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").
Have You Ever Been Away
The Beautiful South Lyrics
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'Cause if there's one thing we can guarantee is you will not he there
Tidying your room, making up your bed
And if your diary's full that week you'll send us lot instead
Send us lot instead, put a poppy by my lovers bed
We believe you when you say you've hurt your back
Where were you when we took Calais?
You don 't know, you don't care
You 're just glad that you wasn't there
Have you ever been away
I'm afraid your Rule Britannia mania doesn't ring so true
If I was captain of the waves I'd turn the gun on you
Any last requests before you join dead?
I'll crap into your Union Jack and wrap it round your head
Wrap it round your head, take a look at all the blood we've shed
We'll believe you when you say it was worth it
Liberate the streets of Europe, give our kids a chance
Give them Beaujolais by tap and cheap day trips to France
But you have never seen or smelt this ungodly death
It's like the stench of roasted lamb upon your father's breath
The Beautiful South's song "Have You Ever Been Away" is a satirical commentary on the hypocrisy of politicians and their slogans during wars. The lyrics express disgust towards the empty promises of politicians, especially those who give speeches about fighting in wars yet never risk their own lives on the battlefield. The opening line of the song, "Your 'fight them on the beaches' speeches make me despair," specifically references Winston Churchill's famous World War II speech. The singer doesn't believe the politicians' promises because they know that the politicians will not actually be there to fight alongside their countrymen. The lyrics go on to insult politicians by suggesting that if they are too busy with personal tasks, they will send "us lot instead" to fight for them.
The song also mocks the notion of patriotism, especially when wars are fought for questionable reasons. The line "I'm afraid your Rule Britannia mania doesn't ring so true" implies that the idea of British superiority is not as believable as it once was. The chorus inquires, "Have you ever been away? Where were you when we took Calais?" The rhetorical question challenges the notion of patriotism by suggesting that those who make nationalistic claims are often removed from the actual events they are claiming to champion. The line "I'll crap into your Union Jack and wrap it round your head" drives home the point that patriotism can be taken to an extreme to the point of absurdity.
The final verse dismisses the politicians' slogans and paints a graphic picture of the reality of war. The lyrics call the politicians out, stating that they have never "smelt this ungodly death." The song highlights the absurdity of politicians calling for war without truly understanding the horrors that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Your 'fight them on the beaches' speeches make me despair
I feel hopeless when I hear your speeches about fighting on the beaches
'Cause if there's one thing we can guarantee is you will not he there
We can definitely expect that you will not be there if there's a fight
Tidying your room, making up your bed
You're busy sorting out your personal things instead of contributing to the cause
And if your diary's full that week you'll send us lot instead
If you're busy that week, you'll send us to fight in your place
Send us lot instead, put a poppy by my lovers bed
You'll send us to fight while you stay home and pay lip service to our cause
We believe you when you say you've hurt your back
We don't believe that you're genuinely injured
Have you ever been away
Have you ever gone out to fight for your country?
Where were you when we took Calais?
Where were you when our troops captured Calais?
You don 't know, you don't care
You have no idea and no concern about what's happening on the front lines
You 're just glad that you wasn't there
You're happy that you weren't personally involved in the fighting
I'm afraid your Rule Britannia mania doesn't ring so true
Your jingoistic patriotism is not authentic
If I was captain of the waves I'd turn the gun on you
If I were in charge, I would use force against you instead of our enemies
Any last requests before you join dead?
Do you have any final wishes before you die?
I'll crap into your Union Jack and wrap it round your head
I will insult your country by defiling its flag
Wrap it round your head, take a look at all the blood we've shed
Look at all the lives lost in the name of patriotism
We'll believe you when you say it was worth it
We don't actually believe that the loss of life was worth any gain
Liberate the streets of Europe, give our kids a chance
We want to free Europe and give our children a better future
Give them Beaujolais by tap and cheap day trips to France
We want to provide our children with material prosperity and opportunities to travel
But you have never seen or smelt this ungodly death
You have no idea what it's like to face the horrors of war
It's like the stench of roasted lamb upon your father's breath
The smell of death is so all-encompassing that it touches every aspect of life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVE ROTHERAY, PAUL HEATON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind