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").
The Last Waltz
The Beautiful South Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
More the realisation that you've let yourself be covered by mould
Age is not something you wrap up if you're feeling the cold
It's a laugh ten times harder at a joke eleven times told
Down to the churchyard, check out the vaults
Dig up the coffins, unscrew the bolts
No better reminder, no strong enough salts
To show this pitiful few that we've missed the last waltz
Don't feel bad if you're feeling past you sell-by date
Like the roller coaster ride slowed down to a serious debate
Oh the weather you tell them you're ready or whether you wait
Does someone place a hand on your shoulder you point the way to the gate
Down to the churchyard, check out the vaults
Dig up the coffins, unscrew the bolts
No better reminder, no strong enough salts
To show this pitiful few that we've missed the last waltz
You don't count the birthdays 'til your out on your own
They come thicker and faster and too damn late to postpone
And wisdom's the last thing the scientists willing to clone
Science advances, maturity dances alone
The Beautiful South's song The Last Waltz is a wistful reflection on the passage of time and the inevitability of aging. The opening lines, "Don't feel bad if you wake up feeling suddenly old, More the realization that you've let yourself be covered by a mold," suggest that aging and feeling old is not a sudden phenomenon but a gradual one, brought on by neglect and inertia. The song acknowledges that age is not something you can wrap up and ignore, but something that demands attention and respect. The line, "It's a laugh ten times harder at a joke eleven times told" suggests that aging brings its own rewards, such as a heightened sense of humor and a deeper appreciation of life's simple pleasures.
The lines, "Down to the churchyard, check out the vaults, Dig up the coffins, unscrew the bolts, No better reminder, no strong enough salts, To show this pitiful few that we've missed the last waltz" are a poignant reminder that time is precious and that we should not waste it on the mundane and insignificant. The metaphor of the last waltz suggests that life is a dance and that we should embrace it whilst we can. The chorus is repeated twice, adding emphasis to the message that we need to seize the moment and enjoy life to the fullest.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't feel bad if you wake up feeling suddenly old
Don't feel bad if you suddenly realize that you're getting old.
More the realisation that you've let yourself be covered by mould
It's the realization that you've let yourself become too comfortable in life and need to change.
Age is not something you wrap up if you're feeling the cold
Getting older doesn't mean you have to give up on life or excitement just because you're feeling a bit colder or slower.
It's a laugh ten times harder at a joke eleven times told
Life is about enjoying the small things, even if you've heard the same joke a million times, just laugh harder.
Down to the churchyard, check out the vaults
Go to the cemetery and look at the graves.
Dig up the coffins, unscrew the bolts
Open up the graves and see what's inside.
No better reminder, no strong enough salts
Nothing is a better reminder of mortality, and nothing will make you face death more than this.
To show this pitiful few that we've missed the last waltz
We should be reminding ourselves of death to enjoy life more fully, not to wallow in sadness.
Don't feel bad if you're feeling past you sell-by date
Don't be upset if you feel like you've passed your prime or are no longer in your prime.
Like the roller coaster ride slowed down to a serious debate
Life slows down as you get older, but there's still important things to think about and discuss.
Oh the weather you tell them you're ready or whether you wait
Whether you're prepared or not, the end will come.
Does someone place a hand on your shoulder you point the way to the gate
When someone dies, we must point them in the direction of the afterlife.
You don't count the birthdays 'til your out on your own
You don't really start aging until you're on your own and responsible for your own life.
They come thicker and faster and too damn late to postpone
Birthdays come more frequently as you get older, and you can't put off aging.
And wisdom's the last thing the scientists willing to clone
Wisdom is something that can't be replicated or cloned by science.
Science advances, maturity dances alone
Science may advance, but maturity is a journey that we all take alone.
Contributed by Emily W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.