Shame (Eurythmics song)


"Shame" is a song recorded by British pop music duo Eurythmics. It was written by band members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart and produced by Stewart. The song appears on the duo's sixth studio album Savage and was released as the second single in the UK. "Shame" was not released in the United States.
The track is a synthpop ballad in which the protagonist expresses regret and disdain for excessive and shallow lifestyles led by those who frequent nightclubs, bars, parties and the like. The lyrics namecheck The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and mentions the song "All You Need is Love".
"Shame" stalled at number forty-one in the UK singles chart, the first Eurythmics single to miss the UK Top 40 since "Julia" in 1985.

Track listings

7":RCA (UK, GER, FR, SP, AUS, JP)

  1. "Shame" – 3:46
  2. "I've Got A Lover " – 4:33

    12":RCA (UK, GER, FR, SP, AUS)

  3. "Shame" – 5:44
  4. "I've Got A Lover " – 4:33
  5. "Shame" – 4:23

    CD Single:RCA (UK, GER)

  6. "Shame" – 5:44
  7. "I've Got A Lover " – 4:33
  8. "There Must Be An Angel " * – 7:15
Upon release, Musician described the song as having "icy passion". Lawrence Donegan, as guest reviewer for Record Mirror, described "Shame" as "a wonderful single" and added: "Behind the sorry mess that is Dave Stewart's hair there lies a pop genius." The Orlando Sentinel felt "Shame" was a "slow, ethereal arrangement." In a retrospective review of Savage, AllMusic highlighted the song as an album standout by labeling it an AMG Pick Track.
The Toledo Blade noted the songs on the album like "Shame" "sound lush and full, but the plea in the lyrics is almost desperate: a human longing to be touched instead of crushed by others." The Bulletin commented that "Shame" "takes on the idea of raised expectations generated by the media and nails it down as patently false. Everything is a con job... everything from movies to TV to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones." Spare Rib considered the lyrics to cover "success and disillusion".

Charts