Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: folk
Song Meaning of “Shutters” by Hayden Calnin
Shutters is a song about the fragility of life and the importance of savoring each moment within it. Through the metaphor of the shutters of a house, it speaks of a protagonist trying to save the memories of a relationship before they are taken away and sealed off, left only with nature’s elements pressing in and against the walls. For the protagonist, there is a powerful realization that not even the shutter’s protective walls can save them from a loss that will eventually come.
The song speaks of the difficulty of grief and how it can be blinding. Despite the protagonist’s determination to enjoy every special moment of life, there will be times where reality doesn’t allow that. They find themselves expending all their energy and efforts to escape the dreariness, searching and longing for a better life elsewhere, only to eventually be reminded that nothing lasts forever and that life does move on.
The song can be interpreted as a reminder to ourselves to enjoy the moments we are gifted, to take in the world around us, no matter how busy our lives can be. In order for us to break through the shutters and out into the world and into all of life’s experiences, it is important to fully process and appreciate what it means to care for something or someone and how it can fade away, too quickly. No matter what, the memories that have been made will stay with us forever.