Shangri-La (1946 song) Shangri-La (1946 song) "Shangri-La" is a popular song written by bandleader Matty Malneck and Robert Maxwell in 1946 with lyrics by Carl Sigman. The term comes from "Shangri-La" as the hidden valley of delight in James Hilton's 1933 novel "Lost Horizon". The term "Shangri-La," especially in the 1930s and 1940s, was slang for heaven or paradise, and the song is about the joy of being in love. Composer Maxwell's instrumental version (saxophone/organ lead with brass and rhythm), which featured his harp solo, which is heard in the introduction as well as in the coda section of the song, charted in
Lost in Paradise (song) crooning, 'We've been falling for all this time and now I'm lost in paradise.'" In another review, he called the song "the record's standout ballad." "Kerrang!"s Steve Beebee called the song "majestic" Dane Prokofiev of "PopMatters" said that the song was one of the two along with "Erase This" which "really caught" his attention. Edna Gundersen of "USA Today" put the song on her list of songs to consider downloading. Chad Grischow of IGN wrote: "Lee's skyward vocals suit the album's obsession with the emotional frustration and devastation of a break-up well, ripe with romantically longing tunes like gorgeous power