Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is a British recording artist, actres… Read Full Bio ↴Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is a British recording artist, actress, songwriter and dancer, largely credited for being a pioneer of Classical Crossover. She sings songs in many languages including English, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Italian, Russian, Hindi, and Mandarin.

Brightman has received over 180 Gold and Platinum sales awards in over 40 different countries around the world and is the only artist to hold #1 spots on the Billboard Classical and Dance charts simultaneously, her other achievements feature her ranking by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female classical artist of the twenty-first century and a Guinness World Record for the success of “Time to Say Goodbye,” the best-selling single in German recording history.

She has established herself as the world's biggest selling soprano of all time, She has sold 78 million albums worldwide, including 40 million copies of the soundtrack of The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical), 26 million albums, over two million DVDs and 10 million copies of the single " Time to Say Goodbye "as a soloist.

She made her debut as a dancer in troupes such as Hot Gossip and later released a string of disco singles. She was a musical theatre performer and partner of theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom she originated roles including Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera.

After her divorce, Brightman became a crossover artist with former Enigma producer Frank Peterson. Her style, a blend of classical vocals and pop-inspired instrumentation and arrangement, earned her further success.

She is often cited as the woman who paved the way for other international success stories such as Il Divo, Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban. She is said to be worth as much as £30m (about US$49m).

Forbidden Colours
Sarah Brightman Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The wounds on your hands never seem to heal
I thought all I needed was to believe
Here am I, a lifetime away from you
The blood of Christ, or the beat of my heart
My love wears forbidden colours
My life believes
Senseless years thunder by
Millions are willing to give their lives for you

Does nothing live on?
Learning to cope with feelings aroused in me
My hands in the soil, buried inside of myself
My love wears forbidden colours
My life believes in you once again
I'll go walking in circles
While doubting the very ground beneath me
Trying to show unquestioning faith in everything
Here am I, a lifetime away from you
The blood of Christ, or a change of heart
My love wears forbidden colours

My life believes
My love wears forbidden colours

Overall Meaning

The song Forbidden Colours by Sarah Brightman is a beautiful and emotional piece that talks about love, faith and distance. The opening lines "The wounds on your hands never seem to heal, I thought all I needed was to believe" seem to refer to the scars of previous emotional pain and the hope that one can heal these by just believing in oneself. The lines "Here am I, a lifetime away from you, The blood of Christ, or the beat of my heart" could be interpreted as a reference to distance, either physical or emotional, that separates the singer from her loved one, and the two different ways in which people find solace - one reaching for the divine, the other for the earthly.

As the song progresses, we see a theme of secret or forbidden love emerging, as the singer declares "My love wears forbidden colours, My life believes". Perhaps it is the societal norms or perceived barriers that make the love forbidden, but the singer seems to be steadfast in her belief and devotion to it. The lines "Millions are willing to give their lives for you, Does nothing live on?" could be interpreted as a plea for the loved one to reciprocate the intensity of the singer's feelings, or an introspection into the futility of human existence in the face of all-consuming emotions.

The song comes to a close by examining the doubts and struggles that the singer faces in trying to reconcile her love and faith, as she declares "Trying to show unquestioning faith in everything, Here am I, a lifetime away from you, The blood of Christ, or a change of heart". The last lines of the song, "My love wears forbidden colours, My life believes", are a resolute declaration of the power of love to transcend societal norms and boundaries, and the undeniable belief in its ability to sustain and heal.

Line by Line Meaning

The wounds on your hands never seem to heal
Your past experiences and hurtful memories seem to linger and never fully disappear.

I thought all I needed was to believe
I was hopeful that all I would need to do is have faith to make the situation better.

Here am I, a lifetime away from you
Even though I am far from you, you are still on my mind and present in my day-to-day life.

The blood of Christ, or the beat of my heart
Whatever it takes, I am willing to make the sacrifice for this love.

My love wears forbidden colours
Our love is unconventional and faces societal disapproval, but we still love each other regardless.

My life believes
I wholeheartedly believe in this love and what it means for us.

Senseless years thunder by
Time passes by without any true meaning, and it seems like it is just a blur without any significance.

Millions are willing to give their lives for you
People hold you in high regards and have strong beliefs and values tied to their love for you.

Does nothing live on?
Is there no hope for the future?

Learning to cope with feelings aroused in me
I am learning to handle and manage the deep emotions and feelings I have for this person.

My hands in the soil, buried inside of myself
I feel deeply rooted in my love for this person and it is a part of me that cannot be separated.

I'll go walking in circles
I am lost and do not know what to do next in this situation.

While doubting the very ground beneath me
I am uncertain about everything around me and have lost faith in the world.

Trying to show unquestioning faith in everything
I am attempting to believe in everything without any doubt or skepticism.

The blood of Christ, or a change of heart
Either that person’s intervention or my own change of perspective could make the difference in our love life.

My love wears forbidden colours
The love shared between us is not considered acceptable by society.

My life believes in you once again
Despite doubts and insecurities, I still believe in you and our love.

Contributed by Reagan K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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