James Blunt’s ‘You’re Beautiful’ lyrics
James Blunt’s ‘You’re Beautiful’ lyrics
I know that it’s sometimes all too easy to dissect a popular tune, but I can’t resist it in this case. James Blunt’s runaway hit “You’re Beautiful” struck a deep chord with many people in Europe and now the USA. It’s one of those “immediate” songs, and fair play to the writers for coming up with something so simple.
But as several people have pointed out, the song is a bit confusing when you listen to it more closely. The setting is the metro/subway/underground. A girl catches Blunt’s eye, leading to these lines in the chorus:
“I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
Cause I’ll never be with you”
Sad. Sweet. The trouble is, he gives us a different message in the first verse. Click through for a closer look at the lyrics, with my comments.
You’re Beautiful James Blunt
My life is brilliant. Starting off a song saying this is a bit strange. Does he mean “shiny” or “fantastic”?
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I’m sure. A simple rhyme, but nice
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I wont lose no sleep on that,
Cause I’ve got a plan. Great, we’re going to see some action
You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful.
You’re beautiful, its true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don’t know what to do,
Cause I’ll never be with you.
Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
Lots of sites list this, although it’s most likely “flying high”. Even then, what does he mean?
And I don’t think that I’ll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.
Hang on, what happened to the plan in the first verse? So there’s no pay-off for the “plan” he mentioned. Basically, the song goes nowhere as there is no development. Shame.
2nd chorus
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
2 very weak lines. What is he talking about? Destiny laughing at him? If so, it could be said in a clearer manner.
But it’s time to face the truth, I will never be with you.
I’m being a bit harsh, I know, but I happen to believe that if a song is worth writing, it’s worth re-writing. By way of comparison, one of my favourite songs of this nature is Willy DeVille’s “Just to Walk That Little Girl Home”. It’s longer, but has none of the inconsistencies of “You’re Beautiful”.
“You’re Beautiful” is credited to James Blunt, Sacha Scarbek and Amanda Ghost. It is published by EMI Music Publishing and Bucks Music Group. You’ll find the tabs/music score for “You’re Beautiful” on Musicroom.
The Telegraph has just published an interview in which he talks about writing “You’re Beautiful”.
FTA: “He said the lyrics came to him when he spotted his ex-girlfriend with her new boyfriend, and had a “moment of eye contact” with her.
He recalled: “I think most people can relate to that, it feels like a knife twisting in your stomach really. You realise that a relationship is properly over.
“I went back home and wrote the words to it in under the time under the time it takes me to perform the song now. It came incredibly fast, that spark of an idea.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/6543525/James-Blunt-too-embarrassed-to-sing-real-lyrics-to-soldiers.html
Michael