In James Blunt’s song, You're Beautiful (album: Back to Bedlam) the actor commits suicide at the end. I never understood why did he does so.
What is the meaning behind it?
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1I'm 69 years old and find this a very affecting song. Direct and terribly poignant. However I'm quite troubled by the video which I saw for the first time about 30 minutes ago. It suggests that suicide is a viable, almost attractive option, when one 'fails' in love or fails to get the girl/boy one desires. It could give those contemplating suicide or even those very depressed the type of message which I think is both undesirable and almost disturbing. As I said, troubling indeed. I wonder if James Blunt has ever regretted making this video. I'd welcome some further thoughts and responses. Pete– PeterCommented Apr 11, 2018 at 4:17
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You are right, Sir. I felt the same and want to know whether he regrets making this video.– Mr_GreenCommented Apr 13, 2018 at 9:18
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TIL, this wasn't a casual jump in the ocean.– Jason P SallingerCommented Jan 10, 2020 at 21:27
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3 Answers
When I first saw this video I understood the surrealistic agony a person is condemned to, when forced to spend life alone or with a second rate relationship. Life becomes very meaningless when it is realized true love and happiness will never be. Hence the plan.
For some people the plan may be to never love at all. For others it may be to just give up altogether and just go through the motions of surviving another day. For others it may be to end it all and be done with this place.
It is evident to me, based on the lyrics "There must be an angel with a smile on her face, when she thought up that I should be with you," this person realizes the irony of his situation. He finally found "the one" happily in the arms of another.
Whether James Blunt meant it or not, this song clearly describes the emotions of anyone who feels trapped in a world where "true love" is found but can never be experienced.
I personally love this song. I believe is was extremely well written and the music is equally emotional.
The most obvious explanation is that he jumps because he is so sad that he can't be with the woman who smiled at him... "And I don't know what to do, 'Cause I'll never be with you." Except that he also tells us in the lyric that he "Has a plan..." so maybe he does know what to do, and that plan is to commit suicide?
There are some hints in the song that he feels that it's a divine destiny for him to be with the woman, perhaps if not in this life, in the next life or a supernatural sense: "There must be an angel with a smile on her face, When she thought up that I should be with you." Some sources point out that the manner of his suicide is in something of a Japanese style, and there is a Japanese tradition of double suicide - Shinjū - which allows two lovers to be together again in the next life - which seems to be his aim.
Alternatively, maybe the jump is just a suitably terminal act with which to end the music video. Blunt is quoted as saying that You're Beautiful is "Probably one of the least meaningful songs on [his album Back to Bedlam]" and it might be a mistake to try and read a lot of meaning into the video.
In an interview, JB states that the song is about a guy that is high on drugs in the subway and he is looking at a girl that is with her boyfriend. So it's odd that the video has him alone at the water. Maybe, after seeing the girl, he goes to the water to commit suicide due to the influence of the drugs he's on or because he's depressed?
