A musician and lyricist of uncommon and mature gift, and one blessed with a gloriously fluid and expressive voice, Lawson was born and raised in Plymouth in what was he says a resolutely non-musical household. “No-one sang or played anything. We didn’t have any records. My dad would listen to Radio 2 a bit but that was the extent of it. And this was back in the days before the station got really good. There was nothing in what I heard that spoke directly to me.” Then the elder of his two brothers hit adolescence and things began to change: “He got me into The Smiths, The Housemartins, the Jackson 5 ...” A disparate trio of early influences, you might think, but Jamie says not really. “They’re all very big on melody. And Morrissey and the young Michael Jackson both have a real passion to the way they sing.”
Aged eight, he asked for and received his first guitar. Early on in secondary school, he was invited to join his first band. “We were quite a dedicated little bunch, rehearsing every lunchtime when the rest of the class was out playing football. It was pretty much all covers, of course ... R.E.M., the Chilli Peppers, some Hendrix. By the time I was 15 we had quite a wide repertoire of other people’s badly-done songs.” He was writing material of his own too, “all of it terrible to start with, of course. I’d be 17 at least before I came up with anything good.” And he was singing, though mainly in unconscious impersonation of Michael Stipe. “My own voice took a while to find. I had to stop trying to replicate someone else’s tricks.”
When he did properly uncover it, that voice proved to be something very special indeed. No one who has heard him sing live would disagree (and in addition to his own regular schedule of gigging, he has played with artists including The Frames, Martha Wainwright and Damien Rice, as well as having been chosen as opening act for outdoor gigs by both Van Morrison and Katie Melua). Even-keeled, even undemonstrative offstage, he comes alive in front of an audience and in the service of his songs. “American Music Club’s Mark Eitzel has been a big influence, in the sense that he sings with his whole body and puts so much into his performance. The difference is that my voice is sweeter and more pure.”
There was a brief and half-hearted attempt at following a different career path. But unhappy and unfulfilled in his earliest weeks at Art College, Lawson sought the advice of a counsellor who then asked him, ‘So what do you want to do with your life?’ “And when I said that I wanted to be a singer she told me, ‘Then go and do it!’ which totally surprised me but which was absolutely the right thing to say. I met that woman just once and for five minutes. I don’t even know her name. But she showed me what I had to do.” And via a geographically circuitous route that has taken in Dublin, Cornwall and now London and during which both his song writing skills and stagecraft have increased by leaps and bounds, he has done it.
Lawson is not just a singer but also an exceptionally blessed and affecting one. His voice and songs have proven to work equally beautifully and well whether in a tiny indoor venue like London’s 12 Bar Club or outdoors before 10,000 people. “And the simple fact is that I love to sing,” he says. “I love the intimacy of live performance. I love drawing people into my mood. I love bringing them to where I am.”
Alan Jackson.
The Times
London.
Bruises
Jamie Lawson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another blood vessel burst
You walk in the ribbon start
To my life much worse
Love leaks from every pore
My skin looks pale and sore
And the bruises
The bruises
I once had a dream
It would look like this
Blood all over your sheets
I'm full of emptiness
Support machine is off
I'll work better when you're gone
And the bruises
The bruises
Side me, slowly decays
My turn, hold your pain away
No my heart is skin that remains
And the heart that no longer contains
Any of the love that it had
I take my little top
I place one hand on your heart
I thought that I was wrong
But I pull your skin apart
But the scream that a heart will surround
My thought that I must have crushed
Your brains in, your love remains in-
Side me, slowly delays
My turn, hold your pain away
No my heart is skin that remains
And the heart that no longer contains
Any of the love that it had
The lyrics of Jamie Lawson's song "Bruises" paint a picture of a shattered heart and a painful breakup. The first stanza describes the aftermath of the breakup, with the singer feeling as though their heart has been cut open, every inch of their skin is bruised, and love is seeping out of them. The second stanza delves into a dream that the singer once had, where they imagined themselves covered in blood and consumed by emptiness. In the final stanza, the singer muses on the slow decay of their body and mind since the breakup, concluding that their heart is now just a piece of skin, empty of any love it once held.
The mood of the song is melancholic and somber, with the lyrics painting vivid and sometimes gruesome images of heartbreak and emotional pain. The repetition of the word "bruises" throughout the song emphasizes the physical and emotional scars left behind by the lost love. Overall, the lyrics of "Bruises" evoke a feeling of raw emotional vulnerability and the lingering ache of heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
An incision of the heart
Pain and heartbreak; a deep emotional wound
Another blood vessel burst
Feeling intense emotional pain and pressure
You walk in the ribbon start
Entering someone's life and leaving a destructive trail
To my life much worse
Adding to the heartbreak and pain that already exists
Love leaks from every pore
Feeling overwhelmed by emotions and heartbreak
My skin looks pale and sore
Physical manifestation of emotional pain and distress
And the bruises
The bruises
Repeated cycles of pain, trauma, and heartbreak
I once had a dream
Hopefulness and optimism about love and relationships
It would look like this
Expectations not meeting reality; experiencing disappointment
Blood all over your sheets
Metaphorical and literal reference to heartbreak and pain
I'm full of emptiness
Feeling numb and void of emotional connection
Support machine is off
No longer relying on someone else to survive emotionally
I'll work better when you're gone
Becoming stronger and wiser once the source of pain is removed
Side me, slowly decays
Losing oneself and deteriorating emotionally over time
My turn, hold your pain away
Taking on someone else's pain and carrying the burden
No my heart is skin that remains
Physical and emotional scars from past heartbreak and pain
And the heart that no longer contains
Any of the love that it had
Emotionally drained and unable to love again
I take my little top
Trying to fix and heal the relationship
I place one hand on your heart
Attempting to connect with the other person emotionally
I thought that I was wrong
Realizing that mistakes were made and the relationship cannot be fixed
But I pull your skin apart
Ignoring the warning signs and causing further damage
But the scream that a heart will surround
Experiencing intense pain and heartbreak
My thought that I must have crushed
Your brains in, your love remains in-
Feeling guilty and responsible for damaging the other person emotionally, while realizing their love for you remains
Side me, slowly delays
Becoming emotionally stuck and unable to move forward
My turn, hold your pain away
Continuing to take on the other person's emotional pain
No my heart is skin that remains
Emotionally scarred and hardened
And the heart that no longer contains
Any of the love that it had
Being unable to love and connect emotionally
Writer(s): Lawson Jamie
Contributed by Sarah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@justeli8953
I've always thought Jamie left out a final verse which would make this song complete.
Please let me fill it in, from my own life experience (this song is my life, down to the 3
kids and the cancer)
10 years up and gone.
Guess I haven't moved on.
I wasn't expecting that.
Still hear your voice in my head.
And feel your warmth in our bed.
I wasn't expecting that.
So now it's my turn to rest.
Is that your head on my chest?
I wasn't expecting that.
Paul Whitfield.
@paulwhitfield2504
+Caz B
Caz, this has been my life.From the viewpoint of your father.
It's broken me... and also made me strong enough enough to carry on...
Jamie missed a last verse.
It's been over five years, and I guess I'm still here.
I wasn't expecting that.
Thought I'd follow you on, quite soon after you'd gone.
I sort of expected that.
I know now love is a lifelong thing, seems we're all just passing through.
Hope your waiting somewhere for me... 'cause I'm still missing you.
Your still here in my head, I feel your warmth in our bed.
I wasn't expecting that.
So now it's my turn to rest? Is that your head on my chest?
I wasn't expecting that.
Respect. Paul.
@MarvinLiverpool
I loved her cheeky grin,
To me happiness she'd bring,
Together battles we'd win,
Liking her wasn't a sin, Knowing her was a gift, Even though it was swift,
Your lovely spirit lifted me up like a lift,
My grief I can't shift, She past away,
I miss her everyday,
For her soul to reach Heaven to God I pray,
R.I.P darling until I head your way, I wished you a farewell,
That's da day I fell,
It was my personal hell,
I was locked in a cell
@iyangbahtiar
It was only a smile
But my heart it went wild
I wasn't expecting that
Just a delicate kiss
Anyone could've missed
I wasn't expecting that
Did I misread the sign?
Your hand slipped into mine
I wasn't expecting that
You spent the night in my bed
You woke up and you said
"Well, I wasn't expecting that!"
I thought love wasn't meant to last
I thought you were just passing through
If I ever get the nerve to ask
What did I get right to deserve somebody like you?
I wasn't expecting that
It was only a word
It was almost misheard
I wasn't expecting that
But it came without fear
A month turned into a year
I wasn't expecting that
I thought love wasn't meant to last
Honey, I thought you were just passing through
If I ever get the nerve to ask
What did I get right to deserve somebody like you?
I wasn't expecting that
Oh and isn't it strange
How a life can be changed
In the flicker of the sweetest smile
We were married in spring
You know I wouldn't change a thing
Without that innocent kiss
What a life I'd have missed
If you'd not took a chance
On a little romance
When I wasn't expecting that
Time doesn't take long
Three kids up and gone
I wasn't expecting that
When the nurses they came
Said, "It's come back again"
I wasn't expecting that
Then you closed your eyes
You took my heart by surprise
I wasn't expecting that
@genefoad
It was a pleasure to have been part of this video. Thrilled to see it has so many views and touched so many people . (I was the husband of the elder couple)
@kashnimago2096
Gene Foad Loved the video, Sir:) Thank you for making it special :)
@Australianbutterfly
It's such a beautiful and moving mini movie. Loved it !!
@jennifermaree6343
Wow, it certainly has and I'm sure that it's been spread throughout our world and my dad used to say, " you never know what's around the corner".Great video and lyrics and awesome you were part of its creation.
@kimm9766
Great job Gene xx
@thanosthemadtitan1273
I m sure you weren't expecting that :) wink wink
@VIPeR010icoN
Let's be honest, this song wasn't recommended.. you searched for it
@Coopdog0108
yes
@jakewoods2893
I hate to break it to you but it was recommended for me
@Coopdog0108
@@jakewoods2893 wow songs don't get recommended alot so ok