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)

Love Cats
Jamie Cullum Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Lets go and throw
All the songs we know...

Into the sea
You and me
All these years that no one heard
I'll show you in spring
It's a treacherous thing

We missed you hissed the lovecats
We missed you hissed the lovecats

We move like cagey tigers (oh)
We couldn't get closer than this
The way we walk
The way we talk
The way we stalk
The way we kiss
We slip through the streets
While everyone sleeps
Getting bigger and brighter and wider
We bite and scratch and scream all night
Let's go and throw
All the songs we know...

Into the sea
You and me
All these years and no one heard
I'll show you in spring
It's a treacherous thing
We missed you hissed the lovecats
We missed you hissed the lovecats

So wonderfully wonderfully wonderfully
Wonderfully pretty!
You know that I'd do anything for you
We should have each other for dinner
We should have each other with cream
Then curl up by the fire
Get up for awhile
It's the grooviest thing
It's the perfect dream

Into the sea
You and me
All these years that no one heard
I'll show you in spring
It's a treacherous thing
We missed you hissed the lovecats
We missed you hissed the lovecats

(Instrumental)

...into the sea
You and me
All these years that no one heard
I'll show you in spring
It's a treacherous thing
We missed you hissed the lovecats
We missed you hissed the lovecats

We move like cagey tigers (oh)
We couldn't get closer than this
The way we walk
The way we talk
The way we stalk
The way we kiss
We slip through the streets
While everyone sleeps
Getting bigger and brighter and wider
We bite and scratch and scream all night
Let's go and throw
All the songs we know...

Into the sea
You and me
All these years that no one heard
I'll show you in spring
It's a treacherous thing

We missed you hissed the lovecats
We missed you hissed the lovecats

Overall Meaning

Jamie Cullum's song "Love Cats" appears to be about two people who move like cagey tigers, who are wild creatures that move stealthily through their environment. The animals represent the couple, and their behavior signifies their relationship. The two characters move through the streets and exist in obscurity while the others around them sleep.

The song's chorus is about throwing all of their known songs into the sea, as if starting anew. What may have been an important aspect of their relationship before is abandoned to be replaced with something new. The "treacherous thing" mentioned might be taking a risk with a new relationship, starting over and possibly getting hurt again. However, the dangers are outweighed by the benefits for the couple.

The song's lyrics are playful and poetic, with an interesting use of imagery. The "love cats" mentioned within the song may represent the animalistic side of a romantic relationship, the wild and untamed passion that can exist between two people. Jamie Cullum's "Love Cats" is a poppy and upbeat song with a light, energetic feel that adds to its warmth and charm.

Line by Line Meaning

Let's go and throw All the songs we know...
Let's forget about all the other songs we know and focus on this moment.

Into the sea You and me All these years that no one heard I'll show you in spring It's a treacherous thing We missed you hissed the lovecats We missed you hissed the lovecats
This is our moment, just you and me; we missed each other like the lovecats missed each other. I'll take you on an adventure in the spring, but be careful, it's a risky thing to do.

We move like cagey tigers (oh) We couldn't get closer than this The way we walk The way we talk The way we stalk The way we kiss We slip through the streets While everyone sleeps Getting bigger and brighter and wider We bite and scratch and scream all night
Our love is fierce and strong, and we move together like cagey tigers. We can't get any closer than we are now. We are the kings and queens of the night, slipping through the streets while everyone else is sleeping. Our love just keeps getting bigger and brighter and we spend our nights biting, scratching, and screaming together.

So wonderfully wonderfully wonderfully Wonderfully pretty! You know that I'd do anything for you We should have each other for dinner We should have each other with cream Then curl up by the fire Get up for awhile It's the grooviest thing It's the perfect dream
You are so beautiful and wonderful to me. I would do anything for you, even if it means having you for dinner! We should have each other with cream and then curl up by the fire. It's the grooviest thing and the perfect dream.

(Instrumental)
No lyrics here, just enjoying the music!

...into the sea You and me All these years that no one heard I'll show you in spring It's a treacherous thing We missed you hissed the lovecats We missed you hissed the lovecats
Just like before, this moment is just for you and me. We're fulfilling what the lovecats missed, and I'll show you in the spring, despite the risks.

We move like cagey tigers (oh) We couldn't get closer than this The way we walk The way we talk The way we stalk The way we kiss We slip through the streets While everyone sleeps Getting bigger and brighter and wider We bite and scratch and scream all night Let's go and throw All the songs we know...
Our love is so intense and passionate, and we move like fierce cagey tigers. We can't get any closer than we are now, and our love keeps getting bigger and brighter. We spend our nights biting, scratching, and screaming together, and let's forget about every other song we know and focus on us.

Contributed by Muhammad N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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