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").
One Last Love Song
The Beautiful South Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I went on and left her 'fore I'd made a start
Now I'm moaning the blues like the rest of the charts
Take me back
So I'll cry with a limp
Just get by on a limb
Till these blue eyes of mine they are closed
And farewell my sweet Northern Rose
Give me one last love song
To bring you back, bring you back
Give me one last video, just dressed in black, dressed in black
Give him a chorus and that bit at the end
Where he wails on and on 'bout the loss of a friend
Let him scream loudly 'well this love could mend'
Let it die, let it die
Those bloody great ballads we hated at first
Well I bought them all, now I'm writing worse
Save us from baldness and saving the earth
Take me back
And I'll smile with a limp
And I'll love with a limp
Till the clouds disappear from above
And as the storm moves away all I can say
Is there's a towel on the door for your love
Give me one last love song
To bring you back, bring you back
Give me one last video, just dressed in black, dressed in black
Give him a chorus and that bit at the end
Where he wails on and on 'bout the loss of a friend
Let him scream loudly 'well this love could mend'
Let it die, let it die, let it die
The Beautiful South’s song “One Last Love Song” is a plea for reconciliation, a request for one last chance to convey the love and affection for someone, who has been left behind. The melancholic tune portrays the desire to go back and fix things and regretting the mistake of not giving the relationship a chance to grow. The singer reflects on his past and laments how he ignored his heart’s call and left without expressing his feelings to his love interest.
Through the lyrics, the singer acknowledges his mistakes, and how he now regrets his past decision. The song expresses remorse, longing for another chance, and nostalgia for the relationship that could have been. The chorus “Give me one last love song to bring you back, Give me one last video, just dressed in black” reflects the despair of a soul who wants to hold on to a love that he thinks is worth fighting for.
Overall, The Beautiful South's One Last Love Song evokes sadness, love, and regretfulness in equal measure, as the singer recalls his love that could have been if only he had taken a chance.
Line by Line Meaning
I once had a friend who I loved from my heart
I had a dear friend once that I was emotionally attached to
But I went on and left her 'fore I'd made a start
Unfortunately, I left without starting anything with her
Now I'm moaning the blues like the rest of the charts
Now I'm feeling sorry for myself like all the other sad songs
Take me back
I wish I could go back and make things right
So I'll cry with a limp
I'll cry without much energy
Just get by on a limb
I'll just get through with what I have left
Till these blue eyes of mine they are closed
Until my blue eyes close forever
So here's to an old fashioned peck on the cheek
Here's to a traditional goodbye kiss on the cheek
And farewell my sweet Northern Rose
Goodbye my dear friend from the north
Give me one last love song
Give me a final chance to express my love
To bring you back, bring you back
To bring you back to me
Give me one last video, just dressed in black, dressed in black
Give me one final tribute video with a solemn tone
Give him a chorus and that bit at the end
Give him the typical song structure, including the climax at the end
Where he wails on and on 'bout the loss of a friend
Where he cries and sings about losing a friend
Let him scream loudly 'well this love could mend'
Let him express his belief that love could fix things, even if it's unrealistic
Let it die, let it die
Let the love die and move on
Those bloody great ballads we hated at first
Those annoying heart-wrenching songs we loathed in the beginning
Well I bought them all, now I'm writing worse
Now I'm buying and writing even worse versions of those cheesy ballads
Save us from baldness and saving the earth
Save us from becoming bald and the tiring topic of saving the earth
Take me back
I still wish I could go back in time and fix things
And I'll smile with a limp
I'll try to smile, but it will be weak and forced
And I'll love with a limp
I'll still try to love, but it won't be as passionate
Till the clouds disappear from above
Until the bad times are over
And as the storm moves away all I can say
As the difficult times pass, all I can do is say
Is there's a towel on the door for your love
I'm leaving a towel on the door for you to dry your tears
Let it die, let it die, let it die
Let the love go and move on, no matter how hard it is
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVE ROTHERAY, PAUL HEATON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tracyhartigan1601
Give me one last video to bring back my beloved little brother 💕💕💕💕💕💕
@jacquismith3277
So, so, beautiful. ❤
@awinbisa
Good grief this takes me back to my youth. I remember watching this episode of JH. Loved every minute. Beautiful south and manic street preachers were my two favourite bands. When James dean bradfield came out and sang old red eyes I was hyperventilating.
@stevenbailey9048
Like a good wine gets better with age.
@catgirlKL
Outstanding performance Paul makes singing look effortless and has a great voice and vocal range. The choir brings something more to this already brilliant track.
@michelle88960
I agree. It's also the lyrics of their songs. There's always a story in the songs.
@michelle88960
Beautiful
@captainswoop8722
The trumpet break!!!
@MultiVince95
Monday 31st March 1997
@jamiefoyers2800
Been a while since I heard this track...I like the arrangement on this just a little different from the recorded version.