Grim meaning behind James Blunt's You're Beautiful confirmed by singer
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Isa Foltin/Getty Images/Atlantic Custard
You can't deny it, the early 2000s were a total goldmine when it came to tunes.
From all those Lily Allen bangers to the infamous Britpop battles - the UK was arguably at its peak for music two decades back.
One track which pretty much throughout the entirety of 2004, however, was none other than James Blunt's iconic 'You're Beautiful' - however the real meaning behind the lyrics may not exactly be what you'd expect.
Advert
In case you need your memory jogging, the music video for the track saw Blunt jumping from a cliff right in some pretty freezing water while pouring his heart out to a girl.
Getting straight into it, the opening lyrics go: "My life is brilliant / My love is pure
I saw an angel / Of that I'm sure / She smiled at me on the subway / She was with another man / But I won't lose no sleep on that / 'Cause I've got a plan."
Totally romantic, right?
Wrong!
The now 50-year-old singer-songwriters appeared on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch last November where he finally revealed the inspiration behind one of his best-known songs.
"I normally try and write songs for specific moments," he explained.
"'You're Beautiful', obviously most played song at weddings, even though it's about a guy high on drugs stalking someone else's girlfriend."
Well, that explains the 'f**king high' lyric then...
He went on to reveal he has a song for every occasion, adding: "'Goodbye, My Lover' that's obviously for separations, but I have a song for divorces called 'I'll Take Everything'.
"'Bonfire Heart' for Bonfire Night. 'Wise Men' is obviously about Christmas."
Before all that, however, Blunt rocked up The John Bishop Show, where he enlightened fans with the true meaning.
"It’s about me stalking somebody else’s girlfriend on the underground while I’m high… but people play it at their weddings, which is nice," he joked.
Shedding more light on the precise life event which directly inspired the song's lyrics, the Brit told The Guardian: "One day I was on the underground in London and saw an ex-girlfriend with her new boyfriend.
"Our eyes met, but we just walked past each other, and I went home and wrote the words to 'You’re Beautiful' in two minutes."
He continued: "I went to see my songwriter friend Sacha Skarbek in Los Angeles, and, with Amanda Ghost as a co-writer, we finished the song. It’s always been portrayed as romantic, but it’s actually a bit creepy.
“It’s about a guy who’s high and stalking someone else’s girlfriend on the subway. But everyone has those moments where you wonder... what if I'd said something?"
Still a banger, tbh.