Yorkshire Music: News and Updates
Music in Bradford, Leeds and the West Yorkshire Region
Monday, October 02, 2006
A Song to Die For
According to The Bereavement Register, the most requested song for funeral services this year is Goodbye My Lover, by James Blunt. Not entirely surprising given that the main hook is the line "Goodbye my lover / goodbye my friend", but you'd think people would be a bit more original about the kind of music they choose to send off their nearest and dearest.
In any case, I'm not sure that the lyrics of this particular Blunt song are appropriate : I've had heated discussions in the past with a number of friends who interpret them in entirely different ways. If you don't know the song (where have you been for the past 12 months??!!), here are the words :
Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.
You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when,
My heart was blinded by you.
I've kissed your lips and held your head.
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.
I know you well, I know your smell.
I've been addicted to you.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
I am a dreamer but when I wake,
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.
And as you move on, remember me,
Remember us and all we used to be
I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.
I've watched you sleeping for a while.
I'd be the father of your child.
I'd spend a lifetime with you.
I know your fears and you know mine.
We've had our doubts but now we're fine,
And I love you, I swear that's true.
I cannot live without you.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
And I still hold your hand in mine.
In mine when I'm asleep.
And I will bear my soul in time,
When I'm kneeling at your feet.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.
For me, this is a song written from the viewpoint of a person about to take their own life as a result of the heartbreak caused by a broken relationship. I think the second verse really points to this with the lines "As you move on remember me / remember us and all we used to be" and "I cannot live without you."
In any case, the vocal performance on the original recording of this song is absolutely stunning - it's clear that James Blunt is a creative songwriter but this even is overshadowed by the manner in which he delivers his songs. When the magic moment of the song appears with the line "And I still hold your hand in mine / in mine when I'm asleep" the whole tone of the piece shifts to a reflective acceptance of the situation. Blunt brings the whole thing down - the timbre changes with the mood-change. Wonderful stuff. Pity it seems to only get played these days when someone carks it!
In any case, I'm not sure that the lyrics of this particular Blunt song are appropriate : I've had heated discussions in the past with a number of friends who interpret them in entirely different ways. If you don't know the song (where have you been for the past 12 months??!!), here are the words :
Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.
You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when,
My heart was blinded by you.
I've kissed your lips and held your head.
Shared your dreams and shared your bed.
I know you well, I know your smell.
I've been addicted to you.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
I am a dreamer but when I wake,
You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.
And as you move on, remember me,
Remember us and all we used to be
I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.
I've watched you sleeping for a while.
I'd be the father of your child.
I'd spend a lifetime with you.
I know your fears and you know mine.
We've had our doubts but now we're fine,
And I love you, I swear that's true.
I cannot live without you.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
And I still hold your hand in mine.
In mine when I'm asleep.
And I will bear my soul in time,
When I'm kneeling at your feet.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.
For me, this is a song written from the viewpoint of a person about to take their own life as a result of the heartbreak caused by a broken relationship. I think the second verse really points to this with the lines "As you move on remember me / remember us and all we used to be" and "I cannot live without you."
In any case, the vocal performance on the original recording of this song is absolutely stunning - it's clear that James Blunt is a creative songwriter but this even is overshadowed by the manner in which he delivers his songs. When the magic moment of the song appears with the line "And I still hold your hand in mine / in mine when I'm asleep" the whole tone of the piece shifts to a reflective acceptance of the situation. Blunt brings the whole thing down - the timbre changes with the mood-change. Wonderful stuff. Pity it seems to only get played these days when someone carks it!
