What does What a Shame mean?

Shinedown: What a Shame Meaning

Tagged:   No tags, suggest one.
Album cover for What a Shame album cover

What a Shame Lyrics

Two packs of cigarettes a day
The strongest whiskey
Kentucky can make
That's a recipe to put a vagabond
On his hands and knees
I watched it all up close,
I knew him more than most
I saw a side of him he never showed
Full of sympathy for a...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 21st 2011 !⃝

    A few years back after a Shinedown concert in Atlanta, i met lead singer Brent Smith along with some others. He said that the story behind What A Shame was about his uncle who passed away due to his lifesyle.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    rcd711
    click a star to vote
    Aug 25th 2015 !⃝

    I believe this is about someone the narrator of the song knows who is planning or already has killed there self because of a struggle with addiction, and has had many people look down on them and view them as worthless but narrator of the song knows they can overcome their problems and even lead a normal life with a little support and care.(this is my opinion witch is probaly not the best but I am only 14)

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 24th 2014 !⃝

    its about how judgmental our society is...how because this guy has bad habits and isnt rich, ppl judge him...they wont look deeper into him because of his rough exterior to see that he was truly a good man

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 19th 2022 !⃝

    This song is one of my favorite songs from Shinedown. It reminds me of my brother, who took a accidental overdose. Not counting he lost a leg. And was raising 3 of his children. And everyone just thinks he was a druggie. They don't see the man he really was. I pray he got his wings.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 5th 2021 !⃝

    It reminds me of a dear friend of mine who took his own life, because of corruption. Yes he had a secret life style that many wouldn’t understand, but he wasn’t what they accused him of, and because my friend made a man of power look less than a man the man of power indicted my friend on his charges, his blood is on this man’s hands. Corruption is very real and destroys lives.

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 5th 2021 !⃝

    This is probably one of my favorite Shinedown songs. The minute I heard it I automatically thought of my fiance. This song is so him he's had such a hard life and he's gone through a lot of things in his life and he's had a lot of people turn their back on him and look at him for the things that he has done in his past and not for what he could hope to accomplish in his future and I think that's wrong. Shinedown all of them they are so gifted and their music is just so deep and has so much meaning I'll follow you down is another song that I absolutely love of theirs. Never had the opportunity to actually see them live came really close to it in Billings Montana but yeah that just fell through so I'm still upset about it to this day it's been almost 3 years but I will continue to be a Shinedown fan and I really do enjoy their music and I'm glad that I had a chance to say something about this song in particular.

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 4th 2020 !⃝

    To me, this is about a homeless man, possibly a vet, who has hit rock bottom but still is a good, kind-hearted man. And the one person who took the time to get to know and befriend him.

    I know Brent Smith has the only "true" interpretation of the meaning but that's the beauty of music. We can each attribute our own meanings to a song and still be right.

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 29th 2020 !⃝

    It's about a bisexual man that is being judged for his sexuality. He's a biker and wants to be a Hells Angel

  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 13th 2019 !⃝

    I believe that this song tells us about the ones who have the least in our society while they are the ones who deserve the best and more so won't you give this man his wings.

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 19th 2019 !⃝

    It's about a man who has dreams and no one believes in him. I think the lyrics explained it all too.

    For the recent post, tell the man you know that he should continue believing in his dreams. It's good you believe in him. And if you also feel this way, never give up on your dreams too. I believe you guys are good friends, so you guys encourage each other and that's enough because someone important believes in your dreams.

    Anyway, I have dreams too. But I realized that some dreams are not achievable, so I only dream dreams that are achievable and I should be content because at least I have some simple and realistic dreams.

    Hope you guys achieve your dreams!

  11. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 19th 2019 !⃝

    This song reminds me of a man I know and he's still alive who has big dreams. And wants to tell AND show the world what he's all about. To some people mostly his FAMILY don't take time to listen to him. He has 1 brother and 4 sisters and neither of them make time for him. His mind takes him everywhere. I listen cuz I KNOW what it's like to have a dream and NOBODY believes in you. So yes I truly believe this man deserves his wings.

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 4th 2018 !⃝

    My interpretation is about judging I have recently met a guy, so he’s had a past but then again everyone else has had one, has anyone actually heard the old saying, Don’t judge a book by its cover!, the song says it all, What a Shame. Get to know the person..., I can apply this to my oldest- give this man his wings. I consider myself a level headed girl, yet society is too quick to judge.
    “ Her with him ?” I have felt so comfortable and safe with him or do es a little ink or a past promote fear? Naive judge mental people out there.

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 3rd 2016 !⃝

    I think this song is about a man who lost someone dear to him. "Give this man his wings" And he just wants to see them again.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 28th 2016 !⃝

    This song reminds me of a guy I knew, who killed himself. No one is sure if he really intended to do it or not. He was very depressed for a long time and would have normally turned to drugs and alcohol to make himself feel better. A couple of years before he died, he was diagnosed with a liver condition. His doctor told him that he had to quit drinking and that even one more beer could kill him. After almost two years of sobriety, he reached rock bottom and drank himself to death. His mother believes that because he was a good man, he is in heaven. Lots of people believe that he is in hell because they consider his death to be a suicide. He was in a lot of emotional pain for a long time and reached a point where he couldn't handle it anymore. He didn't know for sure that he would die if he drank. I look at it as if he knew there was a high possibility that he would die, but he was more so tempting fate.

  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 13th 2015 !⃝

    It reminds me of a man who was killed because he was homeless, murdered in cold blood, just for trying to live his life, and he was taunted, called a "bum" and other horrible things, yet through it all, he never said one unkind thing, then one day, the police found his body, he was beaten to death, and they never found who did it.

  16. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 26th 2014 !⃝

    Actually, this song is about girl, who is lost after previous, unhappy relationships. When she meets a guy, who is ready and is able, to return her to normal, perfect relationship without hurt, she is afraid to say yes. Now she prays for him, as he deserves that, but she is still afraid of saying yes.
    All Shinedown lyrics are about the only thing. Thing above.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  17. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 12th 2012 !⃝

    Really?? Hmm, I thought it was about a kid who killed himself after a bunch of kids bullied him for his whole life.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

More Shinedown songs »


 


Latest Articles

 


Submit Your Interpretation

[ want a different song? ]




Just Posted

Mad Hatter anonymous
Fire Lake anonymous
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead anonymous
We Gotta Get out of This Place anonymous
Jealous anonymous
Won't Get Fooled Again anonymous
Smokestack Lightning anonymous
True Colors anonymous
Future Love Paradise anonymous
Adios, Adios anonymous
Strangers anonymous
Possibility anonymous
Jailbreak anonymous
Sour Girl anonymous
Cornflake Girl anonymous

(We won't give out your email)