Weekly Shinedown - Song Four - 45 - Acoustic!

Hey There!

So the fourth Shinedown song that I ever heard was 45 - Acoustic. Now, if you read my last post, you would know that when I finally decided to look into Shinedown myself, I came across four acoustic tracks by Shinedown.

When I typed in "Shinedown Acoustic" into Spotify, 45 - Acoustic was the second song on the list, after Simple Man - Acoustic. And again, I am really glad that I actually listened to my Uncle Peter, and searched deeper into Shinedown to discover more songs by them.

Then basically throughout the whole of June and July of 2014, I was constantly listening to thee four Shinedown acoustic songs, and I really rooted for 45. The main reason that I loved it so much was because of the single guitar plucks at the beginning of the song.

45 is one of my favourite songs of Shinedown to sing because it is so easy and straightforward, and it really suits my voice, especially the acoustic version. In terms of playing 45 on the guitar, I have had a couple of attempts, but it is not the easiest job in the world, mainly because I keep forgetting how to play the F-minor, even though it is actually quite easy for me to play. Hopefully, I will be able to improve my guitar playing, and learn more chords that are so easy to play, but so difficult to remember.

So here is how I delved deeper into Shinedown, and although I didn't know it at the time, I was slowly but surely becoming a Devoted Shinedowner!

Please feel free to talk about Shinedown in the comments section, especially if you think that they are one of your all-time favourite bands, like I do!

I'll see you all next Thursday!

Lois xx

P.S. I'll leave the lyrics to 45 - Acoustic below incase you're interested!

Send away for a priceless gift
One not subtle, one not on the list
Send away for a perfect world
One not simply, so absurd
In these times of doing what you're told
Keep these feelings, no one knows

What ever happened to the young man's heart
Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart

And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
Swimming through the ashes of another life
No real reason to accept the way things have changed
Staring down the barrel of a 45

Send a message to the unborn child
Keep your eyes open for a while
In a box high up on the shelf, left for you, no one else
There's a piece of a puzzle known as life
Wrapped in guilt, sealed up tight

What ever happened to the young man's heart
Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart

Everyone's pointing their fingers
Always condemning me
And nobody knows what I believe
I believe

And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
And I'm swimming through the ashes of another life
There's no real reason to accept the way things have changed
Staring down the barrel of a 45

45
Staring down the barrel of a 45

Weekly Shinedown - Song Three - Simple Man - Acoustic!

Hey there!

The third Shinedown song that I discovered was one called Simple Man - Acoustic.

This was the first Shinedown song that I managed to find on my own devices. I also didn't hear it in my Uncle'a car!

So basically around the beginning of June 2014, I decided to finally listen to my Uncle Peter, and actually listen to some more Shinedown songs.

Since I am obsessed with the app Spotify, I searched for Shinedown, and I was greeted with a long list of their songs. I was scrolling down the list, and I noticed that quite a number of their songs were acoustic versions of the original. Now I am a very big fan of acoustic covers, many because they are easier to play on guitar, and even to sing when I'm up for it.

I decided that rather than listening to every single Shinedown song, I would just search "Shinedown Acoustic" and see what comes up. Most of the songs were live acoustic songs, so I decided that rather than listening got all of these, I would just listen to the four most popular songs. And the most popular happened to be Simple Man - Acoustic!

I also listened to the other three Shinedown songs shortly after, but Simple Man was my first. I especially loved the introduction to the song because of the simple guitar plucks, so this was how I became drawn to this song. For most of June and July, I spent most of my time listening to these four songs on repeat, and this was when I was finally really into Shinedown.

However, I did not realise that Simple Man was not actually written; it was a cover by the band Lynyrd Skynyrd until I was at church again one Saturday night in September. Me and some of my church friends (who you've probably heard about loads by now) were having a Nerf war night. After multiple hours of playing game after game, my Uncle Peter decided that he would get out his acoustic guitar. As per usual, he usually loses interest halfway through the night, and gets his guitar out to play. But it's usually his rock guitar that he uses, plugged into an amplifier (which is an absolute pain when you're trying to yell instructions to everyone).

Yet tonight, he had his acoustic guitar out, and he was playing Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd, which I was vaguely familiar with. Sometime later, whilst I was guarding our base, he started playing Simple Man from the other side of the room. I actually got so excited that he was playing Simple Man. Then he shouted across to me "Do you recognise the song, Lois?" and I nodded. Then he went onto explain about the whole history of the song, and this is how I found out where it originally came from.

