Shake Up
cicada rhythm Lyrics

The opening lines of Cicada Rhythm's "Shake Up" suggest a sense of frustration: "I've tried each chip / I'm still blocked out." The singer can't seem to access something they're searching for, something elusive that they're trying to understand. The lines "Outside the box is where it lives / Each time I see where it's about / It changes again / Another twist" suggest that this thing, whatever it is, is always moving just beyond the singer's grasp. The repetition of "it," without any clear antecedent, could refer to creativity, inspiration, or any number of intangible ideas. The sense of being blocked out, unable to access whatever it is, seems to be causing some distress.

However, the singer appears to have some sense of where "it" might be, as shown in the lines "I'm right behind it / Let me in to let it go / Let me in." This idea of needing to be let in suggests that access to this thing is somewhat exclusive, like a secret club: you need the key to get in. Later in the song, the singer refers to "the muse," which is traditionally considered the source of creative inspiration for artists. The lines "It wants to see that you / Excite the muse is here?" suggest again that this is about creativity, and that the singer needs to do something to get it to "let [them] in."

The bridge of the song takes on a more encouraging tone, suggesting that even when it seems like all is lost, there's still hope for finding or accessing whatever it is that the singer is searching for: "Someday you may hit a wall / Decide it's over and leave it all / It's just a joke / What's the use / Chasing a dream / Without your muse." Despite the potential setbacks and the fleeting nature of creativity ("Sometimes you wonder where it goes / When it returns / No one knows"), the singer encourages us to keep chasing that dream, because when it comes it has the power to completely shake us up and wake us up.