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
Salvador
Beverley Knight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's this vibrant little kid
Loves to sing and play his air guitar
In the way that I once did
He has all the world's ambition
But he lives on borrowed time
With his terminal condition, he'll be gone before he's nine
You begin to see faces that you know
They could be you and me, you never know
Which way the wind may blow
Which way the wind may blow
In the corner of the city
There's a man in lonely plight
So-called friends no longer visit
Family stay out of sight
See, he used to be a doctor
But his illness is full-blown
Now the very folk whose lives he saved refuse to help his own
Salvador, Salvador, Salvador,Salvador
Salvador, Salvador, Salvador, Salvador
Sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers
You begin to see faces that you know
They could be you and me, you never know
Which way the wind may blow
Sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers
You begin to see faces that you know
They could be you and me, you never know
Which way the wind may blow
What you gonna do if it hits your street, hits your home?
Ah hah, could you deal if you found you'd been disowned?
Mmm-hmm Tell me, don't you be a judge of another's fate
'Cause the day you do
You will find that a higher hand will judge you too
I want you to understand
Sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers
You begin to see faces that you know
They could be you and me, you never know
Which way the wind may blow
Sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers
You begin to see faces that you know
They could be you and me, you never know
Which way the wind will blow
Sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers
You begin to see faces that you know
They could be you and me, you never know
Which way the wind will blow
Sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers
You begin to see faces that you know
They could be you and me, you never know
Which way the wind will blow
The song "Salvador" by Beverley Knight tells two different stories of individuals facing challenging situations in life. In the first verse, the singer describes a young boy who loves to sing and play his imaginary guitar but is living with a terminal illness. Despite his ambition and talents, the boy's life will likely be cut short before he reaches the age of nine. The second verse discusses a man who used to be a doctor but is now dealing with his own illness. His former patients whose lives he saved are unwilling to help him in his time of need.
The chorus repeats the name Salvador, which might be a reference to the artist Salvador Dalí or the name's literal meaning of "savior." The final verse encourages listeners to not judge others' fates and to understand that anyone could be facing difficult times at any moment. The repetitiveness of the chorus and the use of the phrase "sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers" reinforces the idea that we never know what others are going through, and it is important to approach people with empathy and kindness.
Line by Line Meaning
In the corner of the city
The song begins by describing a particular corner of the city where a few different stories exist.
There's this vibrant little kid
One of the stories concerns a young kid who is full of life and energy.
Loves to sing and play his air guitar
This kid is full of creativity and loves expressing himself through music (even if it's only imaginary).
In the way that I once did
The singer feels a connection with this kid because she remembers what it was like to be young and carefree.
He has all the world's ambition
Despite his difficult circumstances, this kid still dreams big and has a desire to achieve great things in life.
But he lives on borrowed time
Tragically, this kid is not expected to live very long due to a terminal illness.
With his terminal condition, he'll be gone before he's nine
This line emphasizes the seriousness of the kid's illness and the fact that he may not have long to live.
Sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers
The chorus of the song explores the theme of how we never know what other people are going through.
You begin to see faces that you know
The idea is that, if we take the time to really look at people, we might recognize something of ourselves in them.
They could be you and me, you never know
This is a reminder that anyone could find themselves in a difficult situation at any point in life. We should treat others with compassion and understanding.
Which way the wind may blow
This phrase is repeated throughout the chorus as a metaphor for the unpredictable nature of life. We never know what might happen next.
There's a man in lonely plight
The second story introduced in the song concerns an older man who is suffering from an illness and has been abandoned by those who used to care for him.
So-called friends no longer visit
This man has been let down by people he once considered friends, who are nowhere to be found now that he is in need.
Family stay out of sight
Even the man's own family members have distanced themselves from him and refuse to help him.
See, he used to be a doctor
This man is someone who was once respected and admired in his community, with a successful career as a doctor.
But his illness is full-blown
Now, however, his illness has progressed to the point where he is unable to work or care for himself.
Now the very folk whose lives he saved refuse to help his own
This line is a commentary on how society often fails to take care of its most vulnerable members, even those who dedicated their lives to helping others.
Salvador, Salvador, Salvador,Salvador
The name 'Salvador' is repeated multiple times in the repetitive chorus. It's unclear exactly what 'Salvador' refers to, but it could be interpreted as a plea for someone (or something) to come and rescue those in need.
Sometimes when you look in the eyes of strangers
The chorus is repeated multiple times throughout the song, emphasizing the theme of empathy and understanding.
What you gonna do if it hits your street, hits your home?
This line is a rhetorical question that asks the listener to consider how they would respond if they found themselves in a difficult situation.
Ah hah, could you deal if you found you'd been disowned?
The song highlights the fact that many people who are suffering or in need are also dealing with feelings of loneliness and isolation. This line asks how we would cope if we were in the same situation.
Mmm-hmm Tell me, don't you be a judge of another's fate
The song encourages listeners to resist the urge to judge others and instead show compassion and understanding.
'Cause the day you do
The song warns that judging others can have negative consequences.
You will find that a higher hand will judge you too
This line suggests that we should be careful how we treat others, as it may come back to us in unexpected ways.
I want you to understand
The song ends with a plea for listeners to understand the message and take it to heart.
Which way the wind will blow
The final repetition of the chorus reinforces the idea that life is unpredictable and we never know what might happen next.
Lyrics © Budde Music Publishing GmbH, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BEVERLEY KNIGHT, DAVID NICHOLSON, MUNRO CRAIG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind