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 Ring From Your Hand
Paul Heaton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It doesn't happen often, maybe once or twice a year
That compliment from you my precious dear
Would creep up unexpectedly then disappear
First time we caught each other's eye was at the bottle bank
Dropping off three times the amount
Our partners knew we drank
When did that bottle of plonk
When did that Chenin blanc turn to blank
We took the shine out the sun
Blew the clouds out the sky
Took the wind and the rain and the frost
Just inches below us, the river runs dry
And the love that once took us across
The kiss we exchanged
That built us a bridge
Has sunk to its knees in the sand
The petals and sticks we dropped from the ridge
Have gone with the ring from your hand
Where's the passion when we're both stood in our socks
When did marvin's 'get it on' get put back in the box
When did being daring begin to shock
When did wearing mini skirts turn into wearing frocks
Who's the brains in this relationship
When we're both in red kagoules
How could life be quite so dull
With so many golden rules
Who's the brains in this relationship
When we're both in red kagoules
We went and cracked the safe but lost the jewels
We took the shine out the sun
Blew the clouds out the sky
Took the wind and the rain and the frost
Just inches below us the river runs dry
And the love that once took us across
The kiss we exchanged
That built us a bridge
Has sunk to its knees in the sand
The petals and sticks we dropped from the ridge
Have gone with the ring from your hand
Now I look out the window
From the end of the bed
And the moon shines so clearly above
Looking down at my children
And patting their heads
Whisper 'good luck sure looks after love'
But moonlight through keyhole, starlight through crack
Is all the light we'll likely see
And till death I depart, or mummy comes back
No person casts shadow on me
We took the shine out the sun
Blew the clouds out the sky
Took the wind and the rain and the frost
Just inches below us the river runs dry
And the love that once took us across
The kiss we exchanged
That built us a bridge
Has sunk to its knees in the sand
The petals and sticks we dropped from the ridge
Have gone with the ring from your hand
Have gone from the ring from your hand
The lyrics of Paul Heaton's The Ring from Your Hand tell a story of a once passionate relationship that has lost its spark over time. The "builder" mentioned in the first verse represents the external validation that many couples seek from others to strengthen their bond. This attention is fleeting and does not sustain the relationship in the long-term. The second verse highlights the changes in the relationship from drinking wine to excess, being daring to feeling shocked by such actions, and wearing mini skirts to wearing frocks. The singer questions who is the smarter person in the relationship and why it is so dull despite following the "golden rules." The final verse suggests a resigned acceptance of the passage of time and the dimming of passions. The moon symbolizes a distant hope of luck that protects their love. Overall, the song speaks to the sadness and regret of losing love and the hope that remains.
Line by Line Meaning
When that builder cups his hand to other builders ear
Rarely, builders gossip and share secrets amongst themselves
It doesn't happen often, maybe once or twice a year
This occurrence is rare; maybe once or twice in a year
That compliment from you my precious dear
Getting a compliment from a loved one is precious and valuable
Would creep up unexpectedly then disappear
Compliments from a loved one are often brief, unexpected and fleeting
First time we caught each other's eye was at the bottle bank
We first noticed each other at a place where we dropped off several empty bottles
Dropping off three times the amount
We had a problem with the amount of alcohol we drank
Our partners knew we drank
Our significant others knew about our drinking habits
When did that bottle of plonk
When did that bottle of cheap wine
Turn in to walking plank
Become a stumbling block that hinders us from moving forward
When did that Chenin blanc turn to blank
When did that bottle of wine lose its appeal or significance?
We took the shine out the sun
We've taken away the brightness and positivity from our relationship
Blew the clouds out the sky
We've removed the beauty and wonder from our lives
Took the wind and the rain and the frost
We've faced challenging times together, and we've weathered many storms
Just inches below us, the river runs dry
The love that once buoyed us is now nonexistent and feeling empty
And the love that once took us across
The love we shared in the past helped us overcome obstacles and take us through troubled times
The kiss we exchanged
The intimate moment we shared
That built us a bridge
That helped us build a strong bond
Has sunk to its knees in the sand
Our love has lost its former passion, and now it feels destroyed
The petals and sticks we dropped from the ridge
The romantic gestures we once shared are now gone
Have gone with the ring from your hand
All the love we once shared is now gone and lost forever
Now I look out the window
I reflect on the past
From the end of the bed
While in bed, feeling sad and helpless
And the moon shines so clearly above
Looking up to find hope in something bigger than oneself
Looking down at my children
Thinking of our children and their futures
And patting their heads
Showing affection and care for our kids
Whisper 'good luck sure looks after love'
Hoping that good fortune will soon follow us
But moonlight through keyhole, starlight through crack
We're only glimpsing life through small perspectives
Is all the light we'll likely see
This may be all we see or experience for the rest of our lives
And till death I depart, or mummy comes back
Until we die or our moms return, we're left to keep going on our own
No person casts shadow on me
We're alone, and no one stands by us
We went and cracked the safe but lost the jewels
While pursuing our fantasies, we lost the most precious thing we ever had
When did marvin's 'get it on' get put back in the box
When did our passion become minimized or taken out of the equation?
When did being daring begin to shock
When did bravery become offensive or unexpected?
When did wearing mini skirts turn into wearing frocks
When did we start changing ourselves and forgetting who we used to be?
Who's the brains in this relationship
Who is responsible for coming up with decisions and ideas?
How could life be quite so dull
We both feel bored and unfulfilled with our lives
With so many golden rules
Despite having various rules, our lives still feel empty and unproductive
Writer(s): PAUL HEATON, STEVEN RICHARD TRAFFORD
Contributed by Aiden P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.