Shayla worked in a factory
She wasn't history
She's just a number
One day she gets her final pay and she goes far away
Green trees call to me
I am free but life is so cheap
Scenery is still outside of me
All alone trapped by its beauty
Shayla turned to run away to leave in peace and end her stay
Years of fear were in her way
Lost in space and down she came
Suddenly some subtle entity, some cosmic energy, brushed her like shadows
Down here we stop to wonder
Cars on the freeway
Bright lights and thunder
She wasn't history
She's just a number
One day she gets her final pay and she goes far away
Green trees call to me
I am free but life is so cheap
Scenery is still outside of me
All alone trapped by its beauty
Shayla turned to run away to leave in peace and end her stay
Years of fear were in her way
Lost in space and down she came
Suddenly some subtle entity, some cosmic energy, brushed her like shadows
Down here we stop to wonder
Cars on the freeway
Bright lights and thunder
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
My name is Shayla, which I understand probably matters to none of you, but I think it's cool, because I can sorta relate to the song. The way I interpret it personally is that it's about a girl who had really nothing special going on in her life and was pretty bored, and one day she just decides to leave to find something else.
my name is Shayla too =D
you both pretty much said exactly what i thought, but for some reason at the end, it always makes me think that she dies or something...which i don't ACTUALLY think, it just sort of seems like it...i don't know what i'm trying to say now haha.
If she (indeed) dies, she dies in a car accident, on a slippery road.
If she (indeed) dies, she dies in a car accident, on a slippery road.
I am free but life is so cheap Scenery is still outside of me All alone trapped by its beauty
I am free but life is so cheap Scenery is still outside of me All alone trapped by its beauty
That's a wonderful lyric.
That's a wonderful lyric.
Me, too. I always thought she committed suicide. She left her job because she planned to kill herself, but she went on one last trip down the freeway. I thought the "lost in space and down she came" part was her jumping off a bridge, and passerbys wondered who this lovely, anonymous dead girl was.
Me, too. I always thought she committed suicide. She left her job because she planned to kill herself, but she went on one last trip down the freeway. I thought the "lost in space and down she came" part was her jumping off a bridge, and passerbys wondered who this lovely, anonymous dead girl was.
A more optimistic interpretation is that "lost in space" refers to Shayla daydreaming and the "cosmic energy" is God or some source of inspiration that encourages her not to end her life after all. I would like to believe that this is what...
A more optimistic interpretation is that "lost in space" refers to Shayla daydreaming and the "cosmic energy" is God or some source of inspiration that encourages her not to end her life after all. I would like to believe that this is what really happened to her.
this song is about transcending the mundane. shayla gets a glimpse of the immortal and has a life changing moment. maybe she gets enlightened. chris stein deliberately leaves the answer vague and open to interpretation. debbie's vocals create more of a sense of futility and despair than chris' somewhat trite lyrics, IMHO.
"Life is so cheap"... Suicide? "Scenery is still outside of me"... Shayla cannot escape her body and this life. "Lost in space and down she came"... She jumps. "some subtle entity, some cosmic energy"... What comes next? "Down here we stop to wonder"
@jdidy great insight, thanks!
@jdidy great insight, thanks!
“Shayla” is absolutely one of the best tracks by Blondie.
Here's my interpretation.
"Shayla" tells the story of a very an ordinary depressed who first works a dull blue-collar life. After some years of this existence, she begins to meltdown. She impulsively quits her job in a search for that elusive happiness. She goes to a pretty, scenic-type area to ponder, but still finds no solace. ("Scenery is still outside of me; All alone trapped by its beauty...”)
She finally bottoms out ("Shayla turned to run away to leave in peace and end her stay; Years of fear were in her way...") and kills herself in an automobile accident. ("Cause on the freeway; Bright lights and thunder...")
Then, at the very moment she perished, a spirit lifts her out of her misery to a better life. ("Lost in space and down she came-Suddenly some subtle entity, some cosmic energy, brushed her like shadows…”)
@VWs best and most interesting comment. Thank you!
@VWs best and most interesting comment. Thank you!
@VWs Another song with an amazing lyric is "Double Take" from the NO EXIT album. Print out the lyrics and see how rather complex they are.
@VWs Another song with an amazing lyric is "Double Take" from the NO EXIT album. Print out the lyrics and see how rather complex they are.
It's about a suicide.
I think it's about a girl who isn't very happy with her job and her life, so she decides to leave. ("Shayla turned to run away/leave in peace and end her stay/years of fear were in her way/lost in space and down she goes") But then something happens, maybe depression or grief, and she dies. It feels to me like it's a tragic accident nobody knows the cause of or she committed suicide. ("Cars on the freeway/bright lights and thunder") It's such a beautiful song. "bright lights and thunder" really stands out to me, as well as "I'm free, but life is so cheap"
I think this is one of Blondie's best and most overlooked songs. It's beautiful and there's some beautiful imagery in the song "Bright lights and thunder". I think it's about a girl who is very ordinary and no one takes much notice of her. One day, she just takes off.
Oh, by the way, the lyric is "Cars" on the freeway...Debbie's Joisey accent must have thrown you off! Ha Ha
I think, at the end, Shayla dies ("bright lights and thunder")