James Newman was due to represent the United Kingdom at Eurovision 2020 with “My Last Breath”.
Scroll down for the “My Last Breath” lyrics
The United Kingdom in Eurovision 2020: James Newman “My Last Breath”
“My Last Breath” is a mid-tempo track about fighting through the difficult times to keep love alive. James, whose sound leans acoustic, was chosen through a collaboration between the BBC and record label BMG.
In September 2019, the BBC confirmed it was ditching its national final Eurovision: You Decide and turning to an internal selection instead. At the time of the announcement, the BBC said that BMG shared the vision of “selecting a song with broad international appeal and securing an artist who embodies the spirit and values of the Eurovision Song Contest.”
We first heard Grammy-nominee James’s effort in a strange leak via Czech radio. The breezy track with a memorable hook speaks of giving everything you have for the person you love. Would this have improved the UK’s fortunes after a last-place finish in Tel Aviv?
For the music video, James managed to get his icon Wim Hof to partake. Wim is a famous Dutch extreme athlete. He’s known as The Iceman due to his extraordinary techniques involving freezing temperatures. He has worked with tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki, teaching his philosophy and methods.
What do the “My Last Breath” lyrics mean?
“My Last Breath” is a romantic song, about holding onto the love shared between the protagonists of the song. The idea of giving everything you have is presented as a metaphor about deep-sea divers. In a desperate situation, James is saying he’d give his last breath deep in the ocean – or every piece of effort and love in the relationship.
Upon the song’s release, James revealed that it was written in Scotland when he was staying near a loch with fellow songwriters Ed Drewett, Iain James and Adam Argyle.
“We were jumping in the loch every morning. This was January. It was freezing”, he says.
The track was inspired by a documentary James saw about a diver in the North Sea. The man had to be saved after getting cut off from the rest of his crew. “It got us thinking about what you would for other people.”
“My Last Breath” lyrics — James Newman (UK ESC 2019)
Written and Composed by: James Newman, Adam Argyle, Ed Drewett and Iain James
Iain James is best known for writing the Azerbaijan’s Eurovision 2011 winning entry “Running Scared” by Ell and Nikki. James himself wrote Brendan Murray’s song “Dying To Try” for Ireland in 2017. Away from Eurovision though, between them they have many success stories. This includes James’ two Grammy nominations and Brit Award win.
This success has largely come from collaborations with artists such as Calvin Harris, Little Mix and Rudimental. Not to mention, the work he’s written for his brother, John – a soul-pop singer with several chart successes.
English text
Some people let go
Some people let love slip away
But I’m gonna hold on
When no one believes I’ll keep the faith
And I know that we’re in trouble
But I swear that we’ll survive
If we were deep sea divers
And no one came to find us
If you had nothing left
I’d give you my last breath
I’d give you my last breath
We all need a lifeline
Someone to call when we’re alone
It’s all good in the good times
But I’ll still be there when it all goes wrong, yes I will
If we were deep sea divers
And no one came to find us
If you had nothing left
I’d give you my last breath
I’d give you my last breath
And I know that we’re in trouble,
But I swear that we’ll survive
If we were deep sea divers
And no one came to find us
If you had nothing left
I’d give you my last breath
I’d give you my last breath
I’d give you my last breath
What do you think of “My Last Breath”? Would you have voted for the United Kingdom at Eurovision 2020? Let us know in the comments below!
Great video, an ok song, not a winner though
Don’t like it
I find the lyrics in this song unexpectedly emotional, especially the chorus. The concept of deep sea divers is unique and it accurately reflects the intense love that you can feel for someone. Well done James! As a side note, I must say I’m getting slightly annoyed at the Wiwibloggs writers for assuming every song is about romantic relationships (the same happened with Romania). The artists themselves are not giving that narrow an interpretation and I think it negatively detracts from the universality of the songs. Please be a bit more open-minded in your depictions of what the lyrics are… Read more »
I enjoyed this song, but I doubt it have stood out in a typical final (unless maybe is had strong staging). A bit too similar to Bigger Than Us. it’s not really a competition song. Maybe if it was late in the running order and came across as refreshingly simple.
I really can’t tell if they’ll let James try again next year, so far it sounds like no. I’m trusting that BMG will still be involved, and the same songwriting team and make something more unique. I’m positive!
There’s much worse 2020 songs, but I think there was a huge possibility for this to come last. It’s there, it doesn’t hurt, nobody minds it, but who is excited about it? Maybe the juries would have pulled it up to like 22nd.
Hate to say it but I have to agree with you. Too bland to be outstanding. Probably a let off for the UK. At least we can say we didn’t come last.