If you grew up in (or even just experienced) the 2000s, there is no way you avoided James Blunt's epic tune, "You're Beautiful." Even today, it's tough to head to the dentist's office or flip past the easy-listening station without hearing the Brit's earnest refrains. While many listeners may assume that the song is an ode to romance and love, the singer himself explained that it's actually not — and far from it. In a new interview with the Huffington Post, Blunt says that people have been misinterpreting the song since its debut.
"'You're Beautiful' is not this soft romantic fucking 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," Blunt explained to the Huffington Post. "And he should be locked up or put in prison for being some kind of perv."
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Pervy or not, "You're Beautiful" is the song that brought Blunt to the charts and into the ears (and hearts) of people all over the world, since it played at junior high dances, high school proms, and weddings alike. The tune even earned Blunt the honor of best-selling album of the decade. Even with those accolades, Blunt admits that he "hates" the song and it was "force-fed" down people's throats after its release.
Blunt added, "Everyone goes, 'Ah, he's so romantic. I want 'You're Beautiful' as my wedding song.' These people are fucked up."
It seems that he's left it all in the rear view, however, because on his latest track, "Love Me Better," he says, "Would’ve said, 'You’re beautiful' / But I used that line before." We see what you did there, James. But he's not all sour grapes. Blunt says that having a song that people love, even if they misconstrue the real meaning, means a lot to him. He adds that he won't ever stop performing "You're Beautiful," because so many of his fans love it and not singing it would be disrespectful. Just don't expect it to be Blunt's encore song choice. He places the song near the end of his set (but not at the very end) and says that it lets him know that the show's almost done and it's nearly time to grab a pint.