Much like the man himself, Hayes' musical sensibilities defy easy categorization. Just because there's a banjo featured in a track, don't expect it to sound Appalachian -- and certainly don't expect that recurring tuba to have anything to do with Sousa and his severely metered marches. With his new album "Big Black Hole and the Little Baby Star", the North Carolina-bred, San Francisco-rooted artist continues to embrace the multifarious, channeling Billie Holiday in her more melancholy moments (Fucked Me Right Up) or hitting the pavement with broken-hearted, wild eyed friends who take strength in numbers (Calling All Cars). With subject matter that ranges from polka dot panties to innocent death row inmates, it's best to keep an ear cocked to sort out Hayes' lyrics. A masterful songwriter and fingerpicker, the singer plays guitar, mandolin, and banjo on the album.
Etienne de Rocher mans the piano, bass, keyboards and backup harmony vocals, and Ches Smith supplies percussion. Ara Anderson, who's added his horns to Tom Waits' and Jolie Holland's albums, adds some powerful oomph on trumpet and tuba. Hayes says that the process for getting this fourth record together has been "totally organic - - it has to do with time, and how the sound changes because of it, as well as with the people you play with."
A little over a year ago, while playing a warehouse show for local arts and culture mag Kitchen Sink, Hayes bumped into fellow musician de Rocher. It was a fortuitous meeting. De Rocher invited Hayes to record a few songs at his garage studio, and Hayes eventually recorded the whole of Big Black Hole there. Thanks in part to de Rocher's production, the album's sound is a departure from his previous discs. Now, Hayes sounds a little less folky, a little more languid and groovy, as if he loosened the knot on his hobo tie after tossing back a few Don Julios -- a better approximation of his live shows.. - Elka Karl
Shake Your Body
Sean Hayes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
is
inside
The fear
is
inside
the body
The fear
inside
The enemy
in me
The enemy
is
in me
Take a look
outside
take a look
outside
you'll never find
it
The fear
the enemy
inside
inside of me
shake your body
Sean Hayes's song Shake Your Body is about fear and how it can take hold in one's body. The repetition of the phrase "the fear is inside" emphasizes the internal aspect of fear and how it can consume a person. The lyrics suggest that this fear is an enemy within oneself, and it cannot be found outside. The fear must be confronted and dealt with through physical movement, as suggested by the final phrase "shake your body." Overall, the song highlights the importance of acknowledging and addressing inner fears.
One interesting fact about the song Shake Your Body is that it was featured in an episode of the Showtime series Weeds. Additionally, the song was used in a 2006 commercial for the Nissan Maxima. Sean Hayes also re-recorded the song in Spanish for a compilation album titled "Cantares de las Americas."
Another interesting fact is that Sean Hayes originally recorded the song in his living room. According to an interview with SFWeekly, Hayes said: "I have a little eight-track that I recorded it on. It's all pretty much homemade."
Shake Your Body was also featured on the soundtrack for the 2014 film The Signal, directed by William Eubank. Moreover, the song was performed live by Sean Hayes on two episodes of the popular television show True Blood.
Here are the chords for Shake Your Body if known:
Verse: C G F C
Chorus: F G C
Line by Line Meaning
The fear is inside
The feeling of being scared resides within oneself
The fear is inside the body
The feeling of being scared is a physical sensation within oneself
The fear inside
The feeling of being scared is present within oneself
The enemy in me
The adversary or opposing force exists within oneself
The enemy is in me
The adversary or opposing force is a part of oneself
Take a look outside
Examine the surroundings beyond oneself
Take a look outside you'll never find it
The source of fear or the enemy cannot be found outside of oneself
The fear the enemy inside
The feeling of being scared and the adversary or opposing force exist within oneself
Shake your body
Move your physical being to dispel fear or overcome the enemy within oneself
Contributed by Carson J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.