What does 45 mean?

Shinedown: 45 Meaning

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Album cover for 45 album cover

Song Released: 2003


45 Lyrics

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
You keep these feelings, no one knows
What ever happened to the young man's...

  1. anonymous
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    Jan 25th 2008 !⃝

    I think its a song about the war he's swimming through the ashes of other lifes etc....

  2. anonymous
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    Nov 20th 2007 !⃝

    It's about suicide, "staring down the barrel of a 45" he's looking into the barrel of a 45 magnum, "there's no real reason to except the way things have change" he can't except the fact that things and people change.

  3. YouCantKillHeroes
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    Nov 18th 2007 !⃝

    Brent Smith said in an interview that the craziest fan-related thing that has ever happened was when a boy asked to see them after one of their concerts. The boy ended up giving them the 45 gun that his father had shot himself with. He said that this song helped him try to understand and cope with his grief.

  4. anonymous
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    Aug 14th 2007 !⃝

    No, no, no, you see, in an interview, he stated that the 45 isn't a gun, it's a metaphor for the world and what each day brings. He said that the song is about learning to accept yourself and become comfortable with yourself and your life. The song is basically about moving forward and never looking back.

  5. anonymous
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    Jul 22nd 2007 !⃝

    If you pay attention to the video, it shows him and his girl fighting. He said, "I'm staring down the barrel" and "Swimming through the ashes of another life". I think he is trying to figure out why the world is so screwed up. It sounds like a "young man" has gone haywire after his girl left and is about to murder him.

  6. anonymous
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    Jun 16th 2007 !⃝

    Im sorry to say this but everyone on this site, who is trying to interpret Brent Smith is wrong, if you want the actual meaning, brent says it on an radio interview. Just copy and paste this:

    http://wmmr.com/includes/news_items/3/875/brent_shinedown_01.mp3

    into your browser. It is an audio clip about the lead singer, and near the end of the clip, it tells the meaning of the song.

  7. anonymous
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    Jun 6th 2007 !⃝

    The song is easy for me to make an interpretation in my own words, because I know how this feels. He was feeling so down and depressed about the fact that someone had done something to make him feel unwanted and depressed. He was most likely contemplating suicide. This song has no relation to being at gun point. He was just very depressed and hurt. Remember, Writing a song is a legal way to state that your going to kill yourself.

  8. anonymous
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    May 31st 2007 !⃝

    Artist: Shinedown
    Album: Leave a Whisper
    Song: 45

    This song was wrote as a memory of the time he was held at gun point

    Lyrics:

    Send away for a priceless gift
    One not subtle, one not on the list

    ( This part was written as taking a life away from another)

    Send away for a perfect world
    One not simply, so absurd

    ( This is what he was reffering to as heaven if his life was taken away)

    In these times of doing what you're told
    You keep these feelings, no one knows

    ( This is where he was talking about how him being held up with a gun was wrong )

    What ever happened to the young man's heart
    Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart

    (This is where he is reffering to what happen to the man pointing the gun at him as in what drove him to this point)

    [CHORUS]
    And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
    Swimming through the ashes of another life [another life]
    No real reason to accept the way
    things have changed
    Staring down the barrel of a 45

    (This is what is going through his mind at the time of the gun being pointed at him)

    Send a message to the unborn child
    Keep your eyes open for a while
    In a box high up on the shelf, left for you, no one else
    There's a piece of a puzzle known as life
    Wrapped in guilt, sealed up tight

    (This is what he want his girl friend to tell him unborn child on how the world can be rough)

    What ever happened to the young man's heart
    Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart

    ( Again asking what happened to make the man holding the gun do this )

    [CHORUS]
    And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
    Swimming through the ashes of another life [another life]
    No real reason to accept the way
    things have changed
    Staring down the barrel of a 45

    (This again is what he was thinking while the gun was being pointed at him)

    Everyone's pointing their fingers
    Always condemning me
    And nobody knows what I believe
    I believe

    (He is reffering to the guy holding the gun as in noone knows what he believe and why he has to do what he is doing)

    [CHORUS]
    And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
    Swimming through the ashes of another life [another life]
    No real reason to accept the way
    things have changed
    Staring down the barrel of a 45

    (Again what was going through his mind at the time)

    [CHORUS]
    And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,
    Swimming through the ashes of another life [another life]
    No real reason to accept the way
    things have changed
    Staring down the barrel of a 45

    (Again what he was thinking at the time the gun was being pointed at him)

  9. anonymous
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    May 11th 2007 !⃝

    This song is not about suicide or abortion, if you ever see them play this live, he usually tells you this song is about hope and says never give up. In the first verse he is in the middle of a struggle, feels the weight if the world is on his shoulders and he could never get a break. He feels the world puts too much pressure as your get older. In the pre-chorus he is thinking of his life when he is younger, wishing that life could be that simple again, and how the world smothered him. In the actual chorus he is in a struggle inside his own head, can�t figure any way out, has suicidal thoughts, and doesn�t understand why his life has changed the way it has. In the second verse he wants to send a message to everyone, especially the young and innocent, that life is complicated and it can throw you down. He wants them to know this before it happens unexpectedly like it did him. In the next part he is saying how much pressure the world has put on him, �pointing their fingers�, and how they could not understand what he really feels or needs. Overall this song is not about suicide, it is really about a struggle with oneself, and how cruel life and the world can be at times. This is a story of someone who struggled through a tough time, and how they wanted life to be like it was when they were younger. They were hit with the reality that life will never be what they thought it would be, and through this experience they want to let anyone who has not experienced this know what can happen, how life can tear you down, but don�t give up. The message of this song is never give up, there is always hope, but be prepared. I put this together both from experience and watching these guys live, Brent
    Smith shows the real emotion behind this song.

  10. anonymous
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    Mar 7th 2007 !⃝

    I heard somewhere that after a concert somewhere, a kid came up to him, I think he was around 10, and gave the singer the shell of a spent .45. He told the singer that his dad had committed suicide the week before and that because of this song, he knew it wasn't his fault.

  11. anonymous
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    Nov 28th 2006 !⃝

    if it is about abortion, the .45 may be her. because she killed his unborn child.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  12. anonymous
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    Oct 5th 2006 !⃝

    I don't think this song has anything to do with abortion or suicide. I think that what he is trying to say is to stand up for what you believe no matter what the circumstances and never change your beliefs for anyone no matter what.

  13. anonymous
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    Feb 10th 2006 !⃝

    I think the song is about a guy getting a girl pregnant and regretting it and thinks of killing himself.

  14. morgan
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    Dec 19th 2005 !⃝

    Though at first, it may sound like a suicide song, but actually it seems like to me this man is seeing someone else kill himself. He's "swimming through the ashes of another life". He's wondering why this man may be commiting suicide. I don't know, it's not the greatest interpretation, but it's what I think.

  15. ScarletStorm
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    Nov 18th 2005 !⃝

    ULTIMATE SUICIDE SONG!!!

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway



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