I had actually heard the Rock Version of Simple Man around this time, but acoustic was always a personal favourite of mine. I have attempted to play this song on guitar, and since the only chords are C, G and Am, it isn't that difficult. Especially since the A-minor is my favourite chord to play. So hopefully, I should get the hang of the song rhythm soon enough.

Recently, I've had to practise singing with my Uncle Peter, and a guy from our church called Kev so that I can sing in front of the church, which is probably one of the scariest things ever. Whist they were setting up, Peter started to play Simple Man on his guitar because he knew that I know this song really well. He was then singing full-blast into he microphone, and it was so cool. I just wish that I had the confidence to do what he can do.

But here is how my Shinedown journey developed. I would love to hear from you guys in the comments section which Shinedown songs really hooked you into being a massive fan of them.

I'll see you all next Thursday!

Lois xx

P.S. I'll leave the lyrics to Simple Man - Acoustic below incase you're interested!

Well mama told me, when I was young
Said sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this, it'll help you some sunny day

Ahhh
Yeah it will

Or take your time don't live to fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You'll find a woman and you'll find love
And don't forget that there's is a someone up above

Be a simple kind of man
Be a something you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh won't you do this for me son if you can
(if you can)

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need now is in your soul
And you can do this(oh baby)if you try
All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Be a something that you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh won't you do this for me son if you can
(if you can)

Oh don't you worry
You'll find yourself
Follow your heart
And nothing else
And you can do this(oh baby)if you try
All that I want from you my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Oh won't you do this for me son if you can
So baby be a simple be a simple man
Oh won't you do this for me son if you can

Weekly Shinedown - Song Two - Unity!

Hey There!

The second Shinedown that I had heard was one called Unity! I bet you can guess where I heard this song? Yes! In my Uncle Peter's car!

The time period in between me herding Second Chance and Unity, I hadn't actually listened to anymore Shinedown songs. I was absolutely addicted to Second Chance, but for some reason, I never actually ventured any further into Shinedown. My Uncle was always pestering me to go and check them out, and for some reason, I just never did.

However, on Sunday 11th May 2014, I heard my second Shinedown song. On this Sunday evening, I had been at my Uncle's house with some of my church friends at a youth group called YPF. We had an amazing night, but then afterwards, it was time for us all to go home.

He took home me, and my friends Nathan and Georgia. Nathan had asked Peter to play a song on his car stereo (obviously Unity) but I had no idea what it was called at the time. I was drawn to this song by the catchy introduction that it played on the piano, and I also really liked the main part of the song too.

As I wasn't familiar with the song, I wasn't able to sing along to it, but I really wanted to listen to it at home, so I made a mental note to research it when I got home. The moment that I was dropped off at my house, I went onto my Spotify account to find this song. I typed in "Shinedown" and then I had to go through the troubles of listening to every single song to find which was the one that I had been listening to in the car.

It did actually take quite a while to find the song that I was after, but that was because Unity was approximately the twelfth song on the list. After I had listened to it at home, I knew that it was such a wonderful song. And I added it to my starred playlist so that I could listen to it often.

I really like the lyrics to this song because to me, they represent friendship, and Unity of course, amongst people. This is one of my friend Nathan's favourite song, and I can really understand why. When I recently started playing the guitar, I think that Unity was one of the first songs that I was able to play. It has really similar chords to Second Chance, and it also uses my all-time favourite guitar chord- A-minor!

So here is where my Shinedown Journey continued. It would be lovely to hear all of your favourite Shinedown songs, and how you came to hear of them!

I'll see you all next Thursday!

Lois xx

P.S. I'll leave the lyrics to Unity below incase you're interested!

