In The Beautiful South, Heaton shared the lead singer's role with Hemingway and female singer Briana Corrigan to create a trio of lead vocalists. This set-up helped to characterise the bittersweet kitchen sink dramas played out in Heaton's often-barbed songs.
The band's music might sound like bubbly, catchy, lightweight pop but Heaton's sour, savage and amusing worldview on everything and anything (alcoholism, religion, sex, politics and, mostly, the down side of relationships) is always lurking beneath the surface of the quirky melodies. The tastes and smells of the local pub are never far away either, with the band gaining a reputation for boozing. The band's first album was Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989) and spawned the hits Song For Whoever and You Keep It All In. The release of 1990's Choke album saw the band claim its only Number 1 hit to date, A Little Time. 0898 followed in 1992, with hits including Old Red Eyes Is Back.
In 1994, after Corrigan quit the band when she saw Paul's lyrics for the forthcoming album Miaow, St Helens supermarket shelf-stacker, Jacqui Abbott, was brought on board to fill in. Heaton had heard her sing at an after show party in St Helens and remembered her vocal talents.
Jacqui's first album with the band was Miaow in 1994. Hits included Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud) and a cover of Fred Neil's Everybody's Talking, previously popularised by Harry Nilsson. The end of that year saw the release of Carry on up the Charts, a "best of" compilation consisting of the singles to date plus new track One Last Love Song. The album was massively successful and it is said that 1 in 7 homes in the UK owns a copy.
Blue Is the Colour (1996), Quench (1998) and Painting It Red (2000) followed with varying success. Jacqui also quit the band in 2000. After a second Greatest Hits album Solid Bronze in 2001, they recorded Gaze in 2003 with yet another female vocalist, Alison 'Lady' Wheeler. Wheeler was still in place for 2004's Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs, an album of unusually arranged cover versions including Livin' Thing, You're The One That I Want, Don't Fear The Reaper and I'm Stone In Love With You. In 2006 the band released their tenth studio album, Superbi.
The band broke up in January 2007, releasing the statement: "The Beautiful South have split up due to musical similarities. The band would like to thank everyone for their 19 wonderful years in music."
Former members of the group have since played Beautiful South songs together as 'New Beautiful South' and more recently 'The South'.
In 2007, Mercury Records released Soup: The Best of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, a compilation album containing 7 hit singles by The Housemartins ("The Housemartins Condensed") and 15 tracks The Beautiful South ("Cream of The Beautiful South").
Alone
The Beautiful South Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You don't know why it's there
People ask you where you're heading
You just answer "anywhere"
We don't mean to be this vague
It just happens that we are
No-one asked us to elaborate
And like the stories that just happened
No-one thought of, no-one planned
We could have ruled, we could have conquered
Then we could have been a man
We could be ex-husband
We could be ex-wife
But no-one looks at the menu in a greasy spoon life
Alone, alone
Half an hour is seven hours
One day is several months
Alone, alone
A month is a calendar
A year can be a decade spent
Alone
He knows "hello" in eighteen languages
"I love you" in only one
By the time he's got his phrase-book
The chance is usually gone
And we feel ourselves quite prepared
But quite prepared for what
We always took the lead
Before we actually knew the plot
And you can tell where we've been shopping
By the bags beneath our eyes
Make-up shoulders burden
But the smile never lies
We could be ex-husband
We could be ex-wife
But no-one looks at the menu in a greasy spoon life
Alone, alone
Half an hour is seven hours
One day is several months
Alone, alone
A month is a calendar
A year can be a decade spent
Alone
So empty at the airport
You don't set off the doors
We used to feel like chorus girls
And now we feel like whores
Hearts built like reservoirs
Words built like dams
Thoughts built like juggernauts
Our actions built like prams
And when the wind blows into our face
We should be warmer and not colder
Well, what price the charges
On this cargo that we shoulder
We could be ex-husband
We could be ex-wife
But no-one looks at the menu in a greasy spoon life
Alone, alone
Half an hour is seven hours
One day is several months
Alone, alone
A month is a calendar
A year can be a decade spent
Alone
And we only smoke when bored
So we do two packs a day
And we've lost the difference
Between bored and lonely anyway
The Beautiful South's song Alone is a melancholic reflection on life, and the sense of loneliness that can creep up on us no matter where we are or who we're with. The lyrics use everyday objects and events to express a deeper sense of dissatisfaction with our lives and a sense of longing for something more.
