1. Toronto was a Cana… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist under this name:
1. Toronto was a Canadian rock band from the late seventies and early eighties who have been compared to Heart and Pat Benatar. They were formed in the late 1970s in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when singer Annie "Holly" Woods met guitarist Brian Allen. The band's constantly shifting line-up was originally augmented by guitarist/backing vocalist Sharon Alton, keyboardist Scott Kreyer, bassist Nick Costello, and drummer Jimmy Fox.
Their first album, Lookin' for Trouble, was released in 1980, and the title track was a Top 40 hit in Canada. Head On (1981) followed , after which Costello and Fox left the band to be replaced by Gary LaLonde (later of Honeymoon Suite) and Barry Connors (later of Coney Hatch).
This sextet recorded Get It On Credit (1982), with Your Daddy Don't Know perhaps being their best known hit on the 1982 album. Lalonde was then replaced by Mike Gingrich for 1983's Girls' Night Out. This album also received attention, as did the band's Greatest Hits album of 1984.
There were subsequently several exits and entrances in 1984/85, with founding members Allen and Alton leaving, along with drummer Connors. They were replaced by Marty Walsh (guitars), Daryl Alvara (guitars) and Paul Hanna (drums), and the band rechristened themselves Toronto & Holly Woods. In 1985, the re-vamped sextet released their final album, Assault & Flattery. It featured the single New Romance, written by Holly Knight and Anton Fig.
2005 saw Toronto play at Voyageur Days Festival in Mattawa, Ontario, Canada (near North Bay) with other Canadian classic rockers Moxy, Chilliwack, Trooper, Goddo, Killer Dwarfs and Ray Lyell for the 30th anniversary of the release of the debut album by the band Moxy.
2. Toronto is a rock band from Poland, created in 1997 by brothers Sławek and Darek Załeńscy.
3. Toronto is an artist credited for the song Electric Tooth Brush on the Jet Set Radio soundtrack.
Shot Down
Toronto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They say your lyin' and you're telling the truth
They got your number and there's no turning back
Shot down shot down
They say I'm a loser
With my future painted black
And though they take me for a fool
They took my brother
He's got 4 long years to go
My sister ran with a music man
And they say that's all she wrote
Shot down in the prime of my youth
They say your lyin' and you're telling the truth
They got your number and there's no turning back
Shot down shot down
The cops they got a problem
They think they really know the score
Cause every time somebody's on the
Loose they come a banging down my door
A bad reputation
Is all they ever gave to me
Well, I never done what they said I done
But I'll never make them see
(Shot down)
They said trouble was my middle name
(Shot down)
The boys in town said I played a game
(Shot down)
They stayed away from a girl like me
(Shot down)
I can still hear them laughing at me
Ha ha
Oh no no
They say I'm a loser
With my future painted black
And though they take me for a fool
I know they talk being my back
They took my brother
He's got 4 long years to go
Well, My sister ran with a music man
And they say that's all she wrote
Shot down in the prime of my youth
They say your lyin' and you're telling the truth
They got your number and there's no turning back
Shot down shot
Down
Shot down in the prime of my youth
They say your lyin' and you're telling the truth
They got your number and there's no turning back
Shot down, Shot down
Shot down, shot
The song "Shot Down" by Toronto paints a picture of a young person who has been wrongly accused and is paying the price for a crime they didn't commit. It opens with the lines "Shot down in the prime of my youth, they say you're lyin' and you're telling the truth" which sets the tone for the rest of the song. The lyrics talk about how the singer's siblings have also been affected - the brother is in jail and the sister has left with a music man. The singer has a bad reputation and is constantly being harassed by the police who assume that they are guilty. The lyrics express a sense of frustration at not being able to prove their innocence or change people's perception of them.
One interesting aspect of this song is the use of repetition in the lyrics. The phrase "shot down" is repeated multiple times throughout the song, emphasizing the sense of defeat and hopelessness felt by the singer. Another interesting aspect is the use of the phrase "they say" which is repeated several times. This highlights the theme of gossip and hearsay, and the impact it can have on someone's life.
The song was released in 1982 by the Canadian rock band Toronto. It was written by their lead guitarist Brian Allen and the lead vocalist Holly Woods. The song charted highly in Canada, reaching number 25 on the Canadian music charts.
Line by Line Meaning
Shot down in the prime of my youth
I was defeated during my best days
They say you're lyin' and you're telling the truth
No matter the truth I tell, they won't believe me
They got your number and there's no turning back
They already have me figured out and I cannot avoid their wrath
Shot down shot down
I was let down and beaten
They say I'm a loser, with my future painted black
People call me a failure and believe my life won't turn out well
And though they take me for a fool, I know they talk behind my back
Even though I know people gossip about me, they underestimate my knowledge
They took my brother, He's got 4 long years to go
My brother was taken away from me and imprisoned for a long time
My sister ran with a music man, And they say that's all she wrote
My sister left with a musician and people assume that's the end of her story
The cops they got a problem, They think they really know the score
The authorities think they have it all figured out
Cause every time somebody's on the loose they come bangin' down my door
Whenever anything goes wrong, the police suspect me and come to my house
A bad reputation is all they ever gave to me
My reputation has been tarnished for no good reason
Well, I never done what they said I done, But I'll never make them see
I am innocent of the accusations, but they refuse to acknowledge the truth
They said trouble was my middle name
People have labeled me as a troublemaker
The boys in town said I played a game
The guys in the town think I am a player
They stayed away from a girl like me
People avoided me because of my supposed reputation
I can still hear them laughing at me
I can still remember being ridiculed and laughed at
Writer(s): Brian Raymond Allen
Contributed by Josiah J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.