I don't want to die and go on off to paradise
There are more fun places here that I can patronize
And you my friend aren't born again
You're dead already

If I can't go to heaven let me go to LA
Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day
If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?
Shangri-la la la la la la la la la

St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I love my friends in hell, as above and so below
When the rapture comes, if you don't mind
I'll be waiting down here and sweating

If I can't go to heaven let me go to LA
Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day
If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?
Shangri-la la la la la la la la la

Accumulating cumulus in our backyard
My puzzle pieces fooling heaven bit by bit
Beneath this jigsaw sky I sit
And wonder wonder wonder where do I fit?

If I can't go to heaven let me go to LA
Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day
If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?
Shangri-la la la la la la la la la


Lyrics submitted by hipsterhomeless

Shangri-La Lyrics as written by Jonathan Warren Bechtolt Claire Louise Evans

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Songtrust Ave

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Shangri-La song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

4 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    This song puts a huge smile on my face.

    ModernHereticon August 17, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I love this song, it's so catchy and the meaning is simple but good. Heaven is dandy but there are so many amazing places on Earth, I'd rather just stay here. And there's the idea that all the interesting/exciting people are in Hell anyway.

    rawrroseon September 11, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    oh dear, i love this. i want to make a giant sign with the lyrics. or maybe tattoo it on my face.

    hab204on December 05, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Although I think that there are places more wonderful than western US this song is quite beautiful in illustrating that we can experience beauty here on earth before we die. Because death is an end so all we can do in life is experience beauty and have fun. And also ensure that others around us, and those that come after us, can also have the opportunity to experience this 'Utopia" or 'Shangri-la' we call earth.

    lyrocyston January 15, 2012   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.