Shinedown

Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of Dreve, his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original lineup of Jasin Todd as guitarist, Brad Stewart on bass, and Barry Kerch on drums. Consistent for the first two album cycles, several lineup changes followed in the late 2000s, eventually stabilizing with Smith and Kerch alongside Zach Myers on guitar and Eric Bass on bass.

Shinedown in concert in 2009.

Brent Smith in 2022

Song lyrics

• I'm on the front line,
  Don't worry I'll be fine.
  The story is just beginning.
  I say goodbye to my weakness,
  So long to the regret,
  And now I see the world through diamond eyes.
  • "Diamond Eyes" (2010), written by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett for the film The Expendables

• We'll never make it outside
  'Less we unlock the past and release
  The future that we've left to die.
  For too long we've taken placebos.

  But the unknown is awakening.

  Don't give up now,
  There's already so much at stake.
  If Atlas falls,
  I'll rise up and carry us all the way.

  • "Atlas Falls", written by Brent Smith, David Hodges, and Zac Malloy

Leave a Whisper (2003)

• Every day a new deception,
  Pick your scene and take direction.
  And on and on I search to connect,
  But I don't wear a mask and I have no regrets.

  I am focused on what I am after,
  The key to the next open chapter.

  'Cause I found a way
  To steal the sun from the sky.
  Long live that day
  That I decided to fly from the inside.

  • "Fly from the Inside", written by Brent Smith and Bob Marlette

• The more the light shines through me,
  I pretend to close my eyes.
  The more the dark consumes me,
  I pretend I'm burning, burning bright.
  • "Burning Bright", written by Brent Smith and Tony Battaglia

• 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.

  Whatever happened to the young man's heart?
  Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart.

  • "45", written by Brent Smith and Tony Battaglia

Us and Them (2005)

All tracks written by Brent Smith.

• All my heroes have now become ghosts,
  Sold their sorrow to the ones who paid the most.
  All my heroes are dead and gone,
  But down inside of me, they still live on.
  • "Heroes"

• How did I get here, and what went wrong?
  Couldn't handle forgiveness, now I'm far beyond gone.
  And I can hardly remember, the look of my own eyes.
  How can I love this, a life so dishonest, it made me compromise?

  Someone save me, if you will
  And take away all these pills.
  And please just save me if you can
  From the blasphemy in my wasteland.

  • "Save Me"

• Hello.
  Let me introduce you to
  The characters in the show.
  One says yes, one says no.
  Decide
  Which voice in your head you can keep alive.

  Even in madness I know you still believe
  Paint me on canvas so I become
  What you could never be.

  I dare you to tell me to walk through fire
  Wear my soul and call me a liar.

  • "I Dare You"

The Sound of Madness (2008)

All tracks written by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett.

• Devour, devour,
  Suffocate your own empire.
  Devour, devour,
  It's your final hour.
  Devour, devour,
  Stolen like a foreign soul.
  Devour, devour,
  What a way to go.
  • "Devour"

• I created the sound of madness,
  Wrote the book on pain.
  Somehow I'm still here
  To explain
  That the darkest hour never comes in the night.
  You can sleep with a gun,
  But when you gonna wake up and fight
  For yourself?
  • "Sound of Madness"

• Tell my mother, tell my father
  I've done the best I can
  To make them realize, this is my life.
  I hope they understand.

  I'm not angry, I'm just saying,
  Sometimes "Goodbye" is a second chance.

  • "Second Chance"

• Just like a crow chasing the butterfly,
  Dandelions lost in the summer sky.
  When you and I were gettin' high as outer space,
  I never thought you'd slip away.
  I guess I was just a little too late.
  • "The Crow & the Butterfly"

• If you only knew,
  I'm hangin' by a thread, the web I spin for you.
  If you only knew,
  I'd sacrifice my beating heart before I'd lose you.
  • "If You Only Knew"

Amaryllis (2012)

• Bloodshot against the clear blue sky,
  Tick tock, I think the well is running dry.
  My, my, I can't lie,
  I need a shot again, that sweet adrenaline.
  • "Adrenaline", written by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett

• All you’ll ever be
  Is a faded memory of a bully.
  Make another joke
  While they hang another rope.
  So lonely,
  Push him to the dirt
  ‘Til the words don’t hurt.
  Can you hear me? (Can you hear me?)
  No one's gonna cry
  On the very day you die.
  You’re a bully.
  • "Bully", written by Brent Smith, Zach Myers, and Dave Bassett

• 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.

