James Blunt confirms dark meaning behind 'You're Beautiful'
He may have won over the hearts and minds of Brits during his recent stint on The Celebrity Traitors, but let’s be honest, the main reason we all know James Blunt is due to his 2004 hit ‘You’re Beautiful’.
Selling over four million copies and becoming a certified staple at weddings, the track is seen by many as a touching love song - but it turns out that there has been a mass interpretation of his lyrics.
In actual fact, it's about Blunt 'stalking somebody else’s girlfriend' while under the influence and navigating the Tube. Charming.
As we all know, in 'You're Beautiful', the singer is crooning about a woman who he holds dear to his heart in the song, as evident by him describing her as 'an angel' who he shared a smile on the subway with.
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Blunt amps up the emotions even further in the music video, as he appears to jump from a cliff into icy water.
Although some listeners consider it to be a romantic ballad, the backstory of 'You’re Beautiful’ is actually quite creepy.
Blunt previously fessed up to the inspiration behind his lyrics during an appearance on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch.
"I normally try and write songs for specific moments,” he said. "'You're Beautiful', obviously most played song at weddings, even though it's about a guy high on drugs stalking someone else's girlfriend."
Blunt went on to reveal he has a song for every occasion, explaining: "'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 still thinks it's 'nice' that people play it at weddings
In a previous appearance on The John Bishop Show, he also discussed the true meaning of 'You're Beautiful'.
He told viewers: “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."
The singer-songwriter also told The Guardian about the moment that inspired ‘You’re Beautiful’.
“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 explained.
“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?”
So drugs and stalking on the London Underground, perhaps the earworm isn’t quite as romantic as you may have hoped.
Topics: Music, Celebrity, James Blunt
Jess Battison
