Shake It Off

I think this song is Tweedy's way of saying that after all the trouble he went through during the rehab era and everything, he can still be creative and doesn't need all the complications to do so. He is gonna "shake off" all the expectations that people have of him, and continue to do what he does best.

oh, god, i registered just to comment on this song. the meaning is pretty clear enough; the music is what gets me. it reminds me of pink floyd (the melody--deep, spacey riffs) and the leader singer of train's vocals (earlier on anyway...). absolutely crunchy.

Somewhere there’s a war Sometimes there is art

Utter communication breakdown vs. the highest form of communication. Crazy world.

i get the pink floyd thing, but the beginning section of this song really reminds me of king crimson too. does anybody know what time signature it's in at the start? i can't tell whether it's something like 9/4 or just 4/4 with clever upbeats. i really love it though.

"Like a giant beast with many souls/no, just a body full of holes." - this

"I know you've got a God-shaped hole, bleeding out your heart full of soul." - Misunderstood (Being There)

i found this...i think JT is the real giant beast.

I have listened many many many times to this song and to this album. I am still undecided about the meaning of this one. The imagery is terrific. The chorus is inspiring. The delivery is superb. But what concerns me is - is it a good thing that he is shaking it off? Upon further consideration, I am still not sure. Maybe the singer is sad that he's gotta shake it off. What is spoiling his heart? Sleep? His dreams? If anyone has any insight, I would like to hear it.

I probably interpreted this too simply, but this song reminds me of having dreams where you are better off than in real life, "I take to sleep again/ Where I dare pretend/ I'm more than I seem" and then being disappointed when waking and having to "shake off" the feeling and come back to reality.

Anyway, the music and expression in this song is extraordinary, as well as the imagery in the lyrics, even if some of it is difficult to interpret.