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
Damn
Beverley Knight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't it make you wanna think damn
This cold girl well
Don't she wanna make you scream, damn
What's the matter girl, well
Don't you think I'm good enough
This old heart's had a whole lot a breakin' down
All that time she knew if I lied
You can bet she will
She's taking her time 'til I thought I would die
And I can't sit still
Things got turned 'round
Don't know where I started from, damn
Can't eat, can't sleep
Could have been a bigger man, damn
What's the matter girl don't you think I'm bright enough
This old man had a hard time getting here
You can leave your number at the door
All that time she knew if I lied
You can bet she will
She's taking her time 'til I thought I would die
And I can't sit still
And there's nothing at all
Yeah there's nothing at all
Well there's nothing at all
To make her change her mind
Make her change her mind
To make her change her
This old house been quiet since
You went away, damn
Mixed up fixed out
Don't forget who got you here, damn
What's the matter world
Don't you see I opened up
This whole part's been played by another man
I pulled out the reason card instead
All that time she knew if I lied
You can bet she will
She's taking her time 'til I thought I would die
And I can't sit still
She says she can find
The things that make up a life
Well I can bet she will
She says stays behind, I could stay here all night
I could stay here until
Until there's nothing at all
Yeah there's nothing at all
Well there's nothing at all
To make her change her mind
Make her change her mind
To make her change her mind
In Beverley Knight's song Damn, the lyrics express a sense of frustration and confusion about a rocky relationship. The singer is overwhelmed by the state of the world, and the ups and downs of their relationship have left them feeling uncertain and damaged. The image of a "cold girl" suggests that the singer is in a tumultuous relationship with a woman who is emotionally distant and difficult to understand. The repeated use of "damn" throughout the song emphasizes a level of exasperation and anger that the singer cannot control.
The lyrics also suggest that the singer is struggling to live up to the expectations of the woman he loves. He feels inadequate and unsure if he is "good enough" or "bright enough" for her. The line "You can leave your number at the door" implies that the woman is not interested in continuing the relationship, and the singer is left feeling devastated and alone. Through lines like "Things got turned 'round/Don't know where I started from", the singer shows that he is bewildered and lost in his own life.
The repetition of "all that time she knew if I lied/You can bet she will" suggests that the woman in the singer's life is highly suspicious and unforgiving. This mistrust has created a sense of tension and anxiety between them. The final lines of the song suggest that there is no way for the singer to change the woman's mind or win her back, leaving him feeling lost and hopeless.
Line by Line Meaning
This old world well
The state of the world is making the singer think and feel frustrated.
Don't it make you wanna think damn
The singer is expressing their exasperation and disbelief about the current state of the world.
This cold girl well
The situation and people around the singer are making them feel angry.
Don't she wanna make you scream, damn
The artist wants to let out their frustration by screaming out loud.
What's the matter girl, well
The artist is trying to understand what is bothering the girl.
Don't you think I'm good enough
The girl is questioning the singer's capabilities and worth.
This old heart's had a whole lot a breakin' down
The singer has been through a lot of emotional pain and trauma in the past.
She's got all these reasons in her head
The girl has many reasons for not being satisfied or impressed with the artist.
All that time she knew if I lied
The girl is aware that the artist has lied to her in the past.
You can bet she will
The girl will not easily forgive or forget the artist's lies.
She's taking her time 'til I thought I would die
The girl is making the singer wait and suffer before deciding whether or not to forgive him.
And I can't sit still
The artist is restless and anxious while waiting for the girl's decision.
Things got turned 'round
The situation has become chaotic and unclear.
Don't know where I started from, damn
The singer is feeling lost and confused about how the situation got to this point.
Can't eat, can't sleep
The singer is experiencing physical and emotional distress due to the situation.
Could have been a bigger man, damn
The artist is regretting not being more mature and responsible in the past.
This old man had a hard time getting here
The artist has had a difficult journey to get to where he is now.
You can leave your number at the door
The singer does not want the girl to stay in his life if she cannot forgive him.
This old house been quiet since
The singer's home has been empty and lonely since the girl left.
You went away, damn
The artist is frustrated and upset about the girl leaving.
Mixed up fixed out
The situation is complicated and difficult to resolve.
Don't forget who got you here, damn
The artist wants the girl to remember that he helped her get to where she is now.
What's the matter world
The singer is addressing the world as a whole, seeking to understand its problems.
Don't you see I opened up
The artist is trying to show the world their inner self and express themselves authentically.
This whole part's been played by another man
The singer feels like they have been replaced or overshadowed by someone else.
I pulled out the reason card instead
The singer is trying to explain their actions and behavior with logical reasons rather than emotions.
She says she can find
The girl is confident that she can find what she is looking for in life.
The things that make up a life
The girl values certain experiences and qualities that make life worth living.
She says stays behind, I could stay here all night
The girl is willing to stay in the current situation and work things out.
Until there's nothing at all
The singer and girl will continue to work on their relationship until there is no hope left.
To make her change her mind
The singer wants the girl to reconsider her decision and forgive him.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAMES HARRISON, TOMMY CECIL, MATT THOMAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind