| "Shine over Babylon" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sheryl Crow | ||||
| from the album Detours | ||||
| Released | November 2007 | |||
| Format | Digital | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 4:07 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Writer(s) | Sheryl Crow, Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, Eric Schermerhorn | |||
| Producer | Bill Bottrell | |||
| Sheryl Crow singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Shine over Babylon" is a song written and recorded by American rock singer Sheryl Crow. It was the first single released from Crow's album Detours. The song gained some radio airplay but was only released as a digital download and did not chart in the United States.
In the summer of 2007, well before its release, Crow told Billboard that the song "is very environmentally conscious, in the tradition of Bob Dylan." She said:
| “ | I'm really encouraging artists to write about what's going on, because we seem to be very distracted by some lightweight topics. I think it's time to start writing about the reality of what's around us. | ” |
In additional comments on her website, Crow describes the single as "in every way a desperate cry for understanding. Perhaps it is even a battle song in the face of fear."[1]
Then, in contrast, comes "Shine Over Babylon," the album's first single. Here, Crow's voice echoes out with much more fierce determination. It's the most Dylanesque moment on the album, as she tries to fit everything into one moment of overwhelming revelation. From "great highways" to the "waning sun," "mindless filler" and "the bloated bank account."
The music video was added to the popular video sharing site YouTube on 21 November 2007. The video comprises Crow singing with an acoustic guitar with newspapers scrolling behind her, relating to headlines that have recently been in the press regarding environmental and poverty issues.
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Italy Singles Top 100[2] | 42 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||