Sheppard's international hit single Geronimo was the Brisbane band's battle-cry, a super-sophisticated stadium pop anthem shot through with all the mixed emotions of being young. With this, the six-piece, formed around siblings George, Amy and Emma Sheppard, launched their debut album Bombs Away.
The Sheppard story starts two and half thousand miles from Brisbane in the tropical Pacific paradise of Papua New Guinea, where the family moved with their lawyer father. Music was in the air from day one: while dad blasted Cat Stevens in the house to get them out of bed in the mornings, mum sent them for lessons in piano and music theory. But their biggest influence was a music teacher at their Port Moresby school, Baruka Tau-Matagu, keyboard player of the legendary Aboriginal group Yothu Yindu and top session man for the likes of Janet Jackson and Madonna. From Tau the Sheppards picked up their love of harmony.
Sheppard came about by accident, back in Australia, in fact, when middle child Amy was studying for a music diploma and felt that one of her songs (working title *Cheese on Toast*) lacked a certain something. Brother George, then a drama student in Sydney, helped out on harmonies, and the pair realised they could write together. They added young composer and producer Jay Bovino, fresh from Sydney band Vienna Circus, and in the space of two months the trio Bovino / Sheppard / Sheppard had written 30 tracks. Brisbane musicians Michael Butler and Dean Gordon joined them on guitar and drums, with younger sister Emma on bass guitar. After trying out various producers, they finally hit upon one - Stuart Stuart of Analogue Heart Records - who let them be themselves. "With Geronimo," says Amy, "we kind of knew it was a hit. We wrote it in about two hours - there were so many hooks, and so many more hooks we could have added and didn’t.”
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2013, Sheppard were nominated for Best Independent Release for "Let Me Down Easy". At the 2014 ceremony, they were nominated for Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Independent Release, Best Pop Release, Song of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Best Video.
On 1 November 2016, "We Belong" was released.
These People
Sheppard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On anyone like you
You're heartless in your origins
And I'm tired and weakened through
Now I'm leaving all my bridges burned
I'm disconnecting ties
I'm screening my position
'Cause I don't want you in my life
Sometimes, these people push me around
And I'm tired of people keeping me down
Every city and every town, no matter where I go
Every smile and every frown, oh you're in every show
And I can't try and find a haven,
'Cause I can't wait for you to change
But I'm sure that all the people are the same
Sometimes, these people push me around
And I'm tired of people keeping me down
Dah-da-da-da
Dah-da-da-da
Dah-da-da-da-da
(Yeah)
Dah-da-da-da
Dah-da-da-da
Dah-da-da-da-da
Sometimes, these people push me around
And I'm tired of people
And I'm tired of people keeping me down
And you've won
I can't understand where you're coming from
Ooooh-ooh-ooh
And I'm done yeah
Does anyone know where I went so wrong?
In these lyrics to Sheppard's song These People, the singer is expressing their frustration and disappointment with certain individuals in their life who they perceive as heartless and draining. Despite trying to find a sense of peace and distance from these people, they seem to show up everywhere, in every city and every show, making it impossible for the singer to find a haven. The repeated refrain of "sometimes, these people push me around" highlights the consistent way that these individuals bring the singer down, keeping them from living their best life.
The first stanza of the song speaks to the singer's decision to break ties with someone who is heartless and draining. They are burning bridges and cutting off connections because they do not want that person in their life any longer. This decision has presumably worn the singer down, leaving them feeling tired and weakened. The second stanza delves into the idea that these negative forces in the singer's life are ubiquitous - no matter where they go, they can't seem to escape them. They are tired of feeling pushed around and held down by these people.
Overall, these lyrics express a sense of weariness and exhaustion with the negative influences in one's life. The singer is ready to move on and find a place where they can thrive without being held back by anyone else.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I won't waste another minute
I'm tired of investing my time and energy on you
On anyone like you
I'm not referring to just anyone, but you in particular
You're heartless in your origins
You lack empathy due to your upbringing, making it unbearable for me to be around you
And I'm tired and weakened through
Your presence has drained me of my strength and I'm done dealing with it
Now I'm leaving all my bridges burned
I'm permanently cutting all ties with you
I'm disconnecting ties
I'm cutting off all communication and emotional attachments with you
I'm screening my position
I'm guarding myself from any potential harm you may cause
'Cause I don't want you in my life
I'm making it clear that I'm done with you and don't want you around
Every city and every town, no matter where I go
You seem to find a way to insert yourself into every aspect of my life no matter where I am
Every smile and every frown, oh you're in every show
Even my happiest moments and my lowest points, you seem to have a presence in my life
And I can't try and find a haven,
I can't even find solace or a safe haven because you always seem to find a way to disrupt it
'Cause I can't wait for you to change
I can't hold on to the hope that you'll eventually change and become a better person
But I'm sure that all the people are the same
Despite my frustration with you, I'm aware that there are other people out there who are similar
And you've won
You have successfully pushed me away and I'm finally done with you
I can't understand where you're coming from
I don't know why you behave the way you do and it's beyond my understanding
Does anyone know where I went so wrong?
I'm reflecting on my own behavior and trying to understand where I may have gone wrong in the situation
Sometimes, these people push me around
I'm not just referring to you, but there are other people in my life who also push me around
And I'm tired of people keeping me down
I'm tired of constantly feeling like I'm being held back by others
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JASON BOVINO, AMY LOUISE SHEPPARD, GEORGE JOSEF SHEPPARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind