Singer/Songwriter/Musician George Michael
This week’s Featured Lyrics are to “Jesus to a Child”, by George Michael. We’re posting lyrics of hit songs so that our songwriters can study them to see how winning songs are constructed. Of course a lot depends on the melody, the rhythm and the artist as to whether or not the song will sell… and whether or not it is in the right place at the right time!
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“Jesus to a Child” is a song by British singer/songwriter George Michael. The song peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Australia, and at number 2 in the mainland European charts. The song has also become George Michael’s highest-direct entry in the American charts. The song is one of George Michael’s best-known songs and was included on the 1996 album Older. It was a melancholy tribute to his lover Anselmo Feleppa.
“Jesus to a Child” was the first of six singles from the album Older. It was Michael’s sixth UK number one, although only the third as an entirely solo performer.
After Michael’s death [this past week], Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of the charity ChildLine, revealed that Michael had secretly donated all of the single’s royalties to the charity. She said “George helped us to reach out to hundreds of thousands of children through his generosity. I met him a couple of times, he approached us, rather than us going cap in hand to him, but it was an intensely personal gift. He didn’t want it to be known or to be part of his image.” She told BBC News that “he really wanted to keep his help secret, it was an intensely personal gift. It meant we could answer more children.”
The song was a melancholy tribute to Michael’s Brazilian lover Anselmo Feleppa, whom he met when performing in Rio de Janeiro in 1991. Feleppa died two years later from an AIDS-related brain hemorrhage. Michael had been unable to write for the next 18 months as a consequence of his grief, but then penned the words to “Jesus to a Child” in little more than an hour, indicating that the time was right to move on with his life. The song is written with a rhythm and harmony that is influenced by the Brazilian bossa nova style.
The exact identity of the song’s subject—and the nature of their relationship—was cause for a certain amount of innuendo at the time, as Michael had not confirmed his homosexuality and did not do so until 1998. Until his death on Christmas Day in 2016, Michael would consistently dedicate the song to Feleppa before performing it live.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_to_a_Child
Lyrics to “Jesus To A Child”
Kindness
In your eyes
I guess
You heard me cry
You smiled at me
Like Jesus to a child
I’m blessed
I know
Heaven sent
And Heaven stole
You smiled at me
Like Jesus to a child
And what have I learned
From all this pain
I thought I’d never feel the same
About anyone
Or anything again
But now I know
When you find love
When you know that it exists
Then the lover that you miss
Will come to you on those cold, cold nights
When you’ve been loved
When you know it holds such bliss
Then the lover that you kissed
Will comfort you when there’s no hope in sight
Sadness
In my eyes
No one guessed
Or no one tried
You smiled at me
Like Jesus to a child
Loveless and cold
With your last breath
You saved my soul
You smiled at me
Like Jesus to a child
And what have I learned
From all these tears
I’ve waited for you all those years
And just when it began
He took you away
But I still say
When you find love
When you know that it exists
Then the lover that you miss
Will come to you on those cold, cold nights
When you’ve been loved
When you know it holds such bliss
Then the lover that you kissed
Will comfort you when there’s no hope in sight
So the words you could not say
I’ll sing them for you
And the love we would have made
I’ll make it for two
For every single memory
Has become a part of me
You will always be
My love
Well I’ve been loved
So I know just what love is
And the lover that I kissed
Is always by my side
Oh the lover I still miss
Was Jesus to a child
Songwriter George Michael
Published by Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
http://www.metrolyrics.com/jesus-to-a-child-lyrics-george-michael.html