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Shamir — Lived and Died Alone
Album: Northtown
Avg rating:
6.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1052









Released: 2014
Length: 4:14
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Love never came easily to me
There were no fish swimming in my sea
I resided myself to the fact
That I would always love never to be loved back
But that's okay, I know some day

When the sun has set, I will go dig up the dead
Lift their bodies from their graves
And I'll lay them in my bed
To fill their hollow hearts with all of my broken parts
And all the love they were never shown
To all those who have lived and died alone

I guess I thought it couldn't really hurt
To search for sweethearts underneath the dirt
Sure, they may be made of dust and bone
But I will take them home from their lonely tombstone
To be with me in the Dead Sea

When the sun has set, I will go dig up the dead
Lift their bodies from their graves
And I'll lay them in my bed
To fill their hollow hearts with all of my broken parts
And all the love that they were never shown
To all those who have lived and died alone

When the sun has set, I will go dig up the dead
Lift their bodies from their graves
And I'll lay them in my bed
I will fill their hollow hearts with all of my broken parts
And all the love that they were never shown
To all those who have lived and died alone

To all those who have lived and died alone
Comments (55)add comment
 surfool wrote:


She is a he. 

But the 'who is it?' is a she  ...

Reminds me of Malvina Reynolds, in a good way
Lovely
 Harry_Tuttle_99 wrote:

Whoa! Thanks, Bill for making me go back and read the lyrics!

Great voice...and Crazy lyrics!




  
Amazing find, Bill!! Thank you!
 xrdstv wrote:

Songwriting at its best. 


And the songwriter is Lindi Ortega
I resided myself to the fact

Resigned, surely?
Kind of an old-timey version of the sentiment expressed by T.S.O.l. in their smash hit Code Blue. 
This is a good song. I think it would be a great song to be used for the final credits of a Horror movie, or such...
 oufason wrote:

Her voice reminds of someone..  who is it??



She is a he. 
Her voice reminds of someone..  who is it??
+1 to 9, after a careful listening with headphones. Special performance here, I'll check out the original now. LLRP!!
 Bernd wrote:

Seems to be a cover of that 7 year old Indie Lindi song: 

(Can't post youtube link here?)

Google for "Lindi Ortega Lived and died alone"...

hmm, not sure anymore who was first:

according to Amazon, Lindi published the song on June 17, 2014, so exactly one week after Shamir...

Just looked it up on Shamir's EP's wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...(EP)

There it says All tracks are written by Shamir except for track 5, by Lindi Ortega.



Yes, this is a Lindi Ortega song.  The best off of her Tin Star album.  
....fantastic....thank you....

The song is a cover of the original by Lindi Ortega.

I would like to hear the original here at some point. :-)

https://www.youtube.com › watch?v=30DFgByG4ZI
Thank you, Lindi, for writing this.
I love this - gave it a rare 10. Still, I'm a bigger fan of the original. Just a great song :-)
Who knew there could be a love song like this?
Gentle and powerful. Great combination. 
You'd need a heart of stone to not have this track recall the loneliness we've all endured at some point or another...
Shamir is from North  Las Vegas. You have to be there to understand. Tough does not begin to describe it.  Proud of him.
His t-shirt is coruscating.
This is a gem!  It's a rare occasion that a remake is better than the original, but add this to list!  Love everything about it.  

That being said, is it just me or is RP playing certain songs on repeat a lot more lately?   I listen to RP at least 4-5 hours most days, so might be a little more sensitive to this... thoughts?  

I noticed they removed the count play stats from the site, so I can't verify it.
This gets better at every listen.
c.
North Las Vegas is proud of you. You've come so far.
hmm.. catchy tune
 Bernd wrote:

Seems to be a cover of that 7 year old Indie Lindi song: 

(Can't post youtube link here?)

Google for "Lindi Ortega Lived and died alone"...

hmm, not sure anymore who was first:

according to Amazon, Lindi published the song on June 17, 2014, so exactly one week after Shamir...

Just looked it up on Shamir's EP's wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...(EP)

There it says All tracks are written by Shamir except for track 5, by Lindi Ortega.




Gave it a listen. I think I like this version better. Sounds more raw and fits the lyrics a bit better, but what a great song she wrote!
Welp, there's my New Year's Day cry done. Beautiful song.

