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.
In the shelter
In the morning as the sun was brightly gleaming
I heard her crying out, "What is it all about?
I just don't know, I can't go back home"
Lonely princess, all the days out on your own
Are growing empty
Nothin' is goin' well
If you could only tell them how you feel
They're too real to understand
Too many small suggestions
Ending in forced repressions long ago
Too many innocent faces
In too many far out places, something's wrong
Let me tell you that something's wrong
It's been that way so long, and it's a shame
On the street car
To the city were she knows that she may lose it all
Riding for just a dime, takin' her own sweet time
And knowing well this could be her final fall
Past the boutique, to the alley down the river
People pass her by
She sits on the big gray rocks, takes off her boots and socks
Not knowing what she will do next
Just starts to cry
To many wild rejections
Ending in angry questions from her dad
To many TV dinners
Ah, everyone loves a winner
But she has lost
No ones knows the trials she had
In the shelter
In the morning as the sun was brightly gleaming
I heard her crying out, "What is it all about?
I just don't know, but I can't go back home
Hell, I just don't know, but I can't go back home"
In the morning as the sun was brightly gleaming
I heard her crying out, "What is it all about?
I just don't know, I can't go back home"
Lonely princess, all the days out on your own
Are growing empty
Nothin' is goin' well
If you could only tell them how you feel
They're too real to understand
Too many small suggestions
Ending in forced repressions long ago
Too many innocent faces
In too many far out places, something's wrong
Let me tell you that something's wrong
It's been that way so long, and it's a shame
On the street car
To the city were she knows that she may lose it all
Riding for just a dime, takin' her own sweet time
And knowing well this could be her final fall
Past the boutique, to the alley down the river
People pass her by
She sits on the big gray rocks, takes off her boots and socks
Not knowing what she will do next
Just starts to cry
To many wild rejections
Ending in angry questions from her dad
To many TV dinners
Ah, everyone loves a winner
But she has lost
No ones knows the trials she had
In the shelter
In the morning as the sun was brightly gleaming
I heard her crying out, "What is it all about?
I just don't know, but I can't go back home
Hell, I just don't know, but I can't go back home"
Lyrics submitted by EnjOy IncUbus
In the Shelter Lyrics as written by Jimmy Buffett
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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What interpretation does Jimmy Buffett himself give to this song? I've been a professional counselor for 50 years and I do not hear that it "speaks to the universal human experience of finding comfort and refuge in times of turmoil" as has been suggested in one interpretation elsewhere. Where is comfort and hope in this song?
It seems to me like the "shelter" in the song is one for the homeless or abused. "Nothing is goin' well. If you could only tell them how you feel, but they're too real to understand" and "On the street car to the city where she knows that she might lose it all. Riding for just a dime, taking her own sweet time and knowing well this could be her final fall" and "Too many TV dinners and everyone loves a winner but she was lost. No one knows the trials she had" sound like she very lost, alone and hopeless. "Sits on the big gray rocks. Takes off her boots and socks and (not) knowing what she will do next, just starts to cry" seems to threaten suicidal urges.