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").
This Will Be Our Year
The Beautiful South Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like the warmth from the sun
And this will be our year
Took a long time to come...
Don't let go of my hand
Now the darkness has gone
This will be our year
And I won't forget
The way you helped me up when I was down
And I won't forget
The way you said "darling, I love you"
You gave me faith to go on
Now we're there
And we've only just begun
This will be our year
Took a long time to come...
The warmth of your smile
Smile for me, little one
And this will be our year
Took a long time to come...
You don't have to worry
All your worried days are gone
This will be our year
Took a long time to come...
And I won't forget
The way you helped me up when I was down
And I won't forget
The way you said "darling, I love you"
You gave me faith to go on
Now we're there
We've only just begun
This will be our year
Took a long time to come...
And this will be our year
Took a long time to come...
The Beautiful South's song "This Will Be Our Year" is a sweet, romantic ballad that is all about finally finding love after a long and difficult search. The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song, equating the warmth of the singer's lover's love with the warmth of the sun: "The warmth of your love's / Like the warmth from the sun / And this will be our year / Took a long time to come..." This metaphor sets up the idea that the love between these two people is all-encompassing and life-giving, much like the warmth of the sun.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the happiness and relief that the singer feels at finally finding someone who makes them feel loved and supported: "Don't let go of my hand / Now the darkness has gone / This will be our year / Took a long time to come..." The darkness is likely a reference to the singer's difficult past, which they have finally moved beyond thanks to the love of their current partner.
Later in the song, the singer expresses their gratitude for their partner, saying "And I won't forget / The way you helped me up when I was down / And I won't forget / The way you said 'darling, I love you' / You gave me faith to go on." These lines highlight the way that love and support can help us through life's difficulties and give us the strength to keep going even when things are tough.
Line by Line Meaning
The warmth of your love's
Comparing the feeling of warmth from their lover's love to that of the sun
Like the warmth from the sun
Saying their lover's love is as warm as the sun
And this will be our year
Expressing hope that this will be a good year for their relationship
Took a long time to come...
Acknowledging that it's taken awhile for things to start looking up
Don't let go of my hand
Asking for their partner's support and reassurance
Now the darkness has gone
Referring to a difficult period they've now moved past
And I won't forget
Promising to remember an important moment
The way you helped me up when I was down
Recalling a time when their partner supported them through a tough time
And the way you said 'darling, I love you'
Remembering when their partner expressed their love to them
You gave me faith to go on
Their partner's love and support gave them hope for the future
Now we're there
They've arrived at a point they've been working towards
And we've only just begun
Implying there's much more to come in their relationship
The warmth of your smile
Describing the way their lover's smile makes them feel
Smile for me, little one
Asking their lover to smile and bring them happiness
You don't have to worry
Telling their partner they don't need to be anxious or concerned
All your worried days are gone
Assuring their partner that things are better now and they don't need to worry anymore
And this will be our year
Reiterating the hope that this year will bring good things for their relationship
Took a long time to come...
Repeating the idea that it's taken awhile for things to start looking up
And this will be our year
Ending on a positive note, reaffirming that this will be their year
Took a long time to come...
Repeating the idea that they've been waiting for good things to come for awhile
Contributed by John L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.