The first verse begins with a metaphor comparing the contents of a woman's handbag to the vagueness of our paths in life. Like the objects in the bag, we accumulate experiences and memories without really knowing why they're there or where they will take us. People ask us where we're heading, but we have no answer other than "anywhere". The chorus reinforces this sense of isolation, with half an hour feeling like seven hours and one day feeling like several months. The feeling of loneliness is all-encompassing, with even a year feeling like a decade spent alone.
The second verse continues with the theme of missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential. Like stories that no one planned or thought of, we could have ruled the world and "been a man", but we didn't. The lyrics suggest that we are too vague and too unassertive to take control of our lives and achieve great things. The third verse takes a more somber turn, reflecting on the empty feeling of being alone, even when we're in a crowded place like an airport. We used to feel like chorus girls, but now we feel like whores - used up, and alone.
Overall, the song paints a picture of a life that may appear busy and full, but is ultimately lacking in meaning and purpose. Despite our best efforts, we feel lost and aimless, never quite sure what we're searching for or where our journey is taking us. Through its use of metaphor and vivid imagery, Alone captures the sense of disconnection and loneliness that many of us feel at some point in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Like the contents of your handbag, You don't know why it's there
We have things in our lives that we don't understand, and some things happen without us realizing how or why.
People ask you where you're heading, You just answer 'anywhere'
We don't always have a clear direction or a plan, and sometimes we just go with the flow.
We don't mean to be this vague, It just happens that we are
Our lack of clarity is not intentional, but rather a characteristic of how we naturally are.
No-one asked us to elaborate, We just shrug our shoulders and be
We often don't feel the pressure or the need to explain ourselves or our actions to others.
And like the stories that just happened, No-one thought of, no-one planned
Sometimes the best things in life come unexpectedly, without any deliberate effort.
We could have ruled, we could have conquered, Then we could have been a man
We often feel like we missed opportunities or didn't live up to our full potential, feeling regretful about what could have been.
We could be ex-husband, We could be ex-wife, But no-one looks at the menu in a greasy spoon life
Our lives are often mundane and ignored by others, and we feel forgotten or unimportant.
Alone, alone, Half an hour is seven hours, One day is several months, Alone, alone, A month is a calendar, A year can be a decade spent, Alone
When we feel alone, time seems to stretch out and become excruciatingly slow, and we have to endure long periods of loneliness and isolation.
He knows 'hello' in eighteen languages, 'I love you' in only one, By the time he's got his phrase-book, The chance is usually gone
We often miss our chances or fail to connect with others, and our attempts to communicate can be futile or too little too late.
We always took the lead, Before we actually knew the plot
We tend to jump into things headfirst without fully understanding what we're getting into, and we take charge without considering the consequences.
And you can tell where we've been shopping, By the bags beneath our eyes, Make-up shoulders burden, But the smile never lies
Our exhaustion and stress are apparent in our appearance and body language, but we maintain a facade of happiness and strength.
So empty at the airport, You don't set off the doors, We used to feel like chorus girls, And now we feel like whores
Our confidence and self-worth have diminished over time, and we feel powerless and insignificant.
Hearts built like reservoirs, Words built like dams, Thoughts built like juggernauts, Our actions built like prams
We have a lot of emotions and ideas that we keep bottled up inside, and we struggle to express ourselves or take meaningful action.
And when the wind blows into our face, We should be warmer and not colder, Well, what price the charges, On this cargo that we shoulder
We encounter difficulties and hardships in life that we're not always prepared for, and we carry heavy burdens that take a toll on us.
And we only smoke when bored, So we do two packs a day, And we've lost the difference, Between bored and lonely anyway
We engage in self-destructive habits out of boredom or loneliness, and we struggle to differentiate between the two feelings.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVE ROTHERAY, PAUL HEATON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tessa Hosking
"Like the contents of your handbag you don't know why it's there" Brilliant... this is one of their best! Cynical, witty and brilliant!
Derfenderofpiece
Excellent upload. I never feel more classy or soaked in film noir than I do with this song. Thank you.
Mike Sinclair
One of their best. Alone... One day is several months. A month is a calendar, a year can be a decade spent Alone
Sergio Sergio
Nowadays there is no nowadays such depth in lyrics
Daniel Jarvis
Only smoke when bored, so we smoke 2 packs a day
Keith Thompson
DO two packs lol