Annotations for Shine

Lyric: I believed that you’d always be here
 Cause once you’d promised a life with no fear
Annotation:
The speaker (Matt Bellamy), believed the person would always be there, and from the second line the person promised a life with no fear. Maybe this is the same person from Sunburn? Who knows.

Lyric: Remember when you should have teased
 And made us scream eternal joy
Annotation:
Both an electric and acoustic version were recorded. The electric version is officially referred to simply as “Shine” and includes the arpeggios from Bliss and from the chorus of Falling Away With You, whereas the acoustic version is referred to as “Shine Acoustic”. The lyrics between the two versions differ very slightly; in the second verse of “Shine”, Matt says ‘you should have teased’, whereas in “Shine Acoustic” he says ‘you used to tease’.

Lyric: Hope was the one, now I’m gone
 Take me back again
Annotation:
The speaker has experienced the nostalgic feeling [of a past relationship] and is wanting relive all of it over again because he believes he was “the one” for the person.

Lyric: Please don’t break my ideals
 And say what’s fake was always real
Annotation:
This line really emulates the beautiful hopelessness of the entire song. Although we know that our ideals are fake and will never be realized, it often feels better to live in that fake world of happiness rather than to be told that it isn’t the truth.

Lyric: Remember when you used to shine?
 And had no fear or sense of time
 When it creeps up on you
Annotation:
Each line ending a verse is not only capturing and exploring the emotion of nostalgia, but also pleading for the listener to join him in that emotion.

