Their debut album Ideas Above Our Station reached number 6 in the UK album chart, spawned several Top 40 singles and has since gone gold in the UK. The band went on to tour extensively throughout Europe and Japan. Despite selling 35,000 copies of their second album Shatterproof Is Not A Challenge they were dropped by Sony BMG in June 2004.
Hundred Reasons signed to V2 Records in September 2005. Their third album Kill Your Own - produced by guitarist Larry Hibbitt - was released on March 20, 2006 to critical acclaim and sold 30,000 copies.
On August 9, 2006 it was announced on the band's official website that guitarist and vocalist Paul Townsend would be leaving the band following their tour of Japan in early September. The departure is said to be "totally amicable", and Ben Doyle of The Lucky Nine has since joined the band as guitarist.
The band's fourth album, Quick the Word, Sharp the Action, was released on October 15, 2007. Less than a month after the album's release, V2 Records was bought by Universal, leaving the band, once again, without a label and the album was pulled from shops. Because of this, no further singles were released from the record.
Having been given the album by Universal, Quick the Word, Sharp the Action was re-released in Spring 2009. With the band touring to coincide with the release.
Shine
Hundred Reasons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As I sit back and watch again
This tainted pair do whatever
Don't realize the time they've spent
Shine forever
Let it go
Burn forever
Let it shine
Let it go
Burn forever
Don't you let go
So you part again for reasons
Knowing together you don't belong
So I'll walk away forever
Leave you to the hole that you've dug
So you wait for me to go now
These lyrics are a commentary on a toxic relationship in which the two parties continually fight and hurt each other. The singer is an outsider who observes the turmoil but does nothing to intervene. The line "This tainted pair do whatever" suggests that the couple's behavior is pathological and self-destructive. The repeated refrain of "Shine forever, let it go, burn forever, let it shine" is somewhat ambiguous. It could be interpreted as a call for the couple to move on and pursue their own paths, or as a warning that their anger and resentment will consume them if they don't let go. The final line, "So you wait for me to go now", may suggest that the singer is also caught up in the emotional maelstrom and needs to remove themselves from the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
And you tear into one another
You both criticize and attack each other.
As I sit back and watch again
I observe the situation from a distance.
This tainted pair do whatever
You two, being emotionally damaged, behave as you see fit.
Don't realize the time they've spent
You do not understand how quickly time flies by.
Shine forever
Keep your inner light burning brightly.
Let it go
Relax and accept the present moment as it is.
Burn forever
Maintain your energy and enthusiasm indefinitely.
Don't you let go
Do not give up on your dreams and aspirations.
So you part again for reasons
You are separating again, but for different motives this time.
Knowing together you don't belong
You understand that you are not meant to be together.
So I'll walk away forever
I am leaving you behind for good.
Leave you to the hole that you've dug
You are facing the consequences of your own actions.
So you wait for me to go now
You anticipate my departure.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: ANDREW BEWS, ANDREW GILMOUR, COLIN DORAN, LAURENCE JOHN HIBBITT, PAUL TOWNSEND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind