Shine A Little Light

Too late to cry
And walk in by
I'm sorry but I've gotta go
Don't bother to write or phone
With your facial contortions
And your evil proportions
I think I'd be better off alone

Music sweet music drifts down the street
With your head beneath the blankets
You'd never know
Laying beside you is another desperate brother
He got no better place to go

Through the long nights that followed
Heartache and hollow
Kicking off a dead man's shoes
These soft white sheets are dirty
I gotta eradicate every last trace of you

He's a monkey turning tricks
A dancer for tips
He'll show you everything for the right kind of dough
In walks my lady
Thank you God you gave me
We'll be apart for so long
Let it grow
Oh oh

Through the long nights that followed
Heartache and hollow
A smack in the mouth would change your tune
These soft white sheets are dirty
You know I've got to fumigate this room

Shine a little light
Shine a little light
On your soul
Shine a little light
On your soul
Shine a little
Shine a little light
Shine a little
Shine a little light
On your soul
Shine a little light

Hunted, cheated, battered and bleeding
What did I ever do to you ?

Shine a little light
On your soul
Shine a little light
Shine a little light
On your soul
Shine a little light
No lizard, no vulture
No two-headed beast of folklore
Ever had the gall to sink so low
Nothing else cuts.. quite... like... a... knife
Shine a little light

Lyrics by:
Squire

Available on:
Time Changes Everything (3.43)

Details:

 

Top: The monkey exhibiting facial contortions. In prostitution, street prostitutes are often called 'streetwalkers', while their customers are referred to as 'tricks' or 'johns'. Servicing the customers is described as 'turning tricks'.
Bottom: "Ride on lady I'm your monkey. Yes the organ grinder's gettin' wet." A monkey in the street dancing for tips recalls the organ grinder of Ride On. The organ grinder would often have as a companion a White-headed Capuchin monkey to perform tricks and attract attention. The monkey would collect the money from the audience and sometimes other shiny objects that attracted his attention. The image on the bottom left from 1892 shows an organ grinder with his monkey on a chain; adjacent to this is a monkey performing to children. Having identified himself as the initiator in the band, Squire perhaps perceives himself as having been the man in charge, the organ grinder to Ian's 'monkey'. The organ grinder turns the handle to grind out a tune, and all the monkey has to do is dance to that tune. The monkey could not make a move without the consent of his master.

Shine A Little Light, arguably the strongest track on the album, borrows from the melody of 'Shine A Light' by Spiritualized.

 

Left: 'Nothing Else Cuts Quite Like A Knife', a photograph by John Squire which features in the debut LP collage.
Right: 'Shine A Little Light' (oak blocks and acrylic in drawer, 16" x 20"), from the Manchester exhibition, May 2004.

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