its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
Saw you stretched out in Room ten oh nine
With a smile on your face and a tear right in your eye
Whoa, come see to get a line on you, my sweet honey love
Berber jewelry jangling down the street
Making bloodshot eyes at every woman that you meet
Could not seem to get high on you, my sweet honey love
May the good Lord shine a light on you
Make every song (you sing) your favorite tune
May the good Lord shine a light on you
Warm like the evening sun
When you're drunk in the elevator, with your clothes all torn
When your late night friends leave you in the cold gray dawn
Just seen too many flies on you, I just can't brush them off
Angels beating all their wings in time
With smiles on their faces and a gleam right in their eyes
Whoa, thought I heard one sigh for you
Come on up, come on up, now, come on up now
May the good Lord shine a light on you, yeah
Make every song you sing your favorite tune
May the good Lord shine a light on you, yeah
Warm like the evening sun
Come on up now, come on up now, come on up now, come on up, come on
May the good Lord shine a light on you
Make every song you sing your favorite tune
May the good Lord shine a light on you
Warm like the evening sun, yeah, yeah
With a smile on your face and a tear right in your eye
Whoa, come see to get a line on you, my sweet honey love
Berber jewelry jangling down the street
Making bloodshot eyes at every woman that you meet
Could not seem to get high on you, my sweet honey love
May the good Lord shine a light on you
Make every song (you sing) your favorite tune
May the good Lord shine a light on you
Warm like the evening sun
When you're drunk in the elevator, with your clothes all torn
When your late night friends leave you in the cold gray dawn
Just seen too many flies on you, I just can't brush them off
Angels beating all their wings in time
With smiles on their faces and a gleam right in their eyes
Whoa, thought I heard one sigh for you
Come on up, come on up, now, come on up now
May the good Lord shine a light on you, yeah
Make every song you sing your favorite tune
May the good Lord shine a light on you, yeah
Warm like the evening sun
Come on up now, come on up now, come on up now, come on up, come on
May the good Lord shine a light on you
Make every song you sing your favorite tune
May the good Lord shine a light on you
Warm like the evening sun, yeah, yeah
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Shine a Light Lyrics as written by Mick Jagger Keith Richards
Lyrics © Abkco Music Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
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Is it about Brian? Is it about Keath? Is it about a groupie? What kind of of questions are these? This may be the most powerful hymn ever written. The lyrics was probably written with someone specific in mind, but the way they come out! It's not a person I think about when this song explodes out of my speakers. I think about hope, I think about faith and I think that "make every song you sing be your favourite tune" may very well be the most beautiful line ever written.
@erik.yefeng \r\nMick Jagger originally wrote the lyrics for Stones guitarist Brian Jones in 1968. The original lyrics were about Jones\' drug addiction which was slowly detaching him from the rest of the band, and the song was called "Get A Line On You," but it was never released. After Jones\' death, Jagger rewrote some of the lyrics and it was released in 1972 as "Shine A Light.
Kick ass song. Really though the orgn is what builds this song up to complete amazment, whatever, It's damn cool. I like this gospel come on up now
Wow I had always assumed it was Mick singing about Keef. But considering it as being about Brian takes it to a whole other level. Angels beating on their wings in time...come on up now. Starts to make sense. Berber jewelry does sound like Brian Jones. A great gospel rock number by the Stones, even if they did borrow the idea from "Let it Be" even borrowing Billy Preston and his church-tastic tones.
This song is about Brian Jones. It was written in that time period around his death, but wasn't released until "Exile" came out. Specifically, the parts about the flies, jewelry, and the eyes (it's hard to tell in the studio version, but when Mick sings it live it's "bloodshot eyes") all sound like Brian.
@lilavati Yeah it seems to be about Brian.
I had no idea this was about Brian Jones. It is a beautiful good soulful song. I love Exile. One of my favorite all time records...and as this site goes, goes radio play for it. It is the most underappreciated by anyone out of the inner core of Stones fans.
I always felt it was a song wishing a good friend well.
Beautiful Song. Underated.
i first heard this song live, off the Stripped album when i was about 4 or 5. Went and saw them in Sydney on Tuesday cuz Melbourne sold out too quickly. Greatest show ever!
I've always though that this song is actually about Marianne Faithfull. First of all, a lot of phrases seem to suggest the song is about a female ("My sweet honey love" and "Well you're drunk in the alley baby"). Also, "getting high" on women seems to be a pretty common theme in Mick's lyrics-- "What a beautiful buzz, what a beautiful buzz" in Loving Cup comes to mind. Finally, it is pretty well known that Marianne Faithfull was more or less a homeless heroin junkie for a few years after breaking up with Mick which fits right in with the second verse.
To me it's very simple.
Sometimes you may love anybody (girlfriend, friend), and this person may have a lot of problems, or just a big one (like an addiction). But in some point you realize that you can't keep on with the situation. You can't help anymore (you may be tired, without money, or the problem eventually could kill you). Then you take a step aside, and say, hey, you're great, I love you, but I can't give anymore... So, I'm out, but "may the good lord, shine a light on you". May the lord take good care of you, may the good lord help you, may the good lord save you.
I agree, but i read in a stones biog that it was Mick's song about Keith Richards.