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Mighty Hoopla and Olly Alexander have announced Trans Mission, a concert for trans solidarity•
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Sam Fender has postponed Newcastle presale after reported bot attack•
The Healing Power of Horses have announced ‘8725’, their second EP in six months•
Kesha has dug into the ‘Animal’ archives for her long-lost ‘Backstabber’ video•
Little Grandad have shared ‘A Minute On The Lips’ and announced a January in-store tour•
CMAT has performed ‘Take a Sexy Picture of Me’ and more for NPR's Tiny Desk•
girl in red has released her new EP ‘BLUE’, exploring change and fresh starts•
David Bowie's unreleased 1978 concert film ‘Stage’ is getting a spectacular arena revival•
Mia Joy is taking flight with new single ‘Wings of Desire’ and her second album•
Heartworms is back with a sinister new single, ‘Guess I’m Stuck In The Dark’•
Phoebe Bridgers has been announced as All Points East 2027’s first headliner•
FKA twigs will curate Meltdown 2027 at Southbank Centre•
Hot Chip have announced their new album, ‘A Long Way From Kansas’•
The Cribs have announced a Wakefield show for ‘Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever’ anniversary•
Tate McRae has released ‘Housewife’ with a South of France-shot video•
Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan have released their ‘expectations’ remix•
Audrey Hobert has unveiled a new video for 'Sex and the City' as she begins her headline tour•
The Dork 2025 Readers' Poll nominations are in, featuring CMAT, Turnstile, Wolf Alice, Djo, Hayley Williams and loads more•
flowerovlove has released her first-ever first Christmas track, 'wishlist'•
Mighty Hoopla and Olly Alexander have announced Trans Mission, a concert for trans solidarity•
JADE has announced a deluxe edition of her debut album, 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! THE ENCORE'•
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  1. Tracks
  2. Buddy
  3. Harlan & Alondra
  4. Shine

TRACK

Buddy

Shine

Release date: 10th November 2016

From Harlan & Alondra
Spotify
More on Buddy

About This Track

Buddy frames spiritual reckoning as a matter of inevitability. Driving through fog with high beams on, he counts down days he knows are numbered, watching angels fall from the sky. The song moves between resignation and defiance: mortality is certain, but so is the impulse to transcend it. He positions faith as the only reliable scaffold, asking God for direction whilst acknowledging that darkness will come regardless. The chorus anchors itself on a simple refusal. "I still can't help but shine" repeats across verses that shift from cosmic vision to lived experience in the ghetto, from gratitude for breath itself to promises made to family. Buddy holds these registers together without strain, the melody lifting where the lyric might otherwise collapse under its own weight. There is no triumph here, only the stubborn persistence of light against the weight of what he knows is coming.

"Shine" is a track by Buddy, from the album Harlan & Alondra, released 10th November 2016. Full lyrics are available below.

About the Artist

Buddy

Buddy

Lyrics

Shine

[Verse 1]

Driving through the fog with my high beams, putting on my Visine

Let me tell you just what I seen

Angels falling from the sky

I just hope that they can take me

Back to where the pearly gates be

And I been counting down the days because I know we gotta die soon

That just means I get to fly soon

And I know I'm not the only one out here that's not afraid

Alright, alrighty, well I'm finally on my way

I know I can't fail if God testing my faith

And if I don't hurry, I might be too late

Even with all of this darkness in my grave

[Chorus]

I still can't help but shine (Shining)

I can't help but shine (Shining)

I still can't help but shine (Shining)

And we can't help but shine (Shining)

I can't help it

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy)

I can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy, ayy)

I still can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy)

And we can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy, ayy)

I can't help it

[Verse 2]

Ever since I was a little baby this has been amazing

Thankful for the life you gave me

With every step and every breath know that I been living by you

Lord, just tell me, what should I do?

And I been counting down the days 'cause pretty soon this will be all gone

And your the one that I'ma call on

That's how I know I'll be free and won't be locked inside a cage

Alright, alrighty, now I'm finally on my way

I know I can't fail if God testing my faith

And if I don't hurry I might be too late

Even with all of this darkness in my grave

[Chorus]

I still can't help but shine (Shining)

I can't help but shine (Shining)

I still can't help but shine (Shining)

And we can't help but shine (Shining)

I can't help it

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy)

I can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy, ayy)

I still can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy)

And we can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy, ayy)

I can't help it

[Verse 3]

Raised in the ghetto

I promised my family, told them that I'm 'bout to take it a whole 'nother level

These niggas that stay in my city be getting all cozy but I never settle

And I'm making my way to heaven while all of my homies been facing the Devil

And speak of the Devil

That nigga tryna get in my brain

So I roll my weed to ease my mind a bit, mind a bit

Sometimes I pace myself and take my time with it, time with it

Plus I be staying on track like a locomotive and I'm planning to make it

So it doesn't matter if you never notice a man in the making

And I close my eyes sometimes and dive in a pool of my dreams

And I been searching far and high and wide until I found my wings

You gotta be crazy if you say you fly as high as I do

As soon as I make it to the pearly gates I'm praying that they gon' open up

[Chorus]

I still can't help but shine (Shining)

I can't help but shine (Shining)

I still can't help but shine (Shining)

And we can't help but shine (Shining)

I can't help it

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy)

I can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy, ayy)

I still can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy)

And we can't help but shine

(I'm shining, you see it, ayy, ayy)

I can't help it

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Harlan & Alondra

2016
Listen
Album
Harlan & Alondra
Harlan & Alondra
Buddy
Release year
2016
  1. —Find Me 2
  2. —Legend
  3. —Real Life Shit
  4. —Shine
  5. —Shameless
  6. —The Blue
  7. —Young
  8. —Black
  9. —Trouble on Central
  10. —Hey Up There
  11. —Trippin'
  12. —Trouble On Central
    3:07

More from Buddy

Albums & EPs

Shine
Shine
Party Hits
Party Hits
Hollyhood (feat. Kent Jamz)
Hollyhood (feat. Kent Jamz)
Trippin' (feat. Khalid)
Trippin' (feat. Khalid)
Dschungel Fieber 2014 - Dschungel Party Hits der Stars
Dschungel Fieber 2014 - Dschungel Party Hits der Stars

Explore

More tracks by Buddy

  1. MURDERER
  2. Ab auf die Piste 2022
  3. Ain't Fair
  4. Ain't Sweet
  5. All The Way
  6. Ass Match The Legs
  7. Bad Decisions
  8. Bad News
  9. Bittersweet
  10. Black 2

Showing 10 of 50

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Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer
Bēkon, Buddy, David Foreman, DJ Khalil, Mike & Keys, Sam Barsh
Producer
DJ Khalil, Mike & Keys
Executive Producer
Pharrell Williams
READ MORE ABOUT BUDDYREAD MORE ABOUT BUDDYREAD MORE ABOUT BUDDYREAD MORE ABOUT BUDDY
READ MORE ABOUT BUDDYREAD MORE ABOUT BUDDYREAD MORE ABOUT BUDDYREAD MORE ABOUT BUDDY
The ‘Drop’ cast have shared ‘Back to the Hood (Moves to Make)’
News

The ‘Drop’ cast have shared ‘Back to the Hood (Moves to Make)’

Buddy joins the cast on a new soundtrack single from ‘The Drop: A Snowfall Saga’, ahead of the full album’s October release.

23 Sept 2026 • 10:45 pm