Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she moved to Australia to play a featured role in the Australian production of Hair. Hines was then approached to play Mary Magdalene in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Hines became the first black woman to play Mary Magdalene, and achieved a second major success.
A record contract followed and her first single released in 1974 was a cover version of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain". Most of her hit singles were released between 1976 and 1979, and included her cover versions of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself", and The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", and "What I Did For Love" (from A Chorus Line). Her biggest hit was the single that made number 2 in the charts in Australia: "You"; an up-tempo dance song, later covered in the United States by Rita Coolidge.
She continued to record and achieved a few more hits including the dance track "Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees" in the eighties. "Flashdance, What A Feeling" (originally recorded by Irene Cara), and "Time of Our Lives" were both hits for Hines in 1999.
Shining
Marcia Hines Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now why won't you set me free
I'm beggin' you baby
I'm just a paw-awn in your game of love
But I was shi-ining, too bright to see
Shi-i-ining, 'cause love blinded me
Shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ining, but now I'm here all alone
I've stayed around too long with no love
And I'm walking out 'cause now I'm free
I'm tellin' you baby-why, yeah
I've been your paw-awn, now it's my boot, my love
But I was shi-ining, too bright to see
Shi-i-ining, 'cause love blinded me
Shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ining, but now you've gone
And I am here all alone
You said you loved me and you did lo-o-o-o-o-ove
But since you've changed your mind now
I've rearranged my life now
It's very straight how I've done all for you
And now I'm shi-ining, too bright to see
Shi-i-ining now that I'm free
Shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ining, now that you've gone
And I am here still alone
The song "Shining" by Marcia Hines is about a person who has been played with and strung along by their lover for too long. The lyrics reveal that the persona is begging their lover to let them go because they realize that they have only been a pawn in the game of love their partner has been playing. Despite being in a relationship, they felt alone because love blinded them. They were shining too bright to see and now that they have been set free they are able to shine even brighter. The persona has rearranged their life, done all they can for their partner, but despite their best efforts they have ended up alone. The song draws attention to themes of self-love and understanding one's worth.
The repeated use of the word "shining" in the chorus of the song is symbolic of the persona's self-confidence and self-worth. However, as the song progresses, it becomes clear that their shining was only an illusion, a result of being blinded by love. This is a common theme in relationships where one person feels they are on top of the world because of their partner's love but lose themselves in the process. The lyrics draw attention to the fact that sometimes, we have to lose everything to find ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
You played around too long with my lo-ove
You've toyed with my feelings for too long
Now why won't you set me free
I'm asking you to release me from this relationship
I'm beggin' you baby
I'm pleading with you
I'm just a paw-awn in your game of love
I feel like a powerless pawn in your romantic game
But I was shi-ining, too bright to see
I was so blinded by love that I didn't realize I was shining too brightly
Shi-i-ining, 'cause love blinded me
Love made me blind to what was happening
Shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ining, but now I'm here all alone
Despite all my shining, I'm left alone now
I've stayed around too long with no love
I've been in this relationship for too long without receiving any love
And I'm walking out 'cause now I'm free
I'm leaving now that I've gained my freedom
I'm tellin' you baby-why, yeah
I'm explaining to you why I'm leaving
I've been your paw-awn, now it's my boot, my love
I used to be your pawn, but now I'm in charge of my own life
But I was shi-ining, too bright to see
Just like before, I was blinded by love
Shi-i-ining, 'cause love blinded me
Love had me shining brightly, but not in a good way
Shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ining, but now you've gone
Despite all my shining, you've left me now
And I am here all alone
I'm left by myself
You said you loved me and you did lo-o-o-o-o-ove
You claimed to love me and at some point, you actually did
But since you've changed your mind now
But, now you've changed your mind
I've rearranged my life now
I've made changes to my life as a result
It's very straight how I've done all for you
It's easy to see how much I've done for you
And now I'm shi-ining, too bright to see
And now, I'm shining again, but in a better way
Shi-i-ining now that I'm free
I'm shining now that I've gained my freedom
Shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ining, now that you've gone
Despite everything, I'm still shining, despite you leaving
And I am here still alone
I'm still by myself
Lyrics Β© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALLEN TOUSSAINT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Richard Marmoy
Wow , no comment since 2013. Such a heartfelt song of anguish. When you are head over heels in love with someone who is not really in love with you. Early eighties classic and beautifully sung by Marcia. Resonates with me and a beautiful girl Terri who really had no idea that I was totally smitten with how gorgeous she was. Hey ho, I got over it eventually but there's a corner of my heart forever hers. I wish her the very best of everything in life and what could have been.
Virginia Kennedy
Beautiful π
Steve Barton
Marcia, what a voice. Love it and love you
Bernie Brittain
Whatta voice!
Love ya Marcia. β€οΈ
Lynne Clennett
Awesome
Peter Thomas
I have maybe 200 songs on my favorite list on YouTube, This conveys incredible heartfelt emotion that I keep coming back to. Is it me, or 28k views puts me in the very smallest minority. Thanks Marcia
daveinprogress3
Marcia is not well known outside Australia and this song is not one of her signature hits, but 28,000 is a good number for me, but it has been up for over a decade. I'm just happy to share the music and folks like you appreciate it.
Ian Jordan
Memories of my beautiful sister that passed in 1981. She loved Marica. π
Rob1963
I went to one of her Concert back in Geelong . It was in the early 80's, Marcia was a great singer back in them times :)
Sam Toucan
I too had the 1977 Ripper compilation where this song was featured. It is odd that a compilation featured songs that were not released as singles since compilations back then were a collection of radio hits, which in turn made them into singles the public could buy. I didn't realise SHINING was never released as an actual single. Are you certain about this? Either way this is one of her best songs. The symphony introduction is simply amazing