Shakermaker by Oasis Lyrics Meaning – A Dose of Nostalgic Irreverence
Lyrics
I’d like to build myself a house out of plasticine
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
I’ve been driving in my car with my friend Mister Soft
Mister Clean and Mister Ben are living in my loft
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
I’m sorry but I just don’t know
I know I said I told you so
When you’re happy and you’re feeling fine
Then you’ll know it’s the right time
Then you’ll know that it’s the right time
To shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with me
Mister Sifter sold me songs
When I was just sixteen
Now he stops at traffic lights
But only when they’re green
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
Ah, shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with me
Shake along with them
Shake along with me
Shake along with them
Shake along with me
At first glance, ‘Shakermaker’ might come off as an anthemic hodgepodge of nonsensical verses cloaked under the alluring guitar riffs and scornful attitude that would come to define Britpop’s heyday. Oasis, known for their artful blend of musical defiance and lyrical bravado, delivered this second single off their 1994 debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’ with a certain throwaway charm that has both bemused and captivated fans and critics alike.
Diving into the enigmatic pool of ‘Shakermaker’ lyrics, one can begin to discern the threads of playful imagination, rebellion against mundanity, and a yearning for transformation. By examining the cryptic words and melodies that shaped this cult classic, we embark on an odyssey to parse its hidden implications and exhume the philosophical musings that lie beneath its deceptively simple surface.
The Eccentricity of Everyday Escapism
In the song’s opening lines, the desire ‘to be somebody else and not know where I’ve been’ points to a universal human urge to reinvent ourselves, to start anew with the slate wiped clean. Oasis captures this longing in a peculiar package—building houses out of plasticine suggests a return to childlike freedom and creativity, a world where responsibilities are malleable and life is as vibrant and colorful as the models we sculpt.
This theme of escapism persists through the characterization of the song’s peculiar entourage—the speaker’s driving companions, ‘Mister Soft’, ‘Mister Clean’, and ‘Mister Ben’. These could be interpreted as caricatures of adulthood and societal expectations, or perhaps figments of a mind seeking solace in imaginary friends. Either way, their residence in the ‘loft’ of one’s consciousness hints at the higher ideals or cleanliness, flexibility, and precision, which we aim to embody but rarely achieve.
A Nostalgic Nod to the Past
In the seemingly nonsensical jumble, ‘Shakermaker’ hides a reminiscence of youth—of simpler times when tunes could influence and alter the trajectory of a typically discontented British teen. ‘Mister Sifter sold me songs when I was just sixteen’ can be seen as a reference to the record store culture of the past, a time when music discovery was a physical and communal experience rather than the isolated streaming sessions of today’s digital age.
Furthermore, the detail of Mister Sifter ‘stopping at traffic lights, but only when they’re green’ could symbolize an adherence to societal rules that come with adulthood, but only when they align with one’s desires—reflecting a rebellious subtext that remains unmarred by time and adult responsibility.
Finding the Right Time in a Frenetic World
Despite the chaos and confusion, ‘Shakermaker’ unearths a straightforward, if elusive, message: the importance of timing in the persuit of happiness. The line ‘When you’re happy and you’re feeling fine, then you’ll know it’s the right time’ conveys the idea that highest states of being aren’t found through forced contrivance, but through natural alignment with our emotions and circumstances.
This ‘right time’ also ties to the act of ‘shaking along’, which repeatedly serves as a clarion call throughout the song. It’s the ritualistic letting go, an abandonment to the rhythm of life, urging listeners to join in this collective jig of liberation, whenever that time might strike.
Unearthing the Song’s Cryptic Core
At the center of ‘Shakermaker’ is a hidden meaning veiled behind what could be mistaken for lyrical simplicity or even nonsense. The song could be read as an allegory for the creative process itself—where music is both the sanctuary and escapade, the everyday and the extraordinary, the familiar ‘shake’ of a tambourine or bottle filled with pebbles, where everyone, ‘them’, and ‘me’ are unified in the act of creation.
It compels us to confront the nature of art—is it the opiate for the masses, a merchant selling sweet dreams in notes and hooks, or is it the revealer of truths, the medium that allows even the most mundane among us to shake to the beat of a different drum?
Memorable Lines Leave Lasting Impressions
‘Shakermaker’, much like a number of Oasis’s chart-toppers, thrives on its ability to embed its lines into the collective consciousness. Phrases like ‘I’d like to build myself a house out of plasticine’ and ‘Shake along with me’ resonate beyond their immediate context and become anthems in their own right, evoking the kind of throw-your-hands-up carefreeness that induces audience sing-alongs and caricatures the band’s cavalier spirit.
Yet, these lines, which might on the surface seem trivial or comical, are endowed with a gravity when viewed through the lens of one’s lived experience. They remind us that the shake we share with Oasis is not just a momentary jolt but a lasting quiver, a reminder that within the absurd may lie the profound.
