Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz singer-songwriter, an… Read Full Bio ↴Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Though he is a primarily a vocalist, he also accompanies himself on instruments including piano, guitar and drums.

Cullum was born in Romford, East London. He was brought up in Hullavington, Wiltshire, and educated at the independent fee-paying Grittleton House School and the sixth form at Sheldon School. He then went on to study English Literature, and minored in Film Studies, at Reading University where he graduated with First Class Honours.

His mother, Yvonne, is a secretary of Anglo-Burmese origin, whose family settled in Wales after Burma's independence; his father, John Cullum, worked in finance. His paternal grandfather was a British Army officer, while his paternal grandmother was a Jewish refugee from Prussia who sang in Berlin nightclubs.

Cullum married British model Sophie Dahl at a country hotel in the New Forest National Park in England on 9 January 2010.

Cullum released his first album, Jamie Cullum Trio—Heard it All, in 1999, of which 500 copies were made. Due to their rarity, original copies have sold for as much as £600 on eBay. The success of Heard It All Before resulted in Cullum being invited to appear on Geoff Gascoyne's album Songs of the Summer.

After graduating from Reading University, Cullum released a best-selling album, Pointless Nostalgic, which stirred interest from Michael Parkinson[2] and Melvyn Bragg.

Just after Cullum made his first television appearance, on Parkinson in April 2003, he signed a £1m contract[3] for three albums with Universal, who beat Sony in a bidding war. Cullum's third album, Twentysomething, released in October 2003, went platinum and became the #1 selling studio album by a jazz artist in the United Kingdom. Cullum ended 2003 as the UK's biggest selling jazz artist of all time.[3]

Although primarily a jazz musician, he performs in a wide range of styles and is generally regarded as a "crossover" artist with his musical roots firmly based in jazz. Cullum draws his inspiration from many different musicians and listens to an eclectic mix of music from Miles Davis[4] to Tom Waits and many more. Cullum has belonged to several bands, ranging from banging drums in a hip hop group to playing guitar in rock bands such as Raw Sausage and The Mystery Machine, in his teenage youth. Cullum names his elder brother, Ben Cullum, as his biggest musical influence, and the two continue to collaborate extensively.

Cullum is well known not only for his abilities on the piano, but also for his unique entertainment style and charisma. One of the many things that features in Jamie's concerts is the "stompbox" (not to be confused with an effect pedal for guitars), made from a small wooden block. The stompbox is used to amplify a musician's tapping foot. Jamie found this in Australia and uses it to enhance upbeat and fast-paced songs such as Seven Nation Army originally by the White Stripes and "Gold Digger", originally by Kanye West. He is also often found using a looping machine. This plays a heavy part in Cullum's versions of Seven Nation Army and Teardrop by Massive Attack. Cullum is also often found beatboxing at most gigs.

As well as the White Stripes and Kanye West, Cullum has performed work by Massive Attack, Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Joy Division, Lady Gaga and many others. He has also performed with Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, Will.i.am and Burt Bacharach.

Cullum rarely works to a set list and on average his gigs last just over two hours. The gigs are largely improvised, rooted in jazz but not solely consisting of jazz music.

Cullum has played at many large music festivals, including Glastonbury Festival (in 2004 & 2009), Coachella 2005, 2006 South by Southwest, North Sea Jazz Festival, the Hollywood Bowl (performing with the Count Basie Orchestra) and the 2006 Playboy Jazz Festival. On the April 29th 2006 Cullum played his biggest ever crowd on Queensday in The Netherlands.

Discography:
1999 - Heard It All Before
2001 - Pointless Nostalgic
2003 - Twentysomething
2005 - Catching Tales
2009 - The Pursuit
2010 - Devil May Care
2013 - Momentum
2014 - Interlude
2018 - The song society playlist
2019 - Taller
2020 - The pianoman at christmas
2021 - The pianoman at christmas (The complete edition)

I Only Have Eyes For You
Jamie Cullum Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Are the stars out tonight?
I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
'Cause I only have eyes for you, dear
My love must be some kind of blind love

I don't see anybody but you
The moon may be high
But I can't see a thing in the sky

'Cause I only have eyes for you.

And dear, I wonder if you find love
An optical illusion, too?

I don't know if we're in a garden
Or on a crowded avenue
You are here, so am I
Maybe millions of people go by

But they all disappear from view
I only have eyes for you

My love must be some kind of blind love
I don't see anybody but you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "I Only Have Eyes For You" by Jamie Cullum discuss the depth of love that the singer has for a particular person. He states that he doesn't see anything else but that person and that he is blind to everything else going on around him. The singer is so content and enamored with this person that he ignores everything else including the sky, other people and the environment.

The song talks about the effect the love has on the singer and how it renders him blind to everything else apart from this person. Even when the moon is high, and the stars are out, he doesn't see anything because he only has eyes for his lover. The chorus of the song repeats this message of being blind to everything else but the person he is in love with.

The song asks if this blindness to the world outside of one's personal love is a shared experience in relationships. He wonders if other people who are in love also have this blur of the world around them while their partner is what's in focus. The song's lyrics show that sometimes love can make you blind and unaware of everything else going on around you.

Line by Line Meaning

Are the stars out tonight?
Do you see the beauty of a clear night sky with its shining stars?

I don't know if it's cloudy or bright
I am so captivated by you that I do not care about the external environment at all.

'Cause I only have eyes for you, dear
I am solely and exclusively focused on you, my love.

My love must be some kind of blind love
My affection for you is so intense that it seems to have blinded me from other things.

I don't see anybody but you
It's only you that I see and care about, nobody else.

The moon may be high
The moon might be bright and visible.

But I can't see a thing in the sky
But the moon's shine fails to catch my attention as my eyes are only mesmerized by you.

'Cause I only have eyes for you.
My heart and mind are occupied with thoughts about you and you only.

And dear, I wonder if you find love
I'm curious about whether or not you feel the same about us.

An optical illusion, too?
Could it be that we have a false perception or distorted reality of love?

I don't know if we're in a garden
I am unsure of our physical surroundings.

Or on a crowded avenue
Are we in a packed venue surrounded by people?

You are here, so am I
All that matters is that we're here, right now, together.

Maybe millions of people go by
Although many may be surrounding us, I do not notice nor care.

But they all disappear from view
Everyone else fades into the background, becoming insignificant in this moment.

I only have eyes for you
You have my full attention, and my focus is solely on you.

My love must be some kind of blind love
This love must be intense and all-consuming, causing us to be blindly devoted to each other.

I don't see anybody but you
You are the only person I really see, nothing else matters.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Al Dubin, Harry Warren

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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