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
First Time
Beverley Knight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's plain to see
Even though you're here
You're not with me
Tortured by the thought, torn in two
Reason needs no voice, when you know it's true
But oh, we make our love again
There's so much pleasure through this pain
I lie
I try to speak
But my tongue gets tied
I try to seek
But you're hard to find
My will is weak
'Cause my soul's resigned
It's like I'm seeing you for the first time
Still I feed my faith
Though it has no ground
And I tell myself I'm safe
As we're falling down
You said you'd let me know
If the end was near
Now do I let you go?
It's still unclear
But oh, good sense has gone to waste
And oh, it fades in your embrace
I know what keeps me in this place
Your smile
I try to speak
But my tongue gets tied
I try to seek
But you're hard to find
My will is weak
'Cause my soul's resigned
It's like I'm seeing you for the first time
And oh (whenever I try to speak) my tongue gets tied
And oh (whenever I try to seek) you're hard to find
And oh (whenver I try to feel) my soul's resigned
It's like I'm seeing you, for the first time
It's like I'm seeing you
It's like I'm seeing you
It's like I'm, I'm seeing you
It's like I'm seeing you
I try to speak (whenever I try to speak)
But my tongue gets tied
I try to seek (whenever I try to seek)
But you're hard to find
My will is weak (whenever I try to feel)
'Cause my soul's resigned
It's like I'm seeing you for the first time
I try to speak, yeah (whenever I try to speak)
But my tongue gets tied
I try to seek (whenever I try to seek)
But you're hard to find
My will is weak (whenever I try to feel)
'Cause my soul's resigned
It's like I'm seeing you for the first time
It's like I'm seeing you for the first time
It's like I'm seeing you for the first time
In Beverley Knight's song "First Time," the singer is conveying the feeling of being torn between the love they feel for someone and the reality of the situation. Despite being physically present, the person they love is not fully with them, and they feel a sense of torture and being torn in two. Even though reason tells the singer that their love may not be completely reciprocated, they continue to make love because of the pleasure it brings, even if it is fleeting. The singer is tied up in their own emotions and has trouble expressing them, finding the person they love, and standing up for themselves. They feel as though they are seeing the person they love for the first time, despite having been with them for some time, and they struggle with whether to let them go.
The lyrics show the struggles that can come with love when it isn't fully realized on both sides. The singer is stuck in a painful cycle of love and the inability to express themselves or fully let go. They are torn between their emotions and reason, leading to a lack of clarity and confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
Through these misty eyes
Despite the foggy vision from my eyes, I can still see clearly that even though you're here physically, emotionally you are not with me.
It's plain to see
It's obvious and clear that the person is not fully present in the relationship.
Even though you're here
The person is physically present but not emotionally invested in the relationship.
You're not with me
The person is emotionally distant and not invested in the relationship.
Tortured by the thought, torn in two
The artist is torn between their love for the person and their recognition that the relationship is not fulfilling their emotional needs.
Reason needs no voice, when you know it's true
The singer knows logically that the relationship is not healthy, but can't help the emotional attachment and connection they feel towards the other person.
But oh, we make our love again
Despite the emotional distance, the couple continues to come back to the brief moments of passion and love that they share.
And oh, it's easy to pretend
It's easy to pretend that the relationship is fulfilling and the emotional distance isn't there during these moments of passion.
There's so much pleasure through this pain
Despite the emotional pain, there is still pleasure and connection felt during the moments of passion.
I lie
The artist is aware that they are pretending and not being fully honest with themselves or the other person about the true nature of their relationship.
I try to speak
The singer makes efforts to communicate their feelings and concerns but feel tongue-tied and unable to fully express themselves.
But my tongue gets tied
The artist feels blocked and unable to express themselves verbally about how they feel.
I try to seek
The singer wants to reach out and connect with the other person, but finds it difficult to do so.
But you're hard to find
The other person is emotionally distant and not fully present in the relationship, making it difficult for the singer to connect.
My will is weak
The singer lacks the emotional strength to break away from the relationship despite the emotional distance.
'Cause my soul's resigned
The artist has resigned themselves emotionally to the fact that the relationship is not fulfilling their emotional needs and they will continue to struggle in it.
It's like I'm seeing you for the first time
Despite the familiarity with the other person, the artist has the feeling that they are seeing them in a new light and recognizing the emotional distance for the first time.
Still I feed my faith
Despite the emotional distance, the singer still holds onto hope and faith that the relationship will work out.
Though it has no ground
Despite the lack of evidence that the relationship will work out or become more fulfilling, the singer holds onto hope.
And I tell myself I'm safe
The artist tries to convince themselves that they are secure in the relationship despite their emotional unease.
As we're falling down
The relationship is not stable and is in danger of failing entirely, despite the artist's attempts to hold it together.
You said you'd let me know
The artist is waiting for the other person to provide clarity and guidance about the future of the relationship.
If the end was near
The singer is unsure of the future of the relationship and is waiting for the other person to provide clarity.
Now do I let you go?
The artist is questioning whether they should end the relationship despite the emotional attachment.
It's still unclear
The singer does not have a clear answer or direction for the future of the relationship.
But oh, good sense has gone to waste
Despite knowing what would be the healthiest decision, the singer is unable to follow through due to their emotional attachment.
And oh, it fades in your embrace
Any sense of clarity or rational thinking fades when in the emotional embrace of the other person.
I know what keeps me in this place
Despite being aware of the unhealthy nature of the relationship, the emotional attachment keeps the artist from moving on.
Your smile
The emotional attachment to the other person, possibly even just their smile, is what keeps the artist in the relationship despite its emotional distance and lack of fulfillment.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DUANE JOHN SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind