In the song “Shake Me Down”, by Cage the Elephant, there are many themes and ideas to be explored. Spoiler Alert!!! The music video ends with the lead actor dead, his wife shaking his body in bed, fruitlessly attempting to wake him up. From this, we know that all the metaphors preceding his death will somehow relate to his death.
The scene begins with the actor waking up in monotoned, grey-colored bedroom, which metaphorically represents his dissatisfaction with the life he was living. He is seen tying his sneakers and suiting up for a jog outside, glancing over at picture frames of what seem like family, specifically deceased family. This moment occurs as the singer says the line, “Not a lot of people left around.” Later, the main character finds an old fort and reminisces on childhood memories through flashbacks. He sees a young girl who seems to be his daughter and holds her with a longing gaze. The daughter could represent someone he is leaving behind after he dies or someone he will meet in the afterlife.
Among the flashbacks were scenes of deer running through the woods, followed by a video of an adult cutting deer meat. This seems to be traumatic for the man, who has a horrified look on his face as he remembers this. These flashbacks to the man’s past show both traumatic experiences, such as the deer and the meat being cut, as well as his greatest memories, such as a baby being born.
After the man exits the “fort” and has his life flash before his eyes, he looks up and sees a line of people standing in front of him. He recognizes these people, and one woman whispers in his ear. They each light a lantern and release it into the dark night sky. These people are the same people in the photographs who the man has lost in his life. By lighting and releasing lanterns into the sky, the man lets go of his worries and his past, as well as his life. This is his right of passage into death. During this time, the singer sings the line, “I’ll keep my eyes fixed on the sun” which brings an optimistic perspective to an otherwise dreary storyline. This is the exemplary moment of the piece, as it clearly demonstrates that a change is occurring within the man.
As described above, the central idea of the piece is a man’s death and the events that take place in his mind leading up to his death. One of the more obvious, broad representations of the man’s dying process was the man joining with the line of people to release lanterns into the sky. More subtle representations of the central idea are the picture frames, which are shown for a mere second or two, and do not clearly state that the people photographed are now deceased. This is implicitly stated by the performers and furthers the metaphor along.
Rentz, Issac. [CageTheElephantVEVO]. (2011, January 20). Shake Me Down. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/v27TRan1SBI
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