That’s Jack McManus speaking. And don’t worry, there’s plenty to write about.
He is someone everyone seems to be getting very hot under the collar about. For different reasons. His songs. His performances. The effect his curly-haired scampish quality has on women. His love life. But more about that later.
For someone who’s still only 25, he’s got a lot on his CV. He’s had a best-selling, self-penned debut album; collaborations with Groove Armada, songs for Boyzone, months spent in LA writing with the likes of Jean Baptiste, of Black Eyed Peas fame and Scott Cutler and Busbee, best known for their work with Katy Perry and Timbaland; a stint in a West End musical; hanging out at school with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Adele and Leona Lewis; a new single he produced himself… See what we mean? Plenty to write about.
“My life’s ambition is to write a song that people are still listening to after 30 years,” he says.
After a stint at the BRIT School, which he chose because the academic side was kept to a minimum, the music side to the max, while his classmates were out pounding streets and trying to get leg ups into “the business”, Jack pretty much locked himself in his room working on songs.
He started doing the rounds of publishers but got a reaction he wasn’t quite expecting: in the course of showcasing songs he’d written to sell to other artists, the publishers he was seeing were all saying he should do the songs himself.
And you can see why. Apart from being great songs – both lyrically and musically – he has the thing, the way of putting the songs over. His voice has a smoky quality that radio loves, while his performing style is low-key but very charismatic in a way that can hold a room. What can you say? He’s got it.
And you can add to that a formal music background today’s performers would kill for. An ability to read and write music as well as play piano, drums and guitar, among other instruments, classical training on the trumpet, stints in award-winning youth orchestras, he has music in his DNA. Apart from a stint acting and playing trumpet in 125th Street, a musical about the Harlem jazz scene it’s all been about music, whether as a jobbing musician or writer of songs.
His first album, Either Side of Midnight, released when he was just 23, got raves across the board. In an age of covers-driven talent shows, a very unlikely star was born, one that seemed to appeal across the board. From top ten airplay success and Loose Women to festival slots at T in the Park and V.
And it wasn’t just a national phenomenon, with Jack going down brilliantly in Europe “In places like Holland, where I’d never been, they were going a little bit mad for it.”
Coming from a music influenced background it’s clear to see where Jack got his inspiration, his dad was a major pyrotechnician who used to produce the fireworks in shows for the likes of Bon Jovi and Ozzy Osbourne which Jack was exposed to at a young age.
And music is still very much in Jack’s household with long-term girlfriend Martine McCutcheon, who, let’s not forget, won an Olivier award for My Fair Lady and had a number one single herself. “She’s a great inspiration to me,” he says, who reckons she has a really good ear not only for a song but for a performance, being able to pick out the best version of anything he does. “We’re a good team.”
However it all fits together, it’s all led to here, the new album and its first single, Heart Attack, an upbeat, electronic flavoured track “about when you get so high, you can’t come down” that Jack wrote and produced himself and which was mixed by the legendary Greg Wells, who has worked with everyone from Katy Perry and Pink to Mika.
Producing was a dream for him, what with his obsession with all things gadgety, but this time the touring is going to be a bit different to what everyone was so excited about the last time round. “I want to be the conductor of my own show, not just play piano in a rock band.”
“I’m still evolving,” says Jack. “Luckily, my record label know that I’m the real deal and have every faith in me. I think they know that I’ll be doing this for the rest of my life.”
Milky Way
Jack McManus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the furthest edge of memory out of sight
Will the sky begin to fall
No one knows at all, no one knows
I can almost hear the echoes of the past
From the voices of the years gone by so fast
I'm using all my might to try and find the light
In the Milky Way tonight
Were a million miles away
The world's not what it seems
And it's changing every, changing every day
It seems our hopes and dreams
Are a million miles away
The world's not what it seems
And it's changing every, changing every day
I could swear I heard a whisper on the wind
Telling me again what might have been
In the fading firelight I can see your face so bright
In the Milky Way tonight
In the Milky Way tonight
I can almost see the Milky Way tonight
The lyrics to Jack McManus's "Milky Way" serve as a bittersweet reminder of the passage of time and how our lives are constantly in flux. The song's opening lines set the tone for the rest of the lyrics: "I can really see the Milky Way tonight / From the furthest edge of memory out of sight." This imagery represents how the singer is looking back on their past and realizing how far they've come since then.
The following lines highlight the uncertainty that comes with life's changes: "Will the sky begin to fall / No one knows at all, no one knows." This serves as a metaphor for how we cannot predict what the future holds, and how we must learn to embrace the evolving world around us.
The chorus repeats the lines "It seems our hopes and dreams / Are a million miles away / The world's not what it seems / And it's changing every, changing every day." This reinforces the idea that life is constantly in motion, and that our aspirations may seem out of reach at times. However, the song ends on a hopeful note with the final lines: "In the fading firelight I can see your face so bright / In the Milky Way tonight / In the Milky Way tonight / I can almost see the Milky Way tonight." This suggests that even amidst life's changes, there is still wonder and beauty to be found.
Line by Line Meaning
I can really see the Milky Way tonight
I am observing the Milky Way with utmost clarity tonight
From the furthest edge of memory out of sight
This memory is from a distant past that was almost forgotten
Will the sky begin to fall
The consequences of this situation are uncertain and possibly dire
No one knows at all, no one knows
The outcome is unpredictable, and nobody can foresee it
I can almost hear the echoes of the past
I can nearly perceive the sounds of the past events
From the voices of the years gone by so fast
The sounds are from the people and events that have swiftly become history
I'm using all my might to try and find the light
I am expending all my power to obtain a bright vision
In the Milky Way tonight
The vision I am pursuing is in the Milky Way tonight
It seems our hopes and dreams
The things we once envisioned
Were a million miles away
Seem much further from our grasp than we once thought
The world's not what it seems
Our perception of this reality is inaccurate
And it's changing every, changing every day
This reality is consistently evolving and transforming
I could swear I heard a whisper on the wind
I have a feeling that a subtle voice carried by the wind spoke to me
Telling me again what might have been
The message conveyed might have been about what could have been in an alternate timeline
In the fading firelight I can see your face so bright
Amidst the diminishing flame's radiance, I can still envision your face clearly
In the Milky Way tonight
The object of my vision is located within the Milky Way tonight.
In the Milky Way tonight
The sight I am striving for is situated within the Milky Way tonight
I can almost see the Milky Way tonight
The projected vision is almost within my sight tonight
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JACK MCMANUS, MATIAS LEPPANEN, VILLE LEPPANEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Luc M
Such a great Song thank you for uploading! I used to hear it years ago and now its not available to stream I think ima buy the record :)
Martha Hopkins
Love the lyrics too