During the transitional period of the early 70s, Paul Kantner (a founding m… Read Full Bio ↴During the transitional period of the early 70s, Paul Kantner (a founding member of Jefferson Airplane) recorded Blows Against the Empire, a concept album featuring an ad hoc group of musicians that he dubbed "Jefferson Starship", marking the first use of that name. This edition of Jefferson Starship (such as it was) included members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (David Crosby and Graham Nash) and members of Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart), as well as some of the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane (Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Joey Covington, and Jack Casady).

By 1973, after the breakup of Jefferson Airplane, with Kaukonen and Casady now devoting their full attention to Hot Tuna, several of the musicians who worked on Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg's album "Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun" formed the core of a new lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg were charter members. The line-up also included late-Airplane holdovers drummer John Barbata, Marty Balin,and fiddler Papa John Creach (who also played with Hot Tuna), along with Pete Sears (who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards) and twenty-year-old guitarist Craig Chaquico.

Eventually, Slick's alcoholism became a problem, which led to two nights of disastrous concerts in Germany in 1978. The first night, fans ransacked the stage when Slick failed to appear. The following night, Slick, in a drunken stupor, shocked the audience by using profanity and sexual references throughout most of her songs. She also reminded the audience that their country had lost during World War II , repeatedly asking "Who won the war?", and implied that all residents of Germany were responsible for the wartime atrocities. After the debacle, she left the band.

The band soon cribbed vocalist Mickey Thomas from the popular Elvin Bishop Group. After the 1979 release of 'Freedom at Point Zero' (which spawned the hit single "Jane"), Slick returned to the band. She joined in time to contribute one song, "Stranger", on the group's next album, Modern Times (1981). Modern Times also included the notorious "Stairway to Cleveland," in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name. One noted personnel change in the group was when Dunbar left and was replaced by Donny Baldwin (also of the Elvin Bishop Group). Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's final two albums, Winds Of Change (1982) and Nuclear Furniture (1984).

Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing rock's video age. Grace Slick would appear frequently on MTV and such music-oriented television shows as Solid Gold, giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. However, the Jefferson Starship albums of this era were only modestly successful, yet the band remained a gold-selling (and thus commercially credible) act, and a popular concert draw.

In 1984, Kantner (the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane) left the group, but not before taking legal action over the Jefferson name against his former bandmates, who wanted to continue as Jefferson Starship. Kantner settled out of court and signed an agreement that neither party would use the names "Jefferson" or "Airplane" unless all members of Jefferson Airplane, Inc. (Bill Thompson, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady) agreed. The band used the titles "Starship Jefferson" and "Jefferson Starship" during the proceedings, but ultimately settled on the shortening 'Starship'.

In 1992, Kantner restarted Jefferson Starship as Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation before returning simply to Jefferson Starship after a couple of years. This incarnation of the band continues to perform and record to this day.

Shadowlands
Jefferson Starship Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Young girl in the city
She was a small town girl in the middle of the city of light
“What am I doing here?” she cried.
“What am I doing here?”
“I want to be dangerous
Like a fire in the sky
There's burning barricades in the streets
And fire in my eyes.”

So there she sat with a diamond bullet in the
Center of her heart
No a mile from there are people living ten to
A room
Not a mile from here and a few streets further on
They're sleepin' in doorways, boxes, some of them children
And the sound of gunfire, cracks the night
In the shadow lands
And the saxaphone, in the shadow lands, sings

She had nothing on but the radio
Her hair was nighttime black and here eyes compelling
Compelling me to dreams, “Go out and change the world,” she said
Compelling me to action

In the night striped with lightening
She will come and feed on dreams
Hair streaming forth, burnin' with desire
And the storm deepens, cracks with thunder
Lust enters into it, sex! Mouth! Sweet! Blood red!

And as the sky explodes
And I'm drawn to action
(with her) It's like the
First time that you really fell in love
And your both on the battle lines
And it's like the first time that you're really fuckin' too
Alive in the bed with the woman you're fuckin'
Who's fuckin' you

She is incredible, monumental, better than Jesus
She's a guide through the chaos, a road to the passion
Between the earth and sky, where love is like a drug
And everything is different
And we two will love each other
And we will still remember our first kiss
As the action takes over
No thought of circumstance, or consequence

And all the rules have changed
And she's a specialist, in darkness, in the shadow lands.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Shadowlands" by Jefferson Starship is a story of a girl who feels out of place in the city but has a strong desire to be dangerous like a fire in the sky. She sees the poverty and violence around her and feels compelled to take action. The song describes her as a fierce and seductive force, a guide through chaos, and a road to passion.

The song's imagery creates a strong sense of tension, with the city's poverty and violence contrasted with the girl's beauty and desire. The saxophone solo adds to the feeling of danger and passion. The lyrics suggest that the girl is on a quest for meaning and purpose, searching for something more in the chaos of the city.

Overall, "Shadowlands" is a haunting and evocative song that captures the feeling of being lost in a city and searching for meaning.

Line by Line Meaning

Young girl in the city
A young girl from a small town is living in a big city

She was a small town girl in the middle of the city of light
Despite being a small town girl, she was living in a big city filled with lights

“What am I doing here?” she cried.
She felt lost and unsure of why she was there

“What am I doing here?”
Reiterating her earlier feeling of being lost

“I want to be dangerous Like a fire in the sky There's burning barricades in the streets And fire in my eyes.”
She wants to be bold and daring, like a raging fire, in the midst of protests happening in the streets

So there she sat with a diamond bullet in the Center of her heart
She's feeling the pain and heartache of being in a difficult environment

Not a mile from there are people living ten to A room
She's aware of the poverty and cramped living situations of people in the area

Not a mile from here and a few streets further on They're sleepin' in doorways, boxes, some of them children
There are homeless people sleeping on the streets, even near where she is

And the sound of gunfire, cracks the night In the shadow lands And the saxaphone, in the shadow lands, sings
There's violence happening in the area and the saxophone adds to the somber, dark mood

She had nothing on but the radio Her hair was nighttime black and here eyes compelling Compelling me to dreams, “Go out and change the world,” she said Compelling me to action
She's a motivating force for others, urging them to action and to work towards making a difference in the world

In the night striped with lightening She will come and feed on dreams Hair streaming forth, burnin' with desire And the storm deepens, cracks with thunder Lust enters into it, sex! Mouth! Sweet! Blood red!
She has an overpowering sexuality and energy that are electric and intoxicating

And as the sky explodes And I'm drawn to action (with her) It's like the First time that you really fell in love And your both on the battle lines And it's like the first time that you're really fuckin' too Alive in the bed with the woman you're fuckin' Who's fuckin' you
Being with her is like a euphoric rush of excitement, similar to falling in love or having sex for the first time

She is incredible, monumental, better than Jesus She's a guide through the chaos, a road to the passion Between the earth and sky, where love is like a drug And everything is different And we two will love each other And we will still remember our first kiss As the action takes over No thought of circumstance, or consequence And all the rules have changed And she's a specialist, in darkness, in the shadow lands.
She's an extraordinary person, guiding others through the chaos and intense emotions of the situation, with a transformative power that transcends ordinary experience

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: PAUL L KANTNER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS