guitar players out there but is also a great songwriter. I mean really- tonight your beauty burns into my memory, the wheel of heaven turns above us endlessly. To be able to match that with an appropriate melody, guitar parts etc. takes a real gift. I don't believe in reading too much into the lyrics of a song. Let the words and music tell the story. This is a beautifully written song where the writer has everything has everything he could possibly want at this particular moment.
Knopfler wrote this (and other songs of the Shangri-La album) after a motorcycle accident that left him unable to play the quitar for half a year.
"One thing I've learnt since the accident is how quickly things can change, and so I try to enjoy the present," he says. "I'm not constantly pushing forward and looking to the future the way I used to as a young man. Shangri-La is about getting as much out of the present as you possibly can and treasuring moments of happiness as they happen. For me, they are private moments with your loved ones. I've had lots of highlights through the years, but there's nothing that's sweeter than a child."
(from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/mens-health/3309660/She-could-have-asked-how-I-was.html)