  • "Unity", written by Brent Smith, Eric Bass, and Dave Bassett

• You got the world on its knees,
  You’re taking all that you please.
  You want more (You want more),
  But you’ll get nothing from me.
  You’re like the burden we bear,
  You’re all the hate that we share.
  You want more (You want more),
  But you’ll get nothing from me
  But enemies.
  Enemies.
  • "Enemies", written by Brent Smith, Eric Bass, and Dave Bassett

• The first step is the one you believe in;
  The second one might be profound.

  I'd follow you down through the eye of the storm,
  Don't worry I'll keep you warm.
  I'd follow you down while we're passin' through space,
  I don't care if we fall from grace.
  I'll follow you down.

  • "I'll Follow You", written by Brent Smith, Eric Bass, and Dave Bassett

Threat to Survival (2015)

• Maybe you talk too much and you were asking for it, asking for it, asking
  You can blame bad luck but you were asking for it, asking for it, asking
  When all is said and done, you need to tie your tongue
  'Cause when you spit on everyone
  You are, you are, you know you're asking for it, asking for it, asking.
  • "Asking for It", written by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett

• I'm gonna make it rain, so ring the bell,
  I know it all too well
  Switchblade on the edge of your wrist
  Can I get a witness? (Witness!)
  'Cause agony brings no reward
  For one more hit and one last score
  Don't be a casualty.
  • "Cut the Cord", written by Brent Smith and Eric Bass

• Oh, my eyes are seein’ red
  Double vision from the blood we’ve shed
  The only way I’m leavin’ is dead
  That’s the state of my, state of my, state of my head.
  They don’t know, where we’ve been
  We got that concrete street skin
  The only way I’m leavin’ is dead.
  \That’s the state of my, state of my, state of my head.
  • "State of My Head", written by Brent Smith, Carlo Colasacco, Jayson DeZuzio, Peter Nappi, and Ethan Thompson

• No one gets out alive,
  Every day is do or die.
  The one thing you leave behind
  Is how did you love? How did you love?
  It's not what you believe,
  Those prayers will make you bleed.
  But while you're on your knees,
  How did you love? How did you love?
  • "How Did You Love", written by Brent Smith and Scott Stevens

Attention Attention (2018)

All tracks are written by Brent Smith and Eric Bass, except where noted.

• Now you pack your bags, the party's such a drag,
  And everyone can tell that you're poisoning the well.
  But there are no mistakes, except what you create,
  You need to know your place.
  • "Devil"

• Nothin' 'bout me is ordinary,
  My friends all say I'm goin' crazy.
  I don't hear a word that they say,
  'Cause the voices in my head are legendary.
  But I'll never tell 'em where the bodies are buried.
  Keeps 'em comin' back every day.
  • "Attention Attention", written by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett

• 'Cause my monsters are real, and they're trained how to kill.
  And there's no comin' back and they just laugh at how I feel.
  And these monsters can fly, and they'll never say die.
  And there's no goin' back, if I get trapped I'll never heal.
  Yeah, my monsters are real.
  • "Monsters"

• Guess you might say I'm a little intense,
  I'm on the bright side of bein' hell bent.
  So, take it from me, you're not the only one
  Who can't see straight (Can't see straight).
  • "Get Up"

Planet Zero (2022)

• Out here on planet zero,
  We live like no tomorrow.
  I think we've reached the ceiling.
  They'rе canceling your feelings.
  On to better days or so thеy say,
  But I don't think so.
  They're murdering our heroes
  Out here on planet zero.
  • "Planet Zero"

• The dead don't die, the heart still beats
  Head held high, I haunt these streets
  Life's killed me a hundred thousand times
  You can try, you can try, but the dead don't die.
  • "Dead Don't Die"

• You've always been slightly awkward, kind of weird,
  Upside down and not all here.
  What's wrong with me and you is crystal clear.

  Sometimes I'm in a room where I don't belong,
  And the house is on fire and there's no alarm.
  And the walls are melting too.
  How 'bout you?
  I've never been the favorite, thought I'd seen it all
  'Til I got my invitation to the lunatic ball
  And my friends are comin' too.
  How 'bout you?
  Don't worry, it's all just a symptom of being human.

  • "A Symptom of Being Human"

• It's amazing what the hard times can reveal,
  Like who shows up, who walks away, and who's for real.
  So take me on, I'll take the wheel and we can both outrun the past.
  We will always live forever if we don't look back.

  You saved my life, not once but twice.
  You keep me free from falling,
  You saved my life, make it all alright.
  When I don't feel like talking,
  You make sure I always see the daylight.

  • "Daylight"

External links

• Official website