I remember him, he was very young
No one spoke like him, he was someone
And I carried on, like I couldn't stop
All of it for us baby

And you, you got in my way
Stood between me and my friends
It was my sin, it was my shame
You were unconscious to the pain I was in

I hear there's trouble in Shangri-La
I run through the grass
I run over the stones
Down to the sea
Show me the way back, honey
I hear there's trouble in Shangri-La
I run through the grass
I run over the stones
Show me the way back...to the sea

With honor be it spoken
To understand this light that we carry
And let it light your way
Of course, you know, I generally take it
Well I make accomodations for you
And consider this
You used to be my love
I make excuses for you

I hear there's trouble in Shangri-La
I run through the grass
I run over the stones
Down to the sea
Show me the way back, honey
I hear there's trouble in Shangri-La
I run through the grass
I run over the stones
Show me the way back...to the sea

You can consume all the beauty in the room, baby
I know you can, I've seen you do it
And it brings up the wind
And it rises around you in pillars of color

But the promise has been broken
As you walk through the shadow of death
You try to see no evil
But you are so heartbroken
You say, "Dear God, make it stop!"
Before the dawn of separation
Brings up the wind
Rises around you
I hear there's trouble in Shangri-La
Pillars of color
Trouble in Shangri-La
I make accomodations for you

I guess we don't believe
That things could go that far
We all believe in people
That we think believe in God
Somewhere in the night...
Someone feels the pain
And the ones who walk away
Try to love again...

I hear there's trouble in Shangri-La
I run through the grass
I run over the stones
Down to the sea
Show me the way back, honey
I hear there's trouble in Shangri-La
I run through the grass
I run over the stones
Show me the way back...to the sea

You can consume all the beauty in the room, baby
Because you are so heartbroken

Well, you can consume all the beauty in the room, baby
Before the dawn of separation
You can consume all the beauty in the room, baby
Show me the way back

---

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

I believe this is a song about Lindsey, and life in Fleetwood Mac. So, starting off, she met Lindsey when he was a teenager, and she could tell he was going to be "someone". She watched him get more and more talented as time went by and then they kept at it, went to Los Angeles, and persevered through trials and tribulations - "all of it for us,baby." But it was hard for her, and she felt Lindsey wasn't really aware of how isolated and hopeless she was feeling - and she resented that.

The chorus is the paradise angle. They were heading for paradise but they were also getting away from what was important to her, and she wants to get back to that....just like in Crystal, back to the sea, which apparently for her is associated with peace and happiness.

Time goes on, they get more famous, Stevie starts taking the spotlight, Lindsey starts getting an attitude, so she has to "acommodate" him and "make excuses" for him, not only to others, but also to herself. In the next verse, she talks again of how Lindsey commands attention because of his brilliance and perhaps there is a bit of a power struggle going on there. And then it happens: they break up. Lindsey tries to act like nothing's wrong, but he gets his heart broken and goes through a lot, experiences a lot of pain due to this split.

Since all this happened at the height of their fame, it's, again, trouble in paradise.... and still Stevie has to accomodate him, this time to be careful to not bring guys around or to make things tougher than they already are. But it does get worse - and again, there's a lot of pain, but the ones who survive must get on with their life and "try to love again."

 

LAUREN speculates:

I think this song is about how Fame and success wasn’t everything Stevie thought be, about Stevie reaching the goals she had set her self in life. Then when she achieves them she realises maybe this what she wanted after all. Stevie has said that the first verse in this song is about Lindsey, I think here she is referring to how great she thought Lindsey was, how there was no-one like him.

 

MAX speculates:

That line in `Trouble in Shangri-La` where Stevie barks `You can consume all the beauty in the room, baby` wouldn`t you think that refers to Lindsey`s bed-hopping and tomcat ways from after their split??? I always thought so... the man loves beautiful women.

 

SARA speculates:

I think the verse that goes "And you, you got in my way/ Stood between me and my friends/ It was my sin, it was my shame/ You were unconscious to the pain I was in" refers to her marriage to Kim. In interviews she has done, she has mentioned that Kim wouldn't let her see her friends or even have her stylist come by their house. Marrying her best friend's husband was, to Stevie, a shameful thing after the couple realized that this was not going to work. And, of course, the last line of the verse speaks to everyone (Don, Lindsey, her family, and the public in general): You don't know how much the situation hurt me.