Saturday, July 12, 2008

not so beautiful afterall

this excerpt was taken from a lecture jarvis cocker gave on the art of lyrics..it's really quite funny and very "oh-my-god!-now-why-didn't-i-realise-that-before!"...

Consider James Blunt. I know that attacking him may seem like shooting fish in a barrel, but I'm going to do it anyway. Let's look at the lyrics for 'You're Beautiful'.

"My life is brilliant."

Hmmm. It doesn't really get off to the best start does it? Anyway, let's carry on...

"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
"

Okay, that sounds pretty interesting. It makes you wonder what the plan is and how he's going to get the woman. So you naturally want to keep listening...

"You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true
I saw you face in a crowded place, and I don't know what to do, cause I'll never be with you
"

Oh? But he just told us he had a plan - now he's telling us he'll never see her again.

"Yeah, she caught my eye, as we walked on by. She could see from my face that I was flying high
And I don't think that I'll see her again, but we shared a moment that will last till the end
"

Okay, there's still no sign of the plan. I'm starting to worry about all this...

"You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true
I saw you face in a crowded place, and I don't know what to do, cause I'll never be with you
"

A bit of repetition there. And he's leaving it a bit late to tell us about his plan...

"You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face when she thought up that I should be with you
But it's time to face the truth, I will never be with you
"

Can you believe it? There was no plan. It was a LIE!

- for full article, please visit acrylic afternoons

so whether we were singing along to the song or being irritated to death by it, did anyone realise the flaw in the lyrics? well, i didn't..and i thought it was quite ingenious..jarvis, that is!

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