I found a note with your name
And a picture of us
Even though it was framed
And covered in dust
It’s the map in my mind that sends me on my way

They say it’s never too late
To stop being afraid
And there is no one else here
So why should I wait?
And in the blink of an eye the past begins to fade

So have you ever been caught in a sea of despair?
And your moment of truth
Is the day that you say “I’m not scared”

Put your hands in the air
If you hear me out there
I’ve been looking for you day and night
Shine a light in the dark
Let me see where you are
‘Cause I’m not gonna leave you behind

If I told you that you’re not alone
And I show you this is where you belong
Put your hands in the air
One more time

I’ve seen a million miles
Met a million faces
Took all I knew
To reach all these places
And I’d do it again
If it brings me back to you

So have you ever been caught in a sea of despair?
And your moment of truth
Is the day that you say “I’m not scared”

Put your hands in the air
If you hear me out there
I’ve been looking for you day and night
Shine a light in the dark
Let me see where you are
‘Cause I’m not gonna leave you behind

If I told you that you’re not alone
And I show you this is where you belong
Put your hands in the air
One more time

Put your hands in the air

Put your hands in the air
If you hear me out there
I’ve been looking for you day and night
Shine a light in the dark
Let me see where you are
‘Cause I’m not gonna leave you behind

If I told you that you’re not alone
And I show you this is where you belong
Put your hands in the air
One more time
Put your hands in the air
One more time

Weekly Shinedown - Song One - Second Chance!

Hey There!

This is my first Shinedown song that I am going to be talking about. It is "Second Chance" because this was the first ever Shinedown song that I ever heard.

If you read my first post, you would know how I came to know about Shinedown, but basically it was in my Uncle Peter's car! So basically, he was taking me and my friends home after an evening at church, and he put Second Chance on. I vaguely recognised this song from previous car journeys because he would always have on a really heavy metal song (possibly by Shinedown) and then he would change the track to Second Chance because he would be like "This music is too loud for our Lois". The main thing that stood out from this song was the amazing guitar strums at the beginning, which is why I love the song so much.

Anyway, during this particular car journey, we asked my Uncle about this song, and he told us that it was called Second Chance by a band called Shinedown. After he dropped off me, Nathan and Chez off at our houses, coincidently, we all went onto Spotify to check out Second Chance by Shinedown. The day after, I added Second Chance into my starred playlist, and I was literally listening to this song on repeat.

From this day onward, me, Nathan and Chez were frequently listing to this song, and we were even able to get other friends to listen to it too. Currently, Second Chance is still one of my all-time favourite songs, along with the acoustic version too (but I'll mention this in a later blog post).

The lyrics to this song are very powerful, despite them not really relating to my life in the slightest. However, I believe that the tune of the song had a bigger impact on me, and it also inspired me recently to start playing my guitar again, after not playing it for absolutely years. I have to admit it, Second Chance was the second song that I learned to play (after Silent Night) because I found it really easy to play, especially the introduction. It will also probably be my favourite song to play, ever!

So this was the beginning to my Shinedown Journey! On Sunday 23rd March 2014! I'd love to hear how all of you started your Shinedown Journeys!

I'll see you all next Thursday!

Lois xx

P.S. I'll leave the lyrics to Second Chance below incase you're interested!

My eyes are open wide
And by the way,
I made it through the day
I watched the world outside
By the way,
I'm leaving out today

I just saw Halley's comet
She waved
Said, "Why you always running in place?"
Even the man in the moon disappeared
Somewhere in the stratosphere

Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realise
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

Please don't cry one tear for me
I'm not afraid
Of what I have to say
This is my one and only voice
So listen close,
It's only for today

I just saw Halley's comet
She waved
Said, "Why you always running in place?"
Even the man in the moon disappeared
Somewhere in the stratosphere

Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realise
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

Here's my chance
This is my chance

Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I've done the best I can
To make them realise
This is my life
I hope they understand
I'm not angry, I'm just saying...
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

A Welcome To My Shinedown Blog!

Hey There!

I've decided that during the year of 2015, I'm going to be sharing a new Shinedown song with you every Thursday. It will include information about this song, how I came to hear it, what my interpretations on this song are and if I can relate this song to my own life.

Shinedown are currently one of my favourite bands. During the year of 2014, when my Uncle Peter would drive me home, he always had Shinedown songs in the background, but they were fairly quiet so that I didn't go home with a headache. However, I did not know who actually sang any of these songs. This all changed on Sunday 23rd March 2014! My Uncle Peter was taking me home from church on this night with my friends Nathan and Chez. The song "Second Chance" was playing and we were all curious about this song that we had heard many times in his car. He told us that the song was called "Second Chance" and the band was called "Shinedown" so I guess that from this day forward, I could call myself a Shinedowner!

I'll see you all next Thursday!

Lois xx