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Shanghaied Lyrics
Money in the bank ain't worth what it was since the bullion sank in a pool of sharks
Shanghaied, shanghaied
And I don't wanna wait for the banks to break
And the waved to close on our perfect place
Shanghaied, shanghaied
But I don't see your face anymore
Throw your knuckles down to the floor
Why do you have to lay awake?
Why do you pray?
'Cos there is passion going to waste
And you'd let loving die in your haste
Why do you have to lay awake?
Why do you pray?
To be on your own, to be on your own
You took a knife to my life but as long as you say your sorry
You took the sand from my hand but as long as you say you care
But I don't see your face anymore
Throw your knuckles down to the floor
Why do you have to lay awake?
Why do you pray?
'Cos there is passion going to waste
And you'd let loving die in your haste
Why do you have to lay awake?
Why do you pray?
To be on your own, to be on your own, to be on your own
Shanghaied, shanghaied
And I don't wanna wait for the banks to break
And the waved to close on our perfect place
Shanghaied, shanghaied
But I don't see your face anymore
Throw your knuckles down to the floor
Why do you have to lay awake?
Why do you pray?
'Cos there is passion going to waste
And you'd let loving die in your haste
Why do you have to lay awake?
Why do you pray?
To be on your own, to be on your own
You took a knife to my life but as long as you say your sorry
You took the sand from my hand but as long as you say you care
But I don't see your face anymore
Throw your knuckles down to the floor
Why do you have to lay awake?
Why do you pray?
'Cos there is passion going to waste
And you'd let loving die in your haste
Why do you have to lay awake?
Why do you pray?
To be on your own, to be on your own, to be on your own
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Fuck!! I can’t believe there aren’t any comments on this hell of a song after 15 years of its release...
about the song, my guess = a girl leaves a guy - who’s still very much into her - alleging she wants be alone...time passes by and he still wants her but still can’t make sense of her decision, moreover, can’t make sense of why she suddenly changed when they were still together, becoming oblivious to him and the relationship:
"Why do you pray? To be on your own, to be on your own"
He’s mad, angry, frustrated at the indifference of the girl (more so cause it sounds like he’s still trying to see her but she doesn’t give a damn anymore):
"But I don't see your face anymore Throw your knuckles down to the floor”
"'Cos there is passion going to waste And you'd let loving die in your haste”
The next lines - my fav. ones - show the guy’s impotence and resignation about his situation:
"You took a knife to my life but as long as you say your sorry You took the sand from my hand but as long as you say you care”
(you used me and wasted my time as if nothing and you barely seem to care...)
However I can’t figure out the meaning of the first lines of the song and how they fit with the rest:
"Money in the bank ain't worth what it was since the bullion sank in a pool of sharks"
"And I don't wanna wait for the banks to break And the waved to close on our perfect place"
About the title...
Shanghaied:
In slang, "shanghaied" means to be kidnapped or tricked into doing something, often against one's will, and particularly to be forced into a situation or job. It originated from the historical practice of kidnapping sailors in the 1800s, often by drugging them, and forcing them to work on ships, especially those bound for Shanghai, hence the term.
The traditional way of Shanghai was to drug someone and put them on a boat while they were still unconscious. When the person woke up, he was in the middle of the ocean (in the middle of nowhere) heading for “Shanghai". Since he could not return to the place from which he was taken (and being weeks away from arriving at his destination), it was better for him to get to work (regardless of the “disconcerting” of the situation).
My 2 cents...