Sunday 4 October 2009

I don't believe in miracles

Colin BlunstoneColin Blunstone via last.fm

Yes, it has been a while, hasn't it.

I remember I was aware of Rod Argent (Hold Your Head Up, very prog-rock) before I ever heard of Colin Blunstone, his band's vocalist by that time, whose version of Russ Ballard's song I don't Believe in Miracles put Argent out of our minds forever. biggest hit.

Blunstone had, and may well still have, one of the most beautiful male voices in rock music. As a man, as a former vocalist, as a singer still, I can only dream of singing like this. He is, I suppose, a lyric tenor. I think singing the way he does, on a song like this, he reaches far beyond what most operatic tenors ever get to sing.

The lyrics themselves are not much to write home about. The first two lines could hardly be more mundane:
I walk along the road and past your door
Then I remember things you said
The story is a very ordinary one. What matters is what he makes of it. While making it clear she's vanished without trace, he's in no doubt it's because she's no good:
I don't believe in miracles
But I thought you might show your face
Or have the grace to tell me where you are
He then goes on to explain how manipulative she is:
I believe I was your game, your ball (your ball)
If you tossed me up then I would fall
And so you've won again, ah, you win them all
Before making it clear that he's the victim, a knowing victim, and a willing victim after all:
But I believe I'd run to you, if you should call
That is, of you do the research, an unexpectedly common sentiment in pop songs -- much more common, in my experience (though these things are tinted by our own life-experiences) that the view that the victim was somehow a dupe.

That ambivalence continues in the next verse:
I believe that somewhere there's someone
Who's gonna light the way when things go wrong
The bullet that shot me down came from your gun
The words that turned me round were from your song
And that's all. He was treated bad, got dumped, would go back in a heartbeat. I think a lot more pop sings than you think would fit that description.

Here are the full lyrics:
I walk along the road and past your door
Then I remember things you said
I know in time we could've been so much more
But if you wanna come back home, go right ahead

But I don't believe in miracles
I don't believe in miracles
But I thought you might show your face
Or have the grace to tell me where you are

I believe I was your game, your ball (your ball)
If you tossed me up then I would fall
And so you've won again, ah, you win them all
But I believe I'd run to you, if you should call

But I don't believe in miracles (don't believe in miracles)
I don't believe in miracles (don't believe in miracles)
But I thought you might show your face
Or have the grace to tell me where you are (tell me where you are)

I believe that somewhere there's someone
Who's gonna light the way when things go wrong
The bullet that shot me down came from your gun
The words that turned me round were from your song

But I don't believe in miracles (don't believe in miracles)
I don't believe in miracles (don't believe in miracles)
But I thought you might show your face
Or have the grace to tell me where you are (tell me where you are)

But I don't believe in miracles (don't believe in miracles)
I don't believe in miracles (don't believe in miracles)
But I thought you might show your face
Or have the grace to tell me where you are
And the video performance:



It appears Argent and Blunstone are still touring to the faithful. They were once at the top of the pile, and one of them -- Blunstone -- has an unusual talent. You can see the band's performance of their most well-known song here, on the incomparable Old Grey Whistle Test from 1973. The singer here is Russ Ballard, composer of I don't believe, and no mean singer in his own right. So much more of a compliment to Blunstone that he was allowed to sing Ballard's classic.


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