James Blunt might have made every woman in the late 2000s melt with his lovelorn lyrics in 'You're Beautiful', but if they knew what they really meant, they'd have probably ran a mile instead.
The singer's biggest hit sold more than four million copies worldwide, topped the charts in the UK for weeks on end and earned a string of award nominations - yet somehow, all of these listeners didn't realise what Blunt was actually crooning about.
Spoiler alert: 'You're Beautiful' isn't the sweet and soppy love song you once thought it was.
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In 'You're Beautiful', Blunt essentially tells the story of how he ends up falling head over heels for a lady who smiled at him on the subway as she is an absolute knockout.
Or, in his words, she's 'beautiful'.
However, the singer himself has confessed that the character he takes on in the song should actually 'be locked up' rather than swooned over, as the inspiration behind the track is pretty dark.
During an appearance on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch in November last year, Blunt discussed the inspirations behind some of his most popular songs.
"I normally try and write songs for specific moments," the 50-year-old said. "'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," Blunt continued.
"'You're Beautiful', obviously the most played song at weddings, even though it's about a guy high on drugs stalking someone else's girlfriend."
Yep, that's right - Blunt is singing his heart out from the perspective of some barmy bloke who's high as a kite and has taken a liking to a random woman he's seen on public transport.
Blunt divulged some details about the encounter which inspired the hit song in an interview with The Guardian back in 2020.
"One day I was on the underground in London and saw an ex-girlfriend with her new boyfriend," the singer explained.
"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 went on: "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?"
He also told the Huffington Post that he was keen to inform his fans about what they were really swaying to during their first dance on their big day.
Chatting to the publication in 2017, Blunt put it bluntly as he said: "Everyone goes, 'Ah, he’s so romantic. I want 'You’re Beautiful' as my wedding song'. These people are f**ed up.
"You get labeled with these things like, 'Oh, James Blunt. Isn’t he just a soft romantic?' Well, f**k that. No, I’m not. 'You’re Beautiful' is not this soft romantic f**king song.
"It’s about a guy who’s high as a fucking kite on drugs in the subway stalking someone else’s girlfriend when that guy is there in front of him, and he should be locked up or put in prison for being some kind of perv."
You'll never listen to it the same again now.
Topics: James Blunt, Music, Celebrity, Sex and Relationships
Olivia Burke