Rock Poetry Line by Line

"Put Your Lights On"

“Put Your Lights On”

Santana, Supernatural, 1999.

Songwriter: Erik Shrody (Everlast).

Sonneta for Erik and Carlos

Erik Shrody, well known as Everlast,

Wrote the introspective “Put Your Lights On,”

After the heart attack blessed to live past.

Spiritual Santana loved the song.

This bluesy rock song was not a big hit,

Yet in two thousand awarded Grammy,

Everlast’s Light has not faded one bit;

 Its message to my soul dwells within me.

Unforgettable, my favorite track,

With brilliant Santana’s blues guitar,

Everlast’s deep words in meaning no lack,

Before I fade, I will shine like a star.

Let us look at words that read like prayer,

Together view meanings we will find there.---Lisa Cole-Allen

“Put Your Lights On”

Hey now, all you sinners
Put your lights on, put your lights on
Hey now, all you lovers
Put your lights on, put your lights on

Hey now, all you killers
Put your lights on, put your lights on
Hey now, all you children
Leave your lights on, you better leave your lights on

Cause there's a monster living under my bed
Whispering in my ear
There's an angel, with a hand on my head
She say I've got nothing to fear

There's a darkness deep in my soul
I still got a purpose to serve
So let your light shine, into my hole
God, don't let me lose my nerve
Lose my nerve

Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Wo oh hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now

Hey now, all you sinners
Put your lights on, put your lights on
Hey now, all you children
Leave your lights on, you better leave your lights on

Because there's a monster living under my bed
Whispering in my ear
There's an angel, with a hand on my head
She say I've got nothing to fear
She say La ill aha ill Allah
We all shine like stars
La ill aha ill Allah
We all shine like stars
Then we fade away

.

Hey now, all you sinners
Put your lights on, put your lights on
Hey now, all you lovers
Put your lights on, put your lights on

Hey now, all you killers
Put your lights on, put your lights on
Hey now, all you children
Leave your lights on, you better leave your lights on

Schrody appeals to “sinners, “lovers” and “killers” to

“put [their] lights on.”  It is a prompt, a warning to awaken

from the darkness of their souls and look for the “light”

within their spirits, to find God.  He urges this wake-up call

over and over to the adults.  To “all you children,” he advises

[them], “Leave your lights on; you better leave your lights on.”

Most children are taught and raised with faith; Shrody tells

them to hold onto that faith, to keep believing.

Cause there's a monster living under my bed
Whispering in my ear
There's an angel, with a hand on my head
She say I've got nothing to fear

There's a darkness deep in my soul
I still got a purpose to serve
So let your light shine, into my hole
God, don't let me lose my nerve
Lose my nerve

The “monster living under my bed, whispering in my ear”

is the awareness of our mortality that is always with us.

But if we have faith, “an angel, with a hand on my head,”

comforts us, assures us we’ve “got nothing to fear.”

Though there is “a darkness deep in my soul, I still got a

purpose to serve.”  Shrody is recounting his narrow escape

from death; he feels he has been spared for a reason.  He

asks God to “let your light shine into my hole,” the dark pit

of sadness he feels.  He asks God for courage, fortitude:

“God, don’t let me lose my nerve.”

She say La ill aha ill Allah
We all shine like stars
La ill aha ill Allah
We all shine like stars
Then we fade away

Schrody converted to Islam in nineteen ninety-six.  There was

discussion between Everlast and Santana regarding whether

to include this passage in the recording. ”La ill aha ill Allah” is

the Arabic language for “there is no deity but one God.”  It is the

first part of the Shahada, the Islamic profession of faith.  Shrody

did not want to “sell Allah’s words.”  Santana, raised a Catholic,

and having studied numerous religions, is deeply spiritual.  He

insisted that these lyrics were pivotal to the meaning of the song.

.

The angel speaks to us at the end of the song: “We all shine like

stars, then we fade away.”  Each individual is unique; each has a

purpose for existence, a “star” in the sky, shining in God’s eye.

The soulful “Put Your Lights On” by Everlast and Santana

warns all of us sinners to find and make peace with God.

It guides our children to hold onto their faith in God, and

it comforts the faithful with hope of life Everlast.