In 2006 Knight starred in BBC1 music TV show, Just The Two Of Us, and is the host of the Radio 2 show Beverley's Gospel Nights, which explores the origins and impact of gospel music. Now in its second season, the show has featured interviews with stars such as Destiny's Child and Shirley Caesar.
Knight is an ambassador for many charities such Christian Aid and has travelled to areas affected by disease and poverty to help raise awareness. She is an active campaigner for anti-Aids organisations such as the Stop AIDS Campaign and The Terrence Higgins Trust and is also a vocal campaigner against homophobic lyrics in urban music. She became an MBE in 2006, the only musician to be granted such an honour in the Queen's eightieth birthday honours list.
In February 2006 Knight consolidated her move into the mainstream audience by appearing on BBC1 music show, Just The Two of Us. The show, featuring celebrities who duet with established singers, ran for two weeks and proved to be a relative disappointment in terms of audience figures – averaging between fifteen and twenty-five percent audience shares.[17] Nevertheless it provided a platform for Knight to reach out to a bigger audience and demonstrate her talent by performing a different array of songs than she would otherwise be known for. Reaching out to new audiences was also a driving force behind Knight’s decision to join Take That on their reunion arena tour. Take That - The Ultimate Tour 06, which ran from April to July 2006, sold 270,000 tickets in less than four hours on sale at the box office and featured Knight as a support act.
In March 2006 Beverley released her fifth album, a compilation set featuring the majority of her top forty UK singles entitled Voice - The Best Of Beverley Knight. The album, which was certified Gold less than a month after its release,[19] became her second highest charting of her career when it entered the UK albums chart at number ten and rose to number nine a month later. It was preceded by the single "Piece of my Heart" – a cover of the Erma Franklin classic made famous by Janis Joplin and entered the singles chart at number sixteen, spending eleven weeks inside the UK top 75 singles chart and becoming her longest-running chart single to date.
In October 2006, Knight recorded her fifth studio album, Music City Soul, in Nashville. Completed in less than five days, the album was released on 7 May 2007 and features collaborations with musicians such as Ronnie Wood and Scotty Moore. It has spawned three singles thus far, "No Man's Land", released on 16 April 2007, "After You", released on 2 July 2007 and "The Queen of Starting Over", released on 15 October 2007.
Beverley will be releasing her next album in spring 2009.
Sites: YouTube
Affirmation
Beverley Knight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Came to help me in my time of danger
Wasn't easy walking out the door
But I knew any other place was safer
And the freedom that I now enjoy
Helps the bruises in my heart to face
'Cause I know I am not afraid
That you've never known
Far too much emotion to explain
In a story that is not your own
How you gonna try to sing the blues
When the only key you know is major?
Walk a mile in someone else's shoes
And the ups and downs have got to change ya
You can't tell me that you understand
'Til my bitter tears roll down your face
'Til you're standing in my place
You can never feel the joy and pain
That you've never known
Far too much emotion to explain
In a story that is not your own
Now I've got it together
I will always remember
Where I've been, where I'm going
Why I'm here, why I'm living
Now I've got it together
There's no more desperation
Only my affirmation
To live for me
You can never feel the joy and pain
That you've never known
Far too much emotion to explain
In a story that is not your own
The opening verse of Beverley Knight's "Affirmation" talks about intuition that she could not ignore, which came to help her in her time of danger. She explains that it wasn't easy for her to walk away from that situation, however, she knew that any other place was safer for her. The freedom that she has now is thanks to that intuition that helped her face the bruises in her heart. She states that she is not afraid anymore. The chorus highlights that people can never truly feel the emotions that others have experienced until they have experienced them themselves. Knight emphasizes that there is far too much emotion to explain in a story that is not your own.
The second verse discusses the concept of trying to sing the blues without truly knowing how it feels. Knight challenges listeners to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, as it is the ups and downs that are transformative. She explains that people cannot say they understand until they have felt someone else's pain, until their bitter tears have rolled down their face, and until they have stood in that person's place. The final verse lays out Knight's newfound confidence and her affirmation to live for herself. She remembers where she has been and where she is going. There is no desperation anymore.
Line by Line Meaning
Intuition I could not ignore
My instincts told me something was wrong and I couldn't ignore it.
Came to help me in my time of danger
My intuition helped me in a difficult and dangerous situation.
Wasn't easy walking out the door
Leaving the situation was difficult and took courage.
But I knew any other place was safer
I knew that leaving was the best choice for my safety.
And the freedom that I now enjoy
I feel free and empowered now that I am out of the dangerous situation.
Helps the bruises in my heart to face
Being free allows me to confront the emotional pain I experienced.
'Cause I know I am not afraid
I am no longer afraid because I made the brave choice to leave.
How you gonna try to sing the blues
You can't truly express the pain of something you have not experienced.
When the only key you know is major?
You cannot fully appreciate the range of emotions when you only experience one side of things.
Walk a mile in someone else's shoes
Try to understand someone else's situation by seeing it from their perspective.
And the ups and downs have got to change ya
Experiencing the full range of emotions and situations will change you.
You can't tell me that you understand
You can't truly understand my experience without having gone through it yourself.
'Til my bitter tears roll down your face
You can't fully understand the pain I feel until you experience it, even to the point of tears.
'Til you're standing in my place
You need to be in my situation to truly understand it.
Now I've got it together
I am feeling strong and confident now.
I will always remember
I won't forget the lessons I learned from this experience.
Where I've been, where I'm going
I know where I've been and where I am headed in life.
Why I'm here, why I'm living
I am clear about my purpose in life.
There's no more desperation
I am no longer in a desperate situation.
Only my affirmation
My focus is on affirming my own strength and capabilities.
To live for me
I am living for myself, not for others or to please others.
You can never feel the joy and pain
You can't fully appreciate the ups and downs of life until you experience them yourself.
That you've never known
You can only truly know the joy and pain you have experienced yourself.
Far too much emotion to explain
The range of emotions one can experience is too complex to fully explain.
In a story that is not your own
You can't truly understand someone else's experiences and emotions from just hearing their story.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BEVERLEY KNIGHT, GUY ANTONY CHAMBERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind