Her first single, "Torn", reached number 2 in the UK charts and became the most played song on the radio in 1998. "Torn" is originally written by Anne Preven, Scott Cutler and Phil Thornalley. In 1995, "Torn" was recorded by Preven's and Cutler's band Ednaswap, although the band would record several more versions prior and following Imbruglia's hit recording. The first released version of "Torn", though, was a 1993 version by Danish singer Lis Sørensen, entitled "Braendt". Norwegian singer Trine Rein had a hit with an English language version of "Torn" in her home country, a year prior to Imbruglia's million selling single. Co-writer Phil Thornalley was involved in all of these versions and eventually offered the song to Natalie Imbruglia, whose album he produced. Imbruglia initially declined recording the song, stating she didn't want to do a cover. Ironically, "Torn" did not only become her biggest hit, it also became her signature song.
Following "Torn", Natalie's debut album "Left of the Middle", released on November 1997, became a million seller. Further singles ("Big Mistake", "Wishing I Was There", and "Smoke"), again proved to be hits in terms of radio and video airplay, but had a less than stellar chart run compared to "Torn".
In a 1999 cooperation with singer Tom Jones, she appeared on his duet album "Reload", on which the pair teamed up for a cover of INXS' ""Never Tear Us Apart".
Imbruglia's sophomore album, "White Lilies Island", was released in November 2001, although it met with significantly less success than its precursor. It did spawn the UK hit singles "That Day", "Wrong Impression" and "Beauty On The Fire".
She returned to acting in 2002 with a supporting role in British spy spoof Johnny English, playing alongside Rowan Atkinson. Natalie married her long-time boyfriend Daniel Johns, lead singer of Silverchair, on 31 December 2003.
In April 2005, Imbruglia released her third studio album "Counting Down The Days" in UK, which in its first week of sales hit number one on the album charts. The first single from this album "Shiver" became her longest running single on the UK charts since her debut "Torn" and also topped the UK Airplay charts for several weeks. The second single, the title track "Counting Down The Days", was released on 25 July 2005 and although it did not have as much success in the singles chart as "Shiver" it reignited interest in its parent album.
After "Counting Down the Days", Natalie switched labels and released in a greatest hits "Glorious: The Singles 97-07", which included five new tracks and was promoted by the single "Glorious".
Natalie's fourth studio album "Come to Life" was released on October 2009 in Europe, preceded by the music video of "Wild About It". The first official single issued on 28 September 2009, was "Want", a song written by Natalie Imbruglia, Daniel Johns (credited Kat Kourtney), Gary Clark and Chris Martin. The next single "Scars" was sent to radio in the UK on 22 March 2010; however, due to any support from radio networks, the single release was cancelled.
Appearances on other albums:
"Troubled by the Way We Came Together" on Go! O.S.T. (1999)
"Never Tear Us Apart" with Tom Jones on Reload (1999)
"Identify" on Stigmata O.S.T (1999)
"Cold Air" on Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too) O.S.T. (2001)
"Wrong Impression" (Radio Remix) on Mr. Deed O.S.T. (2002)
"Pineapple Head" on She Will Have Her Way (2005)
"All The Magic" on Winx Club O.S.T. (2007)
Lukas
Natalie Imbruglia Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Climbing the stairs to talk to you,
Coming to tell his story,
Every single one of which is true,
Hello Lukas,
I'm pleased to meet you, now how you do?
Up to the river like lovers do,
You smell like the summer,
Maybe the summer just smells of you,
One day i'm gonna be a famous writer,
Some look like love in the afternoon,
It was all Lukas could say,
Maybe one day we could run away,
Run away,
[Chorus x2]
Ooh ooh ooh ooh,
I thought you'd never ask
Now here comes Lukas,
He'd done everything you wanted to,
It's 20 years later,
Come back to do what he promised to,
He'd come back to make her happy,
But these things don't always wait for you,
And poor Lukas was late,
For when he got back she've been married a day,
Gone away...
[Chorus x2]
Ooh ooh ooh ooh,
I thought you'd never ask,
And Lukas would say,
For a million lonely people,
Another lonely day,
For a million hearts that open,
A million break,
And the world's just a fallen angel
In my wake,
High up in heaven you can hear them say,
Looking for Lukas
He'is always running away,
Ooh ooh ooh ooh,
Ooh ooh ooh ooh,
Ooh ooh ooh ooh,
Ooh ooh ooh ooh
The song Lukas by Natalie Imbruglia tells the story of a man named Lukas who comes to talk to the singer, telling her stories that are all true. The two of them go for a drive up to the river, and Lukas tells her that one day he will be a famous writer. He seems to have a romantic interest in the singer, as he suggests that they could run away together someday. The chorus repeats the phrase "I thought you'd never ask," which could be interpreted as Lukas being pleased that the singer is finally paying attention to him.
Later, Lukas returns twenty years after he left to fulfill his promise to make the singer happy. However, he is too late, because she has gotten married. Despite Lukas' disappointment, he reflects on the fact that there are millions of lonely people out there, each experiencing their own heartbreak. The song closes with the repeated phrase "Looking for Lukas, he's always running away," suggesting that the man is something of a lost soul who cannot find his place in the world.
