James Blunt on how a visit to Carrie Fisher’s house inspired new tribute song to her
James Blunt has revealed that a visit to the late Carrie Fisher’s house inspired his song ‘Dark Thought’ from his latest LP.
The track is featured on Blunt’s seventh studio album ‘Who We Used To Be’. The singer shared in his new memoir, Loosely Based on a Made-Up Story, that the Star Wars icon was a formative figure in his life. Prior to gaining fame, Fisher put Blunt up in her L.A. compound, where he recorded his hit ballad ‘Goodbye My Lover’ in her bathroom.
Blunt explained that ‘Dark Thought’ describes the moment he returned to that house after Fisher’s death. She passed away in December 2016 at the age of 60.
Speaking about the creation of ‘Dark Thought’ as part of NME‘s In Conversation series, Blunt said: “It must be about seven years since she died, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s taken me all of that time to write a song for her. As a songwriter, the most honest song is normally the easiest to write because it just flows out of you. But I’ve been overthinking this song for so many years because she’s just such an incredible human being.”
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He continued: “And so what I did with the song is I just described the moment I went back looking for her after her death. I went back to her house on a whim, drove up to her gate, and put my hand on it just to feel a little bit of her there. And I wrote the song about that moment.”
“Ironically, as I did that and shed a tear, an open-top van full of tourists pulled up outside the house,” he said. “And the tour guide said: ‘On your left, you’ll see the late, great Carrie Fisher’s house. And as you can see, some fans are still deeply moved by her passing.’ And that was me.”
He also recently shed light on his experience living with the actress in Los Angeles.
“I was invited to the restaurant 192 in Notting Hill. I was going out with a girl whose parents were family friends of Carrie’s and I sat beside her at lunch,” he told The Guardian. “I had just got a record deal and was moving to LA. Carrie’s first question was: ‘What do you do?’ I said: ‘I’ve left the army to go to make an album in LA.’ Question number two was: ‘Where are you going to live?’ I said I didn’t know. Her reply – the third thing she ever said to me – was: ‘Well, you’re going to live with me.’ So I did just that.
He continued: “For the first month, I didn’t see her. I’d get up and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, would shout: ‘Hey Charlie – you wanna drink?’ and I’d say: ‘No, I’m James, thanks very much,” then head to the studio. A month later, I started to see Carrie more. I came home one night and sat on the end of her bed and we talked until morning. After that, whenever I got back from the studio I’d go into her room to talk, no matter if it was 11pm or 3am. She became my best, best friend.”
In other news, the singer finally received his NME Award for Worst Album after years of asking for it.
The singer-songwriter was awarded the accolade in 2006 for his debut album ‘Back To Bedlam’ and despite previously asking for his gong, until now he has never received it.
In a new interview with NME, he again complained that he had never received it before he was then surprised with the gong.
“No way, Oh my God,” he says. “I’m so thrilled, I’m so thrilled. That’s the best thing ever. Really, genuinely…I’m deeply, deeply touched. Thank you so much. That’s going beside every other award in the world and probably be the one I’m most proud of. NME thank you so much.”
