For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday Jim has set us the task of playing something which was a top forty hit this year: you can read about it in his post Music Charts. As a rule, I take very little interest in the singles charts, and haven’t really paid much attention to them since around the mid 70s, but there is one guy I like who has had four hits this year, two of which reached #1. I’ve played one of them before – and built a post around it – but I haven’t played the other, so that seemed like a good way to meet the challenge. Here is that song:

Lewis Capaldi specialises in heartbreaking songs and videos, and this was no exception. The song is actually a collaborative effort, and its lyrics are:

I bring her coffee in the morning
She brings me inner peace
I take her out to fancy restaurants
She takes the sadness out of me
I make her cards on her birthday
She makes me a better man
I take her water when she’s thirsty
She takes me as I am

I love it when her mind wanders
And she loves it when I stay at home
I know when she’s lost and she knows when I feel alone

From all my airs and graces
To the little things I do
Everything is pointless without you
Of all the dreams I’m chasing
There’s only one I choose
Everything is pointless without you

I light the fire when it’s cold out
And she lights up the room
I hope that she’ll love me forever
She hopes I’ll be back soon
I take her out to the movies
She takes away my pain
She is the start of everything
And I’ll be there ’til the end

I love when she laughs for no reason
And her love’s the reason I’m here
She knows when I’m hurt and I know when she’s feeling scared, mm

From all my airs and graces
To the little things I do
Everything is pointless without you
Of all the dreams I’m chasing
There’s only one I choose
Everything is pointless without you

I’ll wait for you
I’ll wait for you
You’ll wait for me too
I’ll wait for you
I’ll wait for you
You’ll wait for me too

From all my airs and graces
To the little things I do
Everything is pointless without you
Of all the dreams I’m chasing
There’s only one I choose
Everything is pointless without you

Everything is pointless without you

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Steve Mac / Ed Sheeran / Johnny Mcdaid / Lewis Capaldi

Pointless lyrics © Sony/atv Songs Llc, Rokstone Music, Bmg Gold Songs

Spot the name ‘Ed Sheeran’ in there? Lewis knows who to write songs with! Pointless is a track on his second album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, which was released in May of this year, and reached #1 here and #14 in the US. The song was released as a single ahead of the album, in December 2022, and reached #1 in the UK Singles chart on 13 January this year. It was his fourth UK #1, but wasn’t a hit in the US – his albums have sold well over there, less so his singles. I think that’s your loss, guys! The video, like he usually does, tells a story: in this case, it is about a single mum struggling to bring up her little boy, and the bond that stays with them into his adulthood. I think it is lovely, and perhaps I should have warned you to have a hankie ready before I played it.

I couldn’t really leave it there for this post. His other UK #1 of this year – which also wasn’t a hit in the US – is the one about which I have written before, here. But it is just so very good that I think it deserves another airing. Hankies at the ready:

Wish You The Best was released as a single in April 2023, and became Lewis’ fifth UK #1 in the week it came out. Again, it is a beautiful song and is accompanied by a wonderful video telling a lovely story. A couple of months after this Lewis starred at Glastonbury, but it didn’t go well for him. He has been diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome, and was struggling with his mental health. He had cancelled several gigs in the run up to Glastonbury, at which he was helped through his songs by the crowd singing along in support, and then cancelled all of his shows that had been scheduled to promote the new album, to protect his mental health. I think he is an extremely talented young man who I hope can come back from that feeling refreshed and stronger. Wikipedia lists a new album being due for release in June 2024, and I hope he can make it: he is too talented not to enjoy further huge success.

As a little bonus, here is another video of him with that second song. It is very different, just him and his guitar, playing the song in the arrivals lounge of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, which is used exclusively by British Airways for global flights. He is helping to bring joy to many:

Don’t you just love him? And do try to find some of his chat show interviews on YouTube: he has a wicked sense of humour.

That’s all for today. I’ll see you again for Tuesday Tunes/Advent Countdown, so until then take care and stay well 😊