Overall, the song speaks to the human desire for connection and the pain of missed opportunities. Lukas seems to represent the dreamer in all of us, someone who aspires to greatness but cannot quite grasp it. The singer, on the other hand, represents the harsh reality of the world, where timing is everything and sometimes things just don't work out.
Line by Line Meaning
They call him Lukas,
This man is commonly known as Lukas
Climbing the stairs to talk to you,
He's coming up to talk to you and climbed up the stairs to reach you
Coming to tell his story,
He is about to arrive to narrate a story of his own
Every single one of which is true,
All the stories he tells are real and factual
Hello Lukas,
Addressing the person called Lukas in a greeting
I'm pleased to meet you, now how you do?
Saying it is nice to meet Lukas and asking how he is doing
So they go driving,
Both of them are now driving
Up to the river like lovers do,
They drive to the river like how a couple in love would
You smell like the summer,
Lukas has a scent similar to summer
Maybe the summer just smells of you,
It's possible that the smell people associate with summer is because of Lukas' fragrance
One day i'm gonna be a famous writer,
Expressing her aspiration to become a recognizable author in the future
Some look like love in the afternoon,
Her future book might contain stories or situations resembling love in the afternoon
It was all Lukas could say,
Lukas could only manage to say so much regarding the topic
Maybe one day we could run away,
Lukas is suggesting that they might run away together someday
Run away,
The possibility of running away is still present
[Chorus x2]
Refrain that repeats twice after each verse
Ooh ooh ooh ooh,
A repetitive vocable used in the chorus
I thought you'd never ask
Used humorously with the previous line, means exact opposite of what is said
Now here comes Lukas,
Lukas is back again
He'd done everything you wanted to,
Lukas has done everything that was expected of him
It's 20 years later,
The years that passed are twenty, when Lukas came back
Come back to do what he promised to,
Lukas has returned to fulfill his promise
He'd come back to make her happy,
Lukas came back to make her happy
But these things don't always wait for you,
The things you expect or hope for might not wait for you forever
And poor Lukas was late,
Lukas was not on time
For when he got back she've been married a day,
As Lukas returned, she had already gotten married
Gone away...
She had left already
And Lukas would say,
Lukas would comment
For a million lonely people,
Lukas would speak for those who feel lonely
Another lonely day,
For some, each day is another one spent being lonely
For a million hearts that open,
There are millions whose hearts are wide open
A million break,
And similarly, there are many hearts that break
And the world's just a fallen angel
The world has lost its innocent and pure essence
In my wake,
As a result of me and behind me
High up in heaven you can hear them say,
People in heaven can hear them talking
Looking for Lukas
Searching for Lukas
He'is always running away,
Lukas seems to never stop running away
Contributed by Cole K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Shaharudin Mohdnor
They call him Lukas
Climbing the stairs to talk to you
Coming to tell his stories
Every single one of which is true
"Hello Lukas, I'm pleased to meet you
Now how do you do?"
So they go driving
Out to the river like lovers do
You smell of the summer
Maybe the summer just smells of you
One day I'm gonna be a famous writer
Some book like 'Love In The Afternoon'
It was all Lukas could say
Maybe one day we could run away, run away
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I thought you'd never ask
I thought we'd never last
Now here comes Lukas
He'd done everything he wanted to
It was 20 years later
Come back to do what he promised to
He'd come back to make her happy
But these things don't always wait for you
And poor Lukas was late 'cause when he got back
She'd been married a day, gone away
I thought we'd never last
I thought you'd never ask
And Lukas would say
For a million lonely people another lonely day
For a million hearts that open, a million break
And the world's just a fallen angel in my wake
High up in heaven you can hear them say
Looking for Lukas but Lukas was always running away
Read more: Natalie Imbruglia - Lukas Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Jkcoolman1223
Martin later confirmed the information. In an interview he said he had asked Imbruglia to record one of the band's songs which, he thinks, turned out great adding "we've given her the best Coldplay song of all time [. . .] she sounds [. . .] brilliant on it. I think she has a very unique talent and an incredibly unique voice.
Mar
Now...Coldplay could make a "cover" of this song and we would finally have the complete version of Lukas... YES! whatever i just want to hear this song from them!
Devin Twardy
I love this song, and I'd like to hear the Coldplay version, but Natalie has a nice voice and I can't tell if it's bad or good that I pegged this for Chris's writing style before reading the description haha
Roberthenryii
This would have been a great coldplay b-side.
HakimDoesStuff
I am a little upset that Chris Martin gave this song away, but I still love the song. Natalie did great while singing it!
Marcus Merisier
No way this is 11 years old! I remember when this song first came around. Love coming back to it every few years.
Jorgen Bernle
How I love her warm and sympathetic voice! I listened to two of her albums on my iPod today when travelling home. Great company! *smile*
Stacey P
I would have loved if Chris sang this.
tomoe1986
To say it's beautiful would be an understatement! It's genius!
spacecolonie
What I would give to hear Chris sing this... Anyway, I think Natalie does a fine job and I quite like this ^^