Nates James is a British soul singer / songwriter who released his debut al… Read Full Bio ↴Nates James is a British soul singer / songwriter who released his debut album, Set The Tone, in 2005. The album, heavily influenced by classic soul artists such as Prince and Stevie Wonder, won James widespread critical acclaim and two MOBO nominations for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Artist. The album, penned almost entirely by James, spans a wide variety of music styles, from the bassy R&B of "Set The Tone" and the upbeat pop of "Universal" to classic ballad "Justify Me" and verging on rock influences in "I'll Decline". Nate has worked with several noted songwriters, including Francis White (Will Young's Leave Right Now) on "Universal", David Sneddon and Jamie Hartman (Will Young's All Time Love) on "Justify Me". A Second album is slated for release at some point in 2006, featuring tracks henceforth only performed live, such as "Outta My Head". He has sold out numerous live shows at the Jazz Café in London and many other shows elsewhere, and was a performer at Fruitstock 2005. He has also travelled abroad, finding success in Japan in particular.

One of Britain's most promising soul singer/songwriters, Nate James is also perhaps the most independently spirited. Born on a U.S. Air Force base in Lakenheath in 1979, James grew up listening to his parents' soul music collection, particularly Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, and from an early age began performing cover versions in local clubs in Woodbridge, Suffolk. After abandoning an art foundation course at college to work with London producer Jazz Black, James won a place in five-piece R&B act Notorious, who were filmed for a behind-the-scenes TV show for T4. But due to a label merger, the group was dropped from Warner Records before releasing any material, and James decided to go solo. Signing a songwriting deal with Universal Publishing in 2004, James shrewdly refused to sign away the copyright in his recordings and set up his own Frofunk imprint via various deals with independent labels. His debut album, Set the Tone, featuring collaborations with En Vogue's Dawn Robinson, David Sneddon, and Eg White, was released a year later. Featuring the singles "Universal," "The Message," and the title track, it earned him nominations for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Artist at the 2005 MOBO Awards. After supporting acts including Beverley Knight, Musiq (Soulchild), and Natasha Bedingfield, James embarked on his own tour, playing to sellout crowds in Milan, Tokyo, and Amsterdam. He released his second album, Kingdom Falls, produced in L.A. by the Grammy- winning Neal H. Pogue, in 2007. Influenced by the experience of a charity mission to Rwanda a year earlier, it was funded entirely by the profits from his debut. James has also appeared on records by Poker Pets, Sway, and Natalie Williams, and works as an ambassador for several charities including Shelter, Global Angels, and Youth Music. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi

Choke
Nate James Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

No I don't wanna make the call
Disappontiment in your voice
Just says it all
And I swear if I had the time
I'd be cleaning up witu
Couldn't love you more
Damn it hurts when I let ya down
But I know it hurts you more

(chorus)
Have to Choke whta I feel for ya
Lack the words to descirbe what I think of ya
Telephone doesn't show that my hearts for ya
Doesn't help
But I know whta I'm doin' to ya

Realising you're slippin' thru
Thru my fingers my
My worst fears are comin' true
I see you losin' your faithe in me

And reflected in your eyes
Don't like who I see
And yes I know that I gave you couse
Don't want u to cry no more, no.....

(Chorus)

And no matter what I say
Tho to me it seems I'm talkin' sense
I keep hurtin' you just the same
Just the same
Oh I'm sorry girl
No I don't mean to hurt you....

(Chorus)

Overall Meaning

In Nate James's song Choke, the artist vocalizes his struggles in a relationship that is crumbling due to his own shortcomings. The song starts with the singer admitting that he does not want to make the call that will envelop him in disappointment as his lover's voice alone, in a sense, speaks volumes about their current state. He wishes he could dedicate more time to fixing their issues and genuinely loves this individual, but it still hurts him to admit that he is letting them down. What is worse is that he acknowledges that his actions are severely hurting the other individual more than himself.

As the chorus arrives, the singer directly states that he needs to choke off the feelings he has for this individual. He knows he cannot put into words how much she means to him, and even if he could, it wouldn't erase the damage that he's inflicted. The telephone is a motif used to represent the distance between the two characters, and how, despite the world believing him to be connected with his lover due to technology, he knows that his heart is not with her anymore. The singer realizes that he is losing her, and as her faith in him diminishes, he sees the worst versions of himself reflected in her eyes. He knows that all this devastation is his fault but cannot stop hurting her no matter how desperately he wants to.

In conclusion, Nate James's song Choke is a heart-wrenching ballad detailing a protagonist's internal struggles as he comes to terms with the fact that there is no stopping his relationship's disintegration. The song is a beautiful representation of the universal human experience of love, loss, and regret.

Line by Line Meaning

No I don't wanna make the call
I am afraid of making the call because I know you are going to be disappointed in me.

Disappontiment in your voice
I can hear the disappointment in your voice when you speak to me.

Just says it all
Your tone of voice is enough to express everything you're feeling.

And I swear if I had the time
If only I had more time, I would do everything in my power to make things right.

I'd be cleaning up with you
I would do whatever it takes to make up for the mistakes I've made with you.

Couldn't love you more
I love you so much that I wish I could go back in time and fix everything that went wrong between us.

Damn it hurts when I let ya down
It hurts me deeply to know that I have disappointed you again.

But I know it hurts you more
I know that my mistakes and shortcomings hurt you much more than they hurt me.

Have to Choke what I feel for ya
I have to suppress my feelings for you because they are causing too much pain and difficulty between us.

Lack the words to describe what I think of ya
There are no words to express how much I care for you and how sorry I am for the damage I've caused.

Telephone doesn't show that my hearts for ya
Talking on the phone doesn't adequately express how much I love and care for you.

Doesn't help
Talking on the phone isn't enough to save our relationship.

But I know what I'm doin' to ya
I am aware that my actions are hurting you and causing damage to our relationship.

Realising you're slippin' thru
I am coming to realize that I am losing you and our relationship is slipping away.

Thru my fingers my
Despite my efforts to hold onto you, you are slipping away from me.

My worst fears are comin' true
My greatest fears about our relationship falling apart are becoming a reality.

I see you losin' your faith in me
I can see that you are losing your trust and faith in me as a partner and a person.

And reflected in your eyes
I can see the disappointment you have in me reflected in your eyes.

Don't like who I see
I don't like the person I have become in your eyes and the damage I have caused to our relationship.

And yes I know that I gave you cause
I know that my actions have given you plenty of reasons to be disappointed and upset with me.

Don't want u to cry no more, no.....
I don't want to see you in pain or tears anymore and I wish I could take back everything that has caused you pain and disappointment.

And no matter what I say
No matter how hard I try to explain or apologize, the damage has already been done.

Tho to me it seems I'm talkin' sense
Although I believe that what I am saying makes sense, it may not be enough to repair the damage to our relationship.

I keep hurtin' you just the same
Despite my best intentions, I continue to hurt you and our relationship in the same ways.

Oh I'm sorry girl
I apologize for everything I've done to hurt you and hope that someday you can forgive me.

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

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