Virginia Astley was born in Garston, Hertfordshire, England. Virginia began learning piano at the age of six and flute at 14. After leaving school, she studied at the Guildhall School Of Music. Her first professional appearance in public was as a busker outside South Kensington tube station. In 1980, she auditioned for a new band from Clapham, the Victims of Pleasure. Astley, playing keyboards, worked with them for a short while playing in clubs and pubs around London. The band released three singles between 1980 and 1982 before splitting up.
Afterward, Astley wrote, arranged and performed music with Skids frontman Richard Jobson for the album The Ballad Of Etiquette. Their collaboration continued when Jobson moved to Belgian label Les Disques Du Crépuscule, and Astley contributed to the Crépuscule compilation The Fruit of the Original Sin. She also contributed as part of The Dream Makers (in collaboration with filmmaker Jean Paul Goude) for a cover version of "La Chanson d'Helene" (Helen's Song), showcasing an early example of her distinctive vocal style.
It was during this early period that Astley started to give serious consideration to releasing her own material; however, nothing immediately came of these plans. Then in 1981, she signed to the small UK label Why-Fi and recorded a series of songs. A school friend, Jo Wells (Kissing the Pink) and a university friend Nicky Holland both contributed as did Tony Butler, Mark Brzezicki and Peter Hope-Evans. Astley then received an offer from another Why-Fi artist, Troy Tate, for a supporting band position with The Teardrop Explodes. In the 1990s, finding that her musical style was popular in Japan, she went on to collaborate with Asian artists.
Charm
Virginia Astley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was all worked out
When all the lessons were learnt
Mistakes were all paid for
Just when you thought
That the time was right
For your great love
All of your breath away
And charm difused his charm
Upon your body
Magic had put lightness
Into your heart once again
Just when you thought
It was all worked out
When all the lessons were learnt
Mistakes were all paid for
Just when you thought
That the time was right
For your great love
Someone arrived who stole
All of your breath away
And charm difused his charm
Upon your body
Magic had put lightness
Into your heart once again
A false love bred
Which was always deceitful
It's not the first time
That lies were sworn as truth
Time will heal all things
Pain will fade away
Someone arrived who stole
All of your breath away
And charm difused his charm
Upon your body
Magic had put lightness
Into your heart once again
Someone arrived who stole
All of your breath away
And charm difused his charm
Upon your body
Magic had put lightness
Into your heart once again.
The song Charm by Virginia Astley speaks about the unpredictability of love and how it can suddenly come into one’s life unexpectedly. The lyrics reflect the feelings of a person who has gone through various challenges in love, has learned from their mistakes, and feels that their life is finally sorted. However, just when they thought that they had everything figured out, someone comes along and steals their heart away, bringing back the magic and lightness into their life.
The lyrics also talk about the deceptive nature of love, where false love can breed and cause pain. While time can heal all wounds, the arrival of the right person who possesses genuine charm can make all the difference, as their charming presence can bring a sense of happiness and joy.
Overall, the song emphasizes the importance of being open to love and acknowledging its magical qualities, even after experiencing heartbreak and betrayal. It reminds us that a genuine connection with someone can bring back the magic and lightness into our hearts, despite past experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Just when you thought
Right when you believed everything was in order
It was all worked out
Everything was resolved
When all the lessons were learnt
After all the struggles, you knew what to do
Mistakes were all paid for
You had overcome your past errors
Just when you thought
Right when you believed everything was in order
That the time was right
The moment was perfect
For your great love
To experience an amazing romance
Someone arrived who stole
Then someone special came into your life
All of your breath away
Who took your breath away
And charm difused his charm
This person's charm enveloped you
Upon your body
And its effects could be felt within you
Magic had put lightness
The power of love brought happiness
Into your heart once again
And your emotions were rekindled
A false love bred
However, a deceptive love blossomed
Which was always deceitful
This relationship was never honest
It's not the first time
This isn't the first time
That lies were sworn as truth
Lies were presented as facts before
Time will heal all things
Time can fix anything
Pain will fade away
Hurt will eventually disappear
Someone arrived who stole
Then someone special came into your life
All of your breath away
Who took your breath away
And charm difused his charm
This person's charm enveloped you
Upon your body
And its effects could be felt within you
Magic had put lightness
The power of love brought happiness
Into your heart once again
And your emotions were rekindled
Writer(s): Virginia Alice Astley
Contributed by Peyton E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Robert Stirewalt
The thunkish bass. What a Masterpiece. Ryuichi Sakamoto and her father. Who was a master orchestrator.
Peter
You are so right about about that. And to think so few views and comments. I actually came across a website recently that mentioned this track and I was gob smacked after it said this track was not one of her strong ones. Really? This track was not commercially successful which is hardly surprising given what most people "like." And I understand she had a bigger fan base in Japan. Some trivia, her song "Charm" was used to advertise the car Honda Accord in Jaoan, which may explain her increased popularity there as her exposure would have been greater than back home.
Robert Stirewalt
This is one of the greatest albums of all time.
Peter
Had a part recording of this on a tape from 1988. Recorded a show from 2JJJ in Sydney Australia on the final show called "Ship Building For Pleasure" hosted by Graham Bartlett. This was one of many gems the host played that night. Lost half of the 2hr show unfortunately when i taped something over some of it a few years later. Still have half the show and strangely, more precious than ever now. Played it on a crappy tape recorder a few months ago and brought back memories. So happy to find the song here recently in its entirety and quality recording. What a beautiful, divine song. That heavenly choir-like voice or hers. It's criminal so few comments and views. As they say, quality and quantity aren't always synonymous. One of life's paradoxes and ironies...
Also you often don't know the true value of something, until it's gone.
Robert Stirewalt
Magic had put lightness into your heart once again. Well, we can hope that happens. Beautiful song.
t s
懐かしい‼
Gabriel P. Rosa
Primeiro e único comentário para já 🙃