Phoenix Lyrics
Let me, let me begin
Let me begin with an I owe you
Who I owe everything to
Lately, lately my friend
Lately, you think I'm ignoring you
But I've been trying to pull through
[Pre-Chorus]
All of the pain, I know you're looking down, down on me
I could have been someone
I hurt everyone
Pushed away everyone who got near
[Chorus]
Tell me, something that I don't know
I couldn't let you go
Fell on my knees
Turned my face to the rain
That's when you heard my call
Sold me my stubborn soul
Phoenix is rising, it's rising again
Oo, oo, oo
Woah, oo, oo
Woah, oo, oo
Save me, save me again
Save me the way that you did before
Cause no one ever could have loved me more
Give me, give me the strength
Give me the strength when I need it more
Give me the reason that I'm looking for
[Pre-Chorus]
I was a pain, they were looking down, down on me
I could have been someone
I hurt everyone
Pushed away everyone that was near
[Chorus]
Tell me, something that I don't know
I couldn't let you go
Fell on my knees
Turned my face to the rain
That's when you heard my call
Sold me my stubborn soul
The phoenix is rising, it's rising again
Oo, oo, oo
Woah, oo, oo
Woah, oo, oo
Rising, woah, oo, oo
It's rising, woah, oo, oo
It's rising, woah, oo, oo
You took the pain
When my world caved down on me
Now I have someone
Cause you came and you showed me the world
[Chorus]
Tell me, something that I don't know
I couldn't let you go (I couldn't let)
Fell on my knees (