ETA: After hearing BillG's comment I'm wondering if I totally misinterpreted the metaphor. Or if the metaphor wasn't a metaphor at all??
It is an ode to loneliness. Well done! 
New to me! Thanks! 
Many people reading the lyrics probably would indeed need some explanation. :) Like it indeed being a metaphor or something like someone commented here. If metaphor then why mentioning of bed and sexual allusions etc
 laserace wrote:

Upon reading the lyrics, your right Bill. Sometimes I walk the silent places of cemeteries and read headstones and epitaphs of the dead. It gives me pause to consider the life we all live.  Lessons learned from the past.
We all need love. 

Here in Texas there are a number of 'Painted Churches', which are beautiful in their own right, but the cemeteries are equally interesting. Babies, children, husband and wife... the stones tell their stories.
Most old Texas cemeteries are segregated. Many of the graves 'outside the fence' have only  a blank metal marker - the names long since washed away, along with their stories.

I have only heard this song a few times so far, but appreciate it more every listen.
c.

@BillG Make sure to add it to the Halloween playlist this year

Songwriting at its best. 
 Bernd wrote:

Seems to be a cover of that 7 year old Indie Lindi song: 

(Can't post youtube link here?)

Google for "Lindi Ortega Lived and died alone"...

hmm, not sure anymore who was first:

according to Amazon, Lindi published the song on June 17, 2014, so exactly one week after Shamir...

Just looked it up on Shamir's EP's wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...(EP)

There it says All tracks are written by Shamir except for track 5, by Lindi Ortega.




Nice research, Bernd and thank you.  The lyrics of this song really matter. Ortega is from Canada...
Live right up the street from him. Nailed it.
 kiwilistener wrote:

Wow, that’s a bit weird. I’d have to listen to to a few times before I could even form an opinion on it.

listened twice, read the lyrics and decided interestingly disturbing lyrics become less creepy because of the voice

Wow, fantastic !!
Seems to be a cover of that 7 year old Indie Lindi song: 

(Can't post youtube link here?)

Google for "Lindi Ortega Lived and died alone"...

hmm, not sure anymore who was first:

according to Amazon, Lindi published the song on June 17, 2014, so exactly one week after Shamir...

Just looked it up on Shamir's EP's wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...(EP)

There it says All tracks are written by Shamir except for track 5, by Lindi Ortega.


Upon reading the lyrics, your right Bill. Sometimes I walk the silent places of cemeteries and read headstones and epitaphs of the dead. It gives me pause to consider the life we all live.  Lessons learned from the past.
We all need love. 

Gorgeous countertenor voice, don't hear countertenors much outside of classical music. Strange and disturbing tune beautifully performed. Great contrast between the almost angelic presentation and the deeply haunting lyrics.

 lewisv66 wrote:

I'm not a fan of Shamir's more usual house/electo/pop style but this one is beautiful and haunting. Reminds me of Billie Holliday. This one paired with "Strange Fruit" would be a great segue.

[edit] Oh, @BillG you are smarter than me, you followed this with Dave Matthews "Gravedigger".

Yes, very much so. The voice partly, but more the emotions - difficult to place but intense.
I'm not familiar with his other work, but this is truly amazing.
c.

a busker
I'm not a fan of Shamir's more usual house/electo/pop style but this one is beautiful and haunting. Reminds me of Billie Holliday. This one paired with "Strange Fruit" would be a great segue.

[edit] Oh, @BillG you are smarter than me, you followed this with Dave Matthews "Gravedigger".
This song brings tears to my eyes. I will probably die alone, and in many ways we all probably do, but I am comforted that someone wrote a song about providing comfort and love to those who "Lived and Died Alone." Thank you, Shamir Bailey.
There's hope for me yet.
 kiwilistener wrote:

Wow, that’s a bit weird. I’d have to listen to to a few times before I could even form an opinion on it.


I'm not sure it will help.
Wow. Just, wow.

c.
Whoa! Thanks, Bill for making me go back and read the lyrics!

Great voice...and Crazy lyrics!
Thanks, nice sound -- timeless -- and always nice to be introduced to new talent.
OK. Wasn't expecting that. 🤣
!not loving the voice and I hope the lyrics are metaphors for something. 
Poignant and bittersweet. Nicely done. 
Wow, that’s a bit weird. I’d have to listen to to a few times before I could even form an opinion on it.
I like his singing. And the lyrics are more than interesting.