Paul Heaton formed The Housemartins in the early 1980s. The Housemartins released a number of singles and two studio albums, London 0 Hull 4 and The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death. Their most famous hit was an a-capella version of the Isley Brothers' Caravan of Love, which was a Christmas number one in the UK.
In 1988, Paul Heaton formed The Beautiful South from the ashes of The Housemartins. The Beautiful South released two top ten singles, Song for Whoever and You Keep It All In, which featured Irish singer Briana Corrigan on vocals. In 1989, the band released an album "Welcome to the Beautiful South" by which time Corrigan had joined the band as a full time member. The band's biggest success to date is the release of the single "A Little Time" in 1991. It reached number 1 on the charts. In 1993 the band released their third album, "0898 Beautiful South".
In 1994, Briana Corrigan left the band and a new female vocalist, Jacqui Abbott, was brought in. During the recording of the band's fourth album "Miaow", Heaton was increasingly irritated with the band and at one time told them to get their act together or he would leave. "Miaow" is some of Heaton's most depressing songwriting (only their fifth studio album, "Blue Is The Colour", is considered sadder). Heaton was going through a break-up with his girlfriend and other problems at the time. After the release of Miaow's third single, "Prettiest Eyes", the record company was worried about the band's sales, so they proposed a greatest hits release to save the band. Heaton hated the idea as he was trying to keep the band as far away from mainstream as possible, but nevertheless, "Carry on up the Charts" was released in December 1994 and it sold overwhelmingly, going platinum and becoming one of the biggest selling albums of all time in the UK.
The band returned to form a number one album, "Blue Is the Colour". Their sixth album, "Quench", also hit the top spot. In 2000, after the release of "Painting It Red", Jacqui Abbott left the band to care for her son. A second compilation album, "Solid Bronze", was released and two more studio albums with a new female vocalist, Alison Wheeler. The first, Gaze, became the first Beautiful South album to fail to reach the top 10, and the band were then dropped by Mercury Records.
The following year (2004), newly signed to Sony, they released the curiously named covers album Goldiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs, an eclectic album that featured the Beautiful South's unique take on a wide variety of tracks by the like of ELO, Blue Öyster Cult, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, S Club 7, and Rufus Wainwright. Again, despite considerable publicity and promotional TV appearances, the album failed to make the top 10.
2006 saw the release of yet another album of new material, "Superbi." Reviews were generally positive. "Superbi" has more of an alt-country sound (plenty of slide guitar, for example) than previous Beautiful South releases. The album maintains the band's trademark eccentricity, however, featuring a dobro on one song.
On the ITV documentary music series Faith & Music screened 29th October 2006, Paul talks openly and honestly about his atheism and his battle with alcoholism.
Heaton is the father of two daughters, although he has never married.
www.paulheatonmusic.co.uk
The Balcony
Paul Heaton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He can't help cursing his luck
Life could have dealt him such a different hand
Maybe 2 across and 23 up
But there ain't door on the 38th floor
No shortcut out of this dump
The nearer high rise comes closer to the skies
And it's sadder the leaving than left
Sadder the going than gone
Saddest of all is the person bereft
Of the chance to jump off or walk on
Falling from ladder, landing on dagger
A thousand and one ways to die
Better the brave and the early to grave
And damn those too frightened to try
As he awaits the last score on the 25th floor
He looks down at the madness below
It's always some Grimsby or Scunthorpe
Some place he ain't been or won't go
And as result comes in and his head goes down
Yet another week he's gonna be stuck
Where the betting slips rain like confetti
Let down, thrown out or screwed up
And it's sadder the leaving than left
Sadder the going than gone
Saddest of all is the person bereft
Of the chance to jump off or walk on
Falling from ladder, landing on dagger
A thousand and one ways to die
Better the brave and the early to grave
And damn those too frightned to try
So we wish you good spaces in faraway places
Good luck in the folk that you meet
Cause if you don't travel, the dust and the gravel
Will swallow you up from your feet
This song that we give, please carry it with
To remind you we long your return
Travel thee far and travel thee well
And bring back every lesson you learn
Travel thee far and travel thee well
And bring back every lesson you learn
The Balcony is a lyrical masterpiece that takes us on a journey of existence, desperation, and making choices. It is a man's perspective on life from the balcony of his high rise. The man is stuck in his mundane, boring life while he looks down on a world he has not explored. The song talks about an individual who has not made any significant life changes and wishes he took a different path. He is trapped, unable to take a shortcut because he perceives the grass is not greener on the other side.
The lyrics tell a story of how the man is feeling sadness and regret for his unfulfilled life. He is despondent, stuck in a life he does not want, and at a cliffhanger of jumping off the balcony. The lyrics talk about how it is sadder to be leaving a life you are unhappy with than to have already left. The song gives us the insight that living without taking risks or trying something new can be devastating. The line "Better the brave and the early to the grave" encourages living life as risky as it seems since it's the only way to have lived entirely.
The Balcony is a song whose lyrics while open to interpretation, give a message of not settling for a life you don't want. It's important to make life choices wisely and try new things. Otherwise, you may end up with unfulfilled dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
As he taxes a draw on the 15th floor
As he takes a drag on his cigarette on the 15th floor
He can't help cursing his luck
He can't help but feel unlucky
Life could have dealt him such a different hand
Life could have given him a better life
Maybe 2 across and 23 up
Perhaps he could have been in a better place in life
But there ain't door on the 38th floor
There is no way out of this situation
No shortcut out of this dump
There is no easy way out of this place
The nearer high rise comes closer to the skies
The tall buildings nearby seem to reach the sky
The temptation to actually jump
He feels the urge to jump off the building
And it's sadder the leaving than left
Leaving is harder than being gone
Sadder the going than gone
It's harder to leave than to be gone
Saddest of all is the person bereft
The saddest person is the one who doesn't have the chance to leave or stay
Of the chance to jump off or walk on
Of the chance to make a change in their life
Falling from ladder, landing on dagger
There are many ways to die
A thousand and one ways to die
There are countless ways to end one's life
Better the brave and the early to grave
It's better to be brave and take risks than to live a boring life
And damn those too frightened to try
And criticize those who are too afraid to take risks
As he awaits the last score on the 25th floor
He waits for the outcome of his bet on the 25th floor
He looks down at the madness below
He observes the chaos on the ground below
It's always some Grimsby or Scunthorpe
It's always some unfamiliar or undesirable place
Some place he ain't been or won't go
Some place he has never visited or wouldn't want to visit
And as result comes in and his head goes down
As he receives disappointing news, he feels defeated
Yet another week he's gonna be stuck
He's going to be stuck in the same situation for another week
Where the betting slips rain like confetti
Where betting slips are scattered everywhere like confetti
Let down, thrown out or screwed up
Being disappointed, rejected or having failed
So we wish you good spaces in faraway places
We hope you find happiness in distant places
Good luck in the folk that you meet
We hope you find good people out there
Cause if you don't travel, the dust and the gravel
Because if you don't travel, you will be stuck in the same place
Will swallow you up from your feet
You will be consumed by the monotony of life
This song that we give, please carry it with
We ask that you take this song with you
To remind you we long your return
To remind you that we miss you and want you to come back
Travel thee far and travel thee well
Travel far and enjoy the journey
And bring back every lesson you learn
And bring back everything you've learned along the way
Contributed by Abigail J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.