Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and song… Read Full Bio ↴Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997, and included his signature song, "Angels". His second album, I've Been Expecting You, featured the songs "Millennium" and "She's the One", his first number one singles. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.

Williams has received a record 18 Brit Awards, winning Best British Male Artist four times, Outstanding Contribution to Music twice, an Icon Award for his lasting impact on British culture, eight German ECHO Awards, and three MTV European Music Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted the Greatest Artist of the 1990s. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), he has been certified for 20.2 million albums and 8.66 million singles in the UK as a solo artist. Five of his albums have also topped the Australian albums chart, and has sold 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He also topped the 2000–2010 UK airplay chart. His three concerts at Knebworth in 2003 drew over 375,000 people, the UK's biggest music event to that point. In 2014, he was awarded the freedom of his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent and had a tourist trail created and streets named in his honour. Williams' thirteenth album, XXV was released on 9 September 2022.

After 15 years, Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 to co-write and perform lead vocals on their album Progress, which became the second-fastest-selling album in UK chart history and the fastest-selling record of the century at the time. The subsequent stadium tour, which featured seven songs from Williams' solo career, became the biggest-selling concert in UK history when it sold 1.34 million tickets in less than 24 hours. In 2011, Take That frontman Gary Barlow confirmed that Williams had left the band for a second time to focus on his solo career, although he stated that the departure was amicable and that Williams was welcome to rejoin Take That in the future. Williams has since performed with Take That on three separate television appearances, and collaborated with Barlow on a number of projects such as the West End musical The Band.

I Can't Explain
Robbie Williams Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I walk into a room
I say how do you do
They look at me and I look back at them
I slip into a chair
They say are you prepared I said I do not know

Sometimes I feel it but I can't explain
Sometimes I need and want them through my vains

Now there's ten in front of me
Asking me what do I see
I see nothing but butterflies and
Tests I did not know
The answers will not show
And all I see is butterflies and

Sometimes I feel it but I can't explain
Sometimes the answer's running to my brains

And in the long run you always said I'll be there beside you
And in the long run you always thought I'll be there to guide you

Sometimes I feel it but I can't explain
Sometimes I need it like a running train
Sometimes I feel it in my pride
Sometimes I take it in my stride

Slow down feelings
Loved up with you
I can't feel my legs
I can't feel you
Slow down feelings
Loved up with you
The night before an hour two
On my back and leaving you
Falling down the stairs and seen it through
Falling down feeling this
Monday morning I feel out of sorts
But that's ok
Dried up and dreaming
Punching and screaming
Feeling the morning through

Duuududududuudu...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Robbie Williams's song, "I Can't Explain," delve into the complex and sometimes inexplicable nature of human emotions. The song begins with the singer entering a room full of people and feeling uncertain and unprepared. He describes his perspective as a collection of butterflies, indicating the intensity and unpredictability of his emotions. He then moves on to describe the challenges he faces in the form of tests and questions to which he does not know the answers. The chorus repeats the idea that sometimes he feels things intensely but cannot explain them.

The second verse deepens the complexity of the emotional landscape the singer is traversing. He describes feeling overwhelmed by ten people asking him what he sees, as if he is being called upon to share his innermost thoughts and emotions. Once again, he describes his perspective using the metaphor of butterflies, emphasizing their fleeting and unpredictable nature.

The final section of the song moves away from confusion and uncertainty to a more intense and sensual experience of feeling. The singer describes feeling loved up and overwhelmed by his emotions, losing track of time and physical sensations like feeling his legs. He seems to be in a state of heightened passion, punctuated by unexpected physical sensations like falling downstairs. The chorus repeats the idea that sometimes he feels things that he cannot explain, wrapping up the song with a sense of ambiguity and uncertainty.

Line by Line Meaning

I walk into a room
I enter a space

I say how do you do
I greet them

They look at me and I look back at them
We exchange glances

I slip into a chair
I sit in a seat

They say are you prepared I said I do not know
They ask if I'm ready, but I am uncertain

Sometimes I feel it but I can't explain
I experience emotions that I cannot describe

Sometimes I need and want them through my veins
At times, I crave intense feelings

Now there's ten in front of me
There are ten people facing me

Asking me what do I see
They inquire about what I perceive

I see nothing but butterflies and
All I can see are butterflies

Tests I did not know
Unfamiliar examinations

The answers will not show
I cannot discover the solutions

And all I see is butterflies and
My vision remains focused on butterflies

Sometimes the answer's running to my brains
At times, I know the answer instinctively

And in the long run you always said I'll be there beside you
You promised to support me in the future

And in the long run you always thought I'll be there to guide you
You believed that you would provide me with direction

Sometimes I feel it but I can't explain
I encounter inexplicable emotions

Sometimes I need it like a running train
Occasionally, I require something with great force

Sometimes I feel it in my pride
I sense it in my sense of self-worth

Sometimes I take it in my stride
I handle it gracefully

Slow down feelings
Suggesting to reduce the intensity of emotions

Loved up with you
Being deeply in love with someone

I can't feel my legs
Experiencing physical manifestation of emotional intensity

I can't feel you
Not feeling a connection with the loved one

The night before an hour two
Unsure about when a previous event occurred

On my back and leaving you
Leaving the loved one behind

Falling down the stairs and seen it through
Enduring a painful experience

Falling down feeling this
Falling down and experiencing strong emotions

Monday morning I feel out of sorts
Feeling a state of disorder at the beginning of the week

But that's okay
Accepting the situation

Dried up and dreaming
Feeling empty and fantasizing

Punching and screaming
Experiencing and expressing anger

Feeling the morning through
Experiencing the moment in the morning

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Written by: STEPHEN DUFFY, ROBERT WILLIAMS, ROBERT PETER WILLIAMS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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