I’ve always been a fan of Blondie and love all of their well-known songs such as Heart of Glass, Dreaming, Atomic, and many more. However, there’s this one obscure song that really captivates me still to this day. It’s called Shayla and it’s about a woman who loses her job at a factory. The music is hauntingly wonderful and atmospheric. Deborah Harry’s vocals are magnificent and she looks radiant. The lyrics are spellbinding and artistically cryptic all at the same time. I might have interpreted it incorrectly but it seems to indicate that Shayla commits suicide which is a heartbreaking conclusion to the story of course. I always thought it would make a great movie too.
Listen to the song and read the lyrics and tell me what you think it all means. I could be way off base and I hope I am!
Still, either way, it’s a beautiful and memorable song in my book.
Lyric of the song “Shayla” of Blondie
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