Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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Nolan Randall playing the guitar solo from Tears For Fears’ “Shout” from their 1985 album Songs From The Big Chair for Phonogram and Mercury Records.
Words and music by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
In violent times, you shouldn't have to sell your soul
In black and white, they really really ought to know
Those one track minds, that took you for a working boy
Kiss them goodbye, you shouldn't have to jump for joy
You shouldn't have to shout for joy
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
They gave you life, and in return you gave them hell
As cold as ice, I hope we live to tell the tale
I hope we live to tell the tale
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
And when you've taken down your guard
If I could change your mind
I'd really love to break your heart
I'd really love to break your heart
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you
So come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
shout, shoutLet it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, so come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you
*Song Facts*
"Shout" is a song by British band Tears for Fears, written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley and sung by Orzabal (with Curt Smith duetting on the chorus). First released in the UK on November 23, 1984, it was the band's eighth single release (the second taken from their second album Songs from the Big Chair) and sixth UK top 40 hit, peaking at number four in January 1985. In the US, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 3 August 1985 and remained there for three weeks. "Shout" would become one of the most successful songs of 1985, eventually reaching the top 10 in 25 countries. "Shout" is regarded as one of the most recognizable songs from the mid-eighties and is also recognized as the group's signature song, along with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".
While Tears for Fears' previous single "Mothers Talk" had showcased a new, more extroverted songwriting style, "Shout" was completed with power chords, heavy percussion, a synth bass solo and a vocal-sounding synth riff. The song even features a lengthy guitar solo, something previously unheard of in Tears for Fears' usual music style.
Roland Orzabal: "The song was written in my front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine. Initially I only had the chorus, which was very repetitive, like a mantra. I played it to Ian Stanley, our keyboardist, and Chris Hughes, the producer. I saw it as a good album track, but they were convinced it would be a hit around the world."
Curt Smith: "It concerns protest inasmuch as it encourages people not to do things without actually questioning them. People act without thinking because that's just the way things go in society. So it's a general song, about the way the public accepts any old grief which is thrown at them."
Roland Orzabal: "A lot of people think that 'Shout' is just another song about primal scream theory, continuing the themes of the first album. It is actually more concerned with political protest. It came out in 1984 when a lot of people were still worried about the aftermath of The Cold War and it was basically an encouragement to protest."
"Shout" is by far the most abundantly remixed song in the Tears for Fears catalog, with at least 15 different versions of it having been officially released under the band's name.
The promotional video for "Shout", filmed in late 1984, was the second Tears for Fears video directed by famed music video producer Nigel Dick. It features footage of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith at Durdle Door in Dorset, England, as well as at a studio performance with the full band performing the song amidst a crowd of family and friends. The video reportedly cost only ÂŁ14,000 to produce. Along with the clip for "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", the "Shout" video had a big hand in helping establish Tears for Fears in America due to its heavy airplay on the music video channel MTV. Oh yeah!
#TearsForFears #Shout #SynthPop
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Nolan Randall playing the guitar solo from Tears For Fears’ “Shout” from their 1985 album Songs From The Big Chair for Phonogram and Mercury Records.
Words and music by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
In violent times, you shouldn't have to sell your soul
In black and white, they really really ought to know
Those one track minds, that took you for a working boy
Kiss them goodbye, you shouldn't have to jump for joy
You shouldn't have to shout for joy
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
They gave you life, and in return you gave them hell
As cold as ice, I hope we live to tell the tale
I hope we live to tell the tale
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
And when you've taken down your guard
If I could change your mind
I'd really love to break your heart
I'd really love to break your heart
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you
So come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
shout, shoutLet it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you, so come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on, I'm talking to you
*Song Facts*
"Shout" is a song by British band Tears for Fears, written by Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley and sung by Orzabal (with Curt Smith duetting on the chorus). First released in the UK on November 23, 1984, it was the band's eighth single release (the second taken from their second album Songs from the Big Chair) and sixth UK top 40 hit, peaking at number four in January 1985. In the US, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on 3 August 1985 and remained there for three weeks. "Shout" would become one of the most successful songs of 1985, eventually reaching the top 10 in 25 countries. "Shout" is regarded as one of the most recognizable songs from the mid-eighties and is also recognized as the group's signature song, along with "Everybody Wants to Rule the World".
While Tears for Fears' previous single "Mothers Talk" had showcased a new, more extroverted songwriting style, "Shout" was completed with power chords, heavy percussion, a synth bass solo and a vocal-sounding synth riff. The song even features a lengthy guitar solo, something previously unheard of in Tears for Fears' usual music style.
Roland Orzabal: "The song was written in my front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine. Initially I only had the chorus, which was very repetitive, like a mantra. I played it to Ian Stanley, our keyboardist, and Chris Hughes, the producer. I saw it as a good album track, but they were convinced it would be a hit around the world."
Curt Smith: "It concerns protest inasmuch as it encourages people not to do things without actually questioning them. People act without thinking because that's just the way things go in society. So it's a general song, about the way the public accepts any old grief which is thrown at them."
Roland Orzabal: "A lot of people think that 'Shout' is just another song about primal scream theory, continuing the themes of the first album. It is actually more concerned with political protest. It came out in 1984 when a lot of people were still worried about the aftermath of The Cold War and it was basically an encouragement to protest."
"Shout" is by far the most abundantly remixed song in the Tears for Fears catalog, with at least 15 different versions of it having been officially released under the band's name.
The promotional video for "Shout", filmed in late 1984, was the second Tears for Fears video directed by famed music video producer Nigel Dick. It features footage of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith at Durdle Door in Dorset, England, as well as at a studio performance with the full band performing the song amidst a crowd of family and friends. The video reportedly cost only ÂŁ14,000 to produce. Along with the clip for "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", the "Shout" video had a big hand in helping establish Tears for Fears in America due to its heavy airplay on the music video channel MTV. Oh yeah!
#TearsForFears #Shout #SynthPop
