In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Spotlight, shine bright
Tonight, spotlight
No one knows you better than you know yourself
Do the thing you want don't wait for someone else
Life is just a party that's all you need to know
It's your turn to shine baby let yourself go
Everybody is a star
Everyone is special in their own way
So you set your goals high and go far
Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today
[Chorus:]
Spotlight, open up your eyes and see
Spotlight, shining out for you and me
Spotlight, this world is yours and mine
Spotlight, this is your chance to shine
Don't stand in the corner waiting for the chance
Make your own music start your own dance
When you feel the rhythm, I'll be by your side
Now you have the power baby love is on your side
Everybody wants to shine
Don't stand in the sideline, step into the light
But it's got to come from inside
Listen to your heart and step into the
[Chorus]
Don't be afraid to fall
I'll hear you when you call
And I'll be right here by your side
Don't be afraid to try
Everybody is a star
It's got to come from the heart
Spotlight, this world is yours and mine
Spotlight, this is your chance to shine
Don't be afraid to fall
I'll hear you when you call
And I'll be right here by your side
Don't be afraid to try
Everybody wants to shine
Don't stand in the sideline, step into the light
But it's got to come from inside
Listen to heart and step into the light
Don't be afraid to fall
I'll hear you when you call
And I'll be right here by your side
Don't be afraid to try
[Chorus]
Everybody is a star, you know who you are
This is your chance to shine
It's got to come from the heart, do it right from the start
And step into the light
Tonight, spotlight
No one knows you better than you know yourself
Do the thing you want don't wait for someone else
Life is just a party that's all you need to know
It's your turn to shine baby let yourself go
Everybody is a star
Everyone is special in their own way
So you set your goals high and go far
Don't put off tomorrow what you can do today
[Chorus:]
Spotlight, open up your eyes and see
Spotlight, shining out for you and me
Spotlight, this world is yours and mine
Spotlight, this is your chance to shine
Don't stand in the corner waiting for the chance
Make your own music start your own dance
When you feel the rhythm, I'll be by your side
Now you have the power baby love is on your side
Everybody wants to shine
Don't stand in the sideline, step into the light
But it's got to come from inside
Listen to your heart and step into the
[Chorus]
Don't be afraid to fall
I'll hear you when you call
And I'll be right here by your side
Don't be afraid to try
Everybody is a star
It's got to come from the heart
Spotlight, this world is yours and mine
Spotlight, this is your chance to shine
Don't be afraid to fall
I'll hear you when you call
And I'll be right here by your side
Don't be afraid to try
Everybody wants to shine
Don't stand in the sideline, step into the light
But it's got to come from inside
Listen to heart and step into the light
Don't be afraid to fall
I'll hear you when you call
And I'll be right here by your side
Don't be afraid to try
[Chorus]
Everybody is a star, you know who you are
This is your chance to shine
It's got to come from the heart, do it right from the start
And step into the light
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Spotlight Lyrics as written by Madonna Ciccone Curtis Hudson
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
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.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
This song is so positive and fun to dance to. I love it. Everybody's a star. That's enough for me!
Spotlight is Madonna's song to all of us-Her Audience. She is writing the son to and for us. We are singing Spotlight back to her. Madonna will always Live to Tell and be a Ray of Light to the world because she has a happy outlook about her life. She will Forever Touch Our Souls and Open Our Hearts in Her Music. Madonna Forever. The Ciccone Spotlight is Hers-and Hers Alone. Hail Madonna, Full of Grace! Amen, my brilliant lady!