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
Tea & Sympathy
Beverley Knight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She tells you all the things your heart wants to hear
Problem is, my friend
Her words are not exclusive, just for your ear
I know just what you're going through
When love leaves you alone
Those long cold nights on your own
Could be you need some tea and sympathy
Could be you need my hands all over your body
Could be she can't do what comes naturally to me
If you change your mind
Let me sympathize
There I go again
Can't help what's on my mind, I know I'm intense
Well I don't mean to offend
But she done played ya like a game, all smiles and pretense
Well maybe what you're looking for is closer than you know
Let me show you where you can go
Could be you need some tea and sympathy
Could be you need my hands all over your body
Could be she can't do what comes naturally to me
If you change your mind
Let me sympathize
Listen to me
I know my intentions are politically incorrect
But understand me boy, I'm so infatuated
Come to me, I can be all the things she won't be
Come and get my love
Could be you need some tea and sympathy
Could be you need my hands all over your body
Could be she can't do what comes naturally to me
If you change your mind
Could be you need some tea and sympathy
I see the way your eyes burn holes in my body
I'll show you what you and I could be
Baby if you come inside
I'll be waiting
Let me sympathize
Tea and sympathy
Come to me
I can be, what you need faithfully
Come to me
I can be, all your tea and sympathy
Come to me
I can be, what you need faithfully
Come to me
I can be, all your tea and sympathy
The song "Tea & Sympathy" by Beverley Knight deals with the theme of unrequited love. The singer addresses a man who is feeling alone and rejected after being let down by a woman who played games with his emotions. She offers him comfort in the form of "tea and sympathy", urging him to reconsider his feelings for her and turn to her instead. The lyrics convey the singer's intense emotions and her desire to be with the man she is addressing, despite the fact that he may not feel the same way. She acknowledges that her intentions may be "politically incorrect", but she cannot help how she feels.
Line by Line Meaning
There she goes again
The singer observes that the subject is repeatedly falling for the same trick.
She tells you all the things your heart wants to hear
The subject is being told what they want to hear to win their affection.
Problem is, my friend
The singer uses irony to show there's a problem they are about to highlight.
Her words are not exclusive, just for your ear
The subject is not the only one receiving the words they want to hear.
I know just what you're going through
The singer empathizes with the subject's situation.
When love leaves you alone
Being left without love can be a very lonely experience.
Those long cold nights on your own
The singer highlights a specific difficult aspect of loneliness.
Could be you need some tea and sympathy
Tea and sympathy is a metaphor that means someone to talk to and connect with in a moment of loneliness.
Could be you need my hands all over your body
The singer proposes a physical solution for emotional ailment.
Could be she can't do what comes naturally to me
The subject's current love interest is deficient in satisfying their needs.
If you change your mind
The singer doesn't want to pressure the subject and leaves them a window of opportunity.
Let me sympathize
The singer desires to connect and empathize with the subject.
There I go again
The singer acknowledges their intense feelings towards the subject.
Can't help what's on my mind, I know I'm intense
The singer recognizes their intensity can be overwhelming.
Well I don't mean to offend
The singer doesn't want to hurt the subject's feelings.
But she done played ya like a game, all smiles and pretense
The subject's current love interest has been deceitful in their intentions.
Well maybe what you're looking for is closer than you know
The singer suggests that the solution to the subject's problem might be under their nose.
Let me show you where you can go
The singer offers to guide the subject to a better solution.
Listen to me
The singer wants the subject to hear them out because they believe they can help.
I know my intentions are politically incorrect
The singer knows that some people would consider their intentions to be inappropriate.
But understand me boy, I'm so infatuated
The singer confesses their intense feelings for the subject.
Come to me, I can be all the things she won't be
The singer wants to be everything the subject needs in a partner.
Come and get my love
The singer openly offers their love to the subject.
I see the way your eyes burn holes in my body
The singer feels the subject's gaze of desire.
I'll show you what you and I could be
The singer wants to demonstrate the potential for a relationship between them.
Baby if you come inside
The singer invites the subject to get closer, both physically and emotionally.
I'll be waiting
The singer expresses their eagerness to start something with the subject.
Tea and sympathy
The refrain reiterates the previously established metaphor.
Come to me
The singer keeps repeating the invitation, as to emphasize the point.
I can be, what you need faithfully
The singer wants to be a reliable partner for the subject.
All your tea and sympathy
The refrain is concluded with a variation that implies total commitment.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRISTOPHER BRAIDE, BEVERLEY KNIGHT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind