… Read Full Bio ↴Charlie Cunningham is an English singer-songwriter based in Oxford.
Cunningham is a fresh talent, proving to be more than just a man with a guitar and a voice; a regularity that we have become all too familiar with. His new and ambitious EP Outside Things combines beautiful, yet honest song-writing with such percussive guitar playing that he truly stands out from the crowd.
Title track “Outside Things’” premièred on Best Fit; the lyrics are from the perspective of a newly-born baby. It’s a time that occurs in everyone’s life that cannot be remembered or recalled, this therefore, explorative aspect to his song-writing shows the depth Cunningham has to offer, unlike so many artists of his type. The song manages to convey an impression of diving in and out from the confusion of that foreign experience in such a compelling nature, accompanied by intense vocals playing on the track’s intimacy. “Outside Things’” carries with it a strange sense of longing, which is continuous throughout the EP.
“In One Out” is the first track to be heard on the record; it’s melodic, but profoundly sombre and relatively dark sounding. The finger-picked guitar behind the vocals is hypnotic. There’s a slight step away from this intensity of the opening track and that of the title track in “Lights Off” and “Plans” - the second and fourth tracks on the EP. With far less movement there’s time to breathe between songs, it really helps to make each one stand out in their own right. During both of these tracks Cunningham creates moments of silence, with constant breaks where everything comes to a brief halt – if you heard these tracks live you’d want to be situated in an intimate and silent setting.
The Outside Things EP not only demonstrates Cunningham’s impeccable writing ability, but his intricate and skilful playing technique, developed and picked up from his time spent in Seville, along with showing off his individual voice. Through the EP Cunningham’s percussive, yet flexible guitars playing technique is something to be whole heartedly admired.
While You Are Young
Charlie Cunningham Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a beautiful morning to throw away
While you are young let your judgement sway
There are things you'll get wrong, everyone does the same
The trouble you made and all your mistakes
If it makes your life hard, you change
Let your hours go to waste
Let your night turn to day
I hope we'll all be old someday
Time is gonna come when the nights grow long
And you won't know what's missing, but you'll know that it's gone
While you are young let your poor heart break
It's a beautiful morning don't throw it away
The trouble you made
And all your mistakes
If it makes your life hard, you change
Let your hours go to waste
Let your night turn to day
It's too late to go home so just stay
I hope we'll all be old someday
Trouble you made
And all your mistakes
If it makes your life hard you change
Let your hours go to waste
Let your night turn to day
It's too late to go home so just stay
I hope we'll all be old someday
The song While You Are Young by Charlie Cunningham celebrates youth and encourages the listener to not fear making mistakes and taking risks. The lyrics urge the listener to let their hearts break, to throw away their mornings and waste their hours. The song acknowledges the inevitability of mistakes and hardships and suggests that they can make life hard, but ultimately present an opportunity for growth and change. The song ends with a reminder that time moves quickly and one day we will all be old, so it is important to truly live in the present and not let fear hold us back.
The message of this song is particularly poignant in a world where many people feel pressure to constantly be productive and to avoid failure at all costs. Cunningham's lyrics encourage the listener to not only accept but embrace the risks and difficulties that come with living a full life. The song also reinforces the importance of living in the moment and savoring the time that we have.
Line by Line Meaning
While you are young let your poor heart break
While you're still young, don't be afraid to experience heartbreak and pain.
It's a beautiful morning to throw away
Don't waste any opportunity to live and enjoy life, even if it means taking risks.
While you are young let your judgement sway
Don't be too rigid and set in your ways, allow yourself to be open to new experiences and ideas.
There are things you'll get wrong, everyone does the same
It's okay to make mistakes because everyone does, it's part of the learning process.
The trouble you made and all your mistakes
If it makes your life hard, you change
Don't be afraid to take responsibility for your actions and make changes to improve your life.
Let your hours go to waste
Let your night turn to day
Don't worry too much about wasting time or staying up too late, sometimes it's necessary to live in the moment and enjoy life.
It's too late to go home so just stay
Sometimes it's better to embrace the moment and stay where you are, rather than worry about the future or the past.
I hope we'll all be old someday
Life is short and we should cherish every moment, but we should also embrace aging and growing old.
Time is gonna come when the nights grow long
And you won't know what's missing, but you'll know that it's gone
As we age, we may lose things or people that were once important to us, but we may not always realize it until it's too late.
The trouble you made
And all your mistakes
If it makes your life hard you change
Let your hours go to waste
Let your night turn to day
It's too late to go home so just stay
I hope we'll all be old someday
The chorus emphasizes the importance of not being afraid to take risks, make mistakes, and live in the moment, because life is short and we will all grow old someday.
Writer(s): Charles James Cunningham, Jonathan Mark Wright
Contributed by Jayce E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@themupsmuppet
Nice song/life/highlands!
@Plafintarr
Wow I'm obsessed with this song. I just discovered your stuff today. You've got it. That something. That special thing. Thanks so much! Greetings from a fellow singer-songwriter in Denmark.
@claudi4956
Scotland ❤
@conorkeogh1499
Seriously Charlie you touched my soul over the last few months since I discovered you! Still getting me trough another year of COVID. Look forward to seeing you live in the near future. Nice one and keep it real 👌
@lola93652
Can not wait to see you in Brussels. Been a fan since forever... thankyou so much for being you
@paoloronca7423
great to be in this video.. wonderful night in Edinburgh!
@ariadnafortuny
this makes me even more excited about your concert in Barcelona!
@alexcarrick6540
You're great, Charlie.
@svdnev
You're one of my favorite artists by far. Beautiful song!
@claudi3020
Beloved places ❤