Matt Hales (born January 17, 1972), better known as Aqualung, is a British … Read Full Bio ↴Matt Hales (born January 17, 1972), better known as Aqualung, is a British singer/songwriter best known in the United Kingdom for his song "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell on You)", which was featured on a television advertisement for the new Volkswagen Beetle during the summer of 2002 and went on to become a Top 10 hit in the UK singles chart later that year.

Prior to his success as Aqualung, Hales was known as the lead singer of mid-1990s, London-based Britpop band Ruth. Ruth had a string of moderately successful hit singles, including "I Don't Know," "Valentine's Day," and "Fear of Flying," and one album, "Harrison," before changing their name in 2001 to The 45's. As The 45s, the band released two more singles and one posthumous album to little attention before splitting so Hales could focus on his new endeavor as Aqualung. Almost immediately after the band's split, "Strange and Beautiful" began climbing the British charts and gaining massive amounts of attention--a dramatic turnabout from the previous year. In 2005, Aqualung would even achieve elusive success in the United States, where they are best known for the song "Brighter Than Sunshine", which had considerable airplay and was used in the film A Lot Like Love and various television spots. He's also known to some for his song, "Easier to Lie", which was featured on the hit television show, Scrubs. His music also went on to feature in another hit television show the OC. His song, "Strange and Beautiful" was also featured on the hit show CSI. Later, the song "Something To Believe In" was also featured at the ending of an episode of CSI: Miami. It was also featured in the movie "Wicker Park". "The Lake" was also featured on the wildly popular television show Grey's Anatomy. Aqualung has also had songs featured on One Tree Hill in various seasons. In 2009, his song "Easier to Lie" was again featured on a television show, this time Lie To Me.

It has been written that Hales took the name "Aqualung" from a Jethro Tull album of the same name. However, he himself says he was not aware of this album, and that it was descriptive of the underwater feeling he felt listening to his debut album.

His debut single, "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a spell on You)", was released in the UK on the B-Unique label on September 16, 2002, and reached number 7 in the UK Top 40 and was used in the film Wicker Park.

The song "Something To Believe In" from the album "Memory Man" was used during the ending of the former ABC show Eli Stone premiered on Jan 31, 2008.

The song "Good Times Gonna Come" has recently been used on the show Skins on the British channel E4.

On April 20th, 2010 Aqualung released his 6th studio album Magnetic North (2010). The first single released is a song called "Fingertip".

Cinderella
Aqualung Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm on a roll
Everything I touch turns to shh...
It's taking it's toll
Can anybody get me off it?
Stuck on a roll
And it's wearing thin

I remember the night

No wet eyes, no crossroads
No mention of fate
Just a poor decision

I shouldn't have gone
Even though my head would bust
I shouldn't have gone

Be careful what you hope and you pray for
You know you only get what you pay for

And I can hear the ticking of time bombs
For poor Cinderella

I'm on a roll
Everything I touch turns to gold
It's taking its toll
Can anybody get me off it?

I shouldn't have gone
Even though my head was busting
I shouldn't have gone

Be careful what you hope and you pray for
You know you only get what you pay for
And I can hear the ticking of time bombs
The clock strikes

It's midnight
For poor Cinderella

Overall Meaning

The song Cinderella by Aqualung is a compelling story about the dangers of success and living recklessly. In the first verse, the singer explains how they are on a roll and everything they touch turns to gold. However, this success is taking its toll on them and they feel stuck on this path. The second verse describes a night where the singer made a poor decision and went somewhere they shouldn't have. They regret going and declare they shouldn't have gone. The chorus warns listeners to be careful what they hope and pray for because they will only get what they pay for. The ticking of time bombs and the clock striking midnight allude to the famous fairytale Cinderella, where the singer's good fortune has a deadline and is dependent on a series of circumstances outside of her control.

The lyrics of Cinderella offer a commentary on the price of success and the dangers of living recklessly. The message is that success doesn't come without a cost and that it's important to be mindful of the decisions we make. The ticking of time bombs, midnight, and the caution to be careful what you hope and pray for all nod to the fairytale of Cinderella. The song implies that even if we do get what we think we want, it may not ultimately bring us happiness or fulfillment.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm on a roll
Things are going well for me

Everything I touch turns to shh...
Whatever I do or touch is successful

It's taking it's toll
It's starting to affect me negatively

Can anybody get me off it?
Can anyone help me stop?

Stuck on a roll
I can't shake off this feeling of success

And it's wearing thin
I'm starting to feel tired

I remember the night
I can recall a particular evening

No wet eyes, no crossroads
There were no tears, no difficult decisions

No mention of fate
No discussion about destiny

Just a poor decision
It was a bad choice

I shouldn't have gone
I regret my decision