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".

Just for a Moment
Aqualung Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Just for a moment
Everything I treasured was gone
Just for a moment
The world was full of pain

Oh how I love you

Just for a moment

I faced my life alone
Just for a moment
My luck had finally run out

Oh how I love you

The same thing that blew us together
Might blow us apart
So keep a piece of me precious
And close to your heart

Just for a moment
All of my nightmares came true
Just for a moment
My heart was broken in two

Oh how I need you

Oh how I'd miss you
Oh how I love you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Aqualung's song "Just For A Moment" tell a story of loss, pain, and love. The song begins with the singer lamenting that everything they treasured was gone and the world was full of pain. However, amidst this loss and pain, they express their love for someone.

As the song continues, the singer faces their life alone and their luck runs out. They then express their love again, even as they acknowledge that the same thing that brought them together could tear them apart. The singer implores the listener to keep a piece of them close to their heart.

The bridge of the song brings a sense of dread, as the singer's nightmares come true and their heart is broken in two. They express their need for the person they love, and how much they'd miss them. The song concludes with a final declaration of love.

Overall, "Just For A Moment" is a heartfelt song that explores themes of loss and love. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but they seem to suggest that even in our darkest moments, love can bring us through.

Line by Line Meaning

Just for a moment
There was a brief moment in time

Everything I treasured was gone
All of the things that were important to me vanished

The world was full of pain
The pain and suffering in the world was all-encompassing

Oh how I love you
Expressing deep feelings of love

Just for a moment
Another momentary occurrence

I faced my life alone
There was a moment of solitude and self-reflection

My luck had finally run out
Fortune had ceased to favor me

Oh how I love you
Reiterating feelings of love

The same thing that blew us together
The forces of attraction that brought us together could also tear us apart

Might blow us apart
This force could lead to our separation

So keep a piece of me precious
An appeal to keep a cherished part of oneself