From the second that I was born it seems I had a loaded gun/
And then I shot, shot, shot a hole through everything I loved.
The narrator of Imagine Dragons’ “Shots” feels he is constantly hurting the people he loves. He always seems to be saying the wrong thing or making the wrong choices and causing pain. In his mind, he feels he’s letting his loved ones down or at the very least he is being reckless.
Who would want to be around a person who carries a loaded gun and randomly shoots wildly in the air? Who would want to stand near that person? A person who is so careless cannot be considered a good person, right?
Is the narrator an overly reckless person or is there another explanation? Is he overly hard on himself? We can’t know. Perhaps it is impossible to escape the fact that we will hurt the ones we love unintentionally–at times. I suppose it is the real question is “how often is this happening”? And how severe is the pain that we are causing?
He doesn’t believe it is purposeful, but why does it seem to always happen? Should we be judged by our actions or our intentions? Good intentions are great, but if everyone around you is constantly getting hurt by the things you do, perhaps something is wrong with you.
The acoustic, piano version of “Shots” provides everything I want in a song. The pacing is a little better than the electric version. The piano allows the lyrics to truly be highlighted—and they are good lyrics that deserve attention.
The piano introduction sounds memorable and is the perfect length. The piano arrangement is quite good. Note all the different patterns–the intro, verse, chorus and solo all sound different yet perfectly coherent.
The vocals are delivered with the proper amount of intensity. We can hear the feelings of confusion, disappointment and resignation in his voice. “Shots” is an underrated classic.
Shots Lyrics
Am I out of touch?
Am I out of my place?
When I keep saying that I’m looking for an empty space
Oh, I’m wishing you’re here
But I’m wishing you’re gone
I can’t have you and I’m only gonna do you wrong
Oh, I’m going to mess this up
Oh, this is just my luck
Over and over and over again
In the meantime we let it go
At the roadside we used to know
We can let this drift away
Oh, we let this drift away
And there’s always time to change your mind
Oh, there’s always time to change your mind
Oh, there’s always time to change your mind
Oh, love, can you hear me?
I’m sorry for everything
Oh, everything I’ve done
From the second that I was born it seems I had a loaded gun
And then I shot, shot, shot a hole through everything I loved
Oh, I shot, shot, shot a hole through every single thing that I loved
Am I out of luck?
Am I waiting to break?
When I keep saying that I’m looking for a way to escape
Oh, I’m wishing I had what I’d taken for granted
I can’t help you when I’m only gonna do you wrong
Oh, I’m going to mess this up
Oh, this is just my luck
Over and over and over again
In the meantime we let it go
At the roadside we used to know
We can let this drift away
Oh, we let this drift away
And there’s always time to change your mind
Oh, there’s always time to change your mind
Oh, there’s always time to change your mind
Oh, love, can you hear me?
I’m sorry for everything
Oh, everything I’ve done
From the second that I was born it seems I had a loaded gun
And then I shot, shot, shot a hole through everything I loved
Oh, I shot, shot, shot a hole through every single thing that I loved
written by Mckee Benjamin Arthur / Platzman Daniel