Lennox embarked on a solo career in 1992 with her debut album, Diva, which produced several hit singles including "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". The same year, she performed "Love Song for a Vampire" for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Her 1995 studio album, Medusa, includes cover versions of songs such as "No More "I Love You's"'" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale". To date, she has released six solo studio albums and a compilation album, The Annie Lennox Collection (2009). With eight Brit Awards, which includes being named Best British Female Artist a record six times, Lennox has been named the "Brits Champion of Champions". She has also collected four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. In 2002, Lennox received a Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from Billboard. In 2004, she received the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West", written for the soundtrack to the feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Lennox's vocal range is contralto. She has been named "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1 and one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2012, she was rated No. 22 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music. In June 2013 the Official Charts Company called her "the most successful female British artist in UK music history". As of June 2008, including her work with Eurythmics, Lennox had sold over 80 million records worldwide. As part of a one-hour symphony of British Music, Lennox performed "Little Bird" during the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. At the 2015 Ivor Novello Awards, Lennox was made a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (The Ivors Academy), the first woman to receive the honour. Lennox and her Eurythmics partner Dave Stewart were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, and the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
In addition to her career as a musician, Lennox is also a political and social activist, raising money and awareness for HIV/AIDS as it affects women and children in Africa. She founded the Sing campaign in 2007 and founded a women's empowerment charity called The Circle in 2008. In 2011, Lennox was appointed an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for her "tireless charity campaigns and championing of humanitarian causes". On 4 June 2012, she performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace. In 2017, Lennox was appointed Glasgow Caledonian University's first female chancellor.
Studio albums
Diva (1992)
Medusa (1995)
Bare (2003)
Songs of Mass Destruction (2007)
A Christmas Cornucopia (2010)
Nostalgia (2014)
The Nearness of You
Annie Lennox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That thrills and delights me, oh no
It's just the nearness of you
It isn't your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation, oh no
It's just the nearness of you
And I feel you so close to me
All my wildest dreams come true
I need no soft lights to enchant me
If you'll only grant me the right
To hold you ever so tight
And to feel in the night the nearness of you
In Annie Lennox's song "The Nearness of You," the singer is not enamored by any external factors like the pale moon, sweet conversation, or soft lights. Rather the nearness of her object of affection is what excites her, brings her sensations and thrills her. The lyrics portray a sense of intimacy that is not necessarily sexual but more of an emotional response to the presence of her loved one. The chorus emphasizes this feeling of closeness, indicating that being in the arms of her partner and feeling their proximity is the ultimate fulfillment of all her wildest dreams. Towards the end of the song, the singer requests the right to hold their partner tight and feel their nearness, suggesting that maybe being physically close is what she needs to feel the most content and happy.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not the pale moon that excites me
The singer is not moved by the sight of the moon.
That thrills and delights me, oh no
The moon does not thrill or delight her.
It's just the nearness of you
It's the closeness of the person she loves that excites her.
It isn't your sweet conversation
The artist is not excited by the sound of the person's voice.
That brings this sensation, oh no
The person's conversation does not bring the same sensation as their nearness.
It's just the nearness of you
The person's presence is what the singer desires most.
When I'm in your arms
The singer is describing a moment when they are physically close to the person.
And I feel you so close to me
The artist feels a strong, physical connection to the person they are with.
All my wildest dreams come true
Being close to this person makes the artist feel fulfilled and happy.
I need no soft lights to enchant me
The artist does not need any other kind of external stimulation to feel happy when with the person they love.
If you'll only grant me the right
The singer is asking the person to give her permission to be close to them.
To hold you ever so tight
The artist wants to hold the person they love as tightly as possible.
And to feel in the night the nearness of you
Being physically close to the person they love is most important to the singer, even in the dark of night.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind