Shambala - Three Dog Night, 1973

 
 

Wash away my troubles, wash away my pain
With the rain in Shambala
Wash away my sorrows, wash away my shame
With the rain in Shambala

Ooooh... yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah (x2)

Everyone is helpful, everyone is kind
On the road to Shambala
Everyone is lucky, everyone is so kind
On the road to Shambala

Ooooh... yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah (x2)

How does your light shine
In the halls of Shambala
How does your light shine
In the halls of Shambala

I can tell my sister by the flowers in her eyes
On the road to Shambala
I can tell my brother by the flowers in his eyes
On the road to Shambala

Ooooh... yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah (x2)

How does your light shine
In the halls of Shambala
How does your light shine
In the halls of Shambala
Tell me how, how does your light shine
In the halls of Shambala
Tell me how, how does your light shine
In the halls of Shambala

Ooooh... yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

Ooooh... yeah
On the road to Shambala

Ooooh... yeah
Shambala

Ooooh... yeah

On the road to Shambala

 
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Three Dog Night were an American rock band from the late 60s and early 70s. Their unique name apparently refers the Aboriginal Australian sleeping in a hole with a Dingo to keep him warm. Colder nights required two dogs, and well - you get the picture. As for the band, it enjoyed commercial success with peppy songs like Joy to the World, Never Been to Spain, and Old Fashioned Love Song; and showed a social conscience with Black and White.

I chose Shambala because of my memories of the summer of '73. Off the album Cyan, the song reached #3 on the charts. Shambala, as most of you probably know, is a mystical land in the Himalayan mountains. It is (or perhaps was), a place of peace and prosperity, governed by wise and compassionate rulers.

With Tibet and the Dalai Lama in the news these days, maybe this songs deserves a comeback...