James Blunt Reveals the True Meaning Behind His Hit Song as It Turns 20

Published: May 30, 2025

James Blunt is celebrating a major milestone - the 20th anniversary of his hit song "You're Beautiful". The singer took to social media to express his gratitude to his fans, saying "20 years ago today, I released a song that bought me this house. Whoever thought a song about being high as a kite on drugs, stalking someone else's girlfriend would resonate quite so much? Thank you. You guys are beautiful."

The song, which was released on May 30, 2005, became a huge hit, reaching number one in 10 countries. Blunt has never revealed who the song is about, but rumors have circulated that it's about Dixie Chassay, a casting team member for Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban.

In a 2020 essay for The Guardian, Blunt revealed that the song was inspired by a chance encounter with an ex-girlfriend on the London underground. "One day I was on the underground in London and saw an ex-girlfriend with her new boyfriend. Our eyes met, but we just walked past each other, and I went home and wrote the words to 'You're Beautiful' in two minutes."

Blunt also shared that the song was initially met with hesitation from his record label, with them asking him to remove the lyrics "f------ high" from the song. He eventually compromised by singing "flying high" on the radio edit, but left the original lyrics intact.

Looking back on the song's success, Blunt admitted that he was initially scared by its massive popularity. "I thought I'd just be a musician putting out music. The song became so ubiquitous that it started to irritate people, but I'm still proud of it and I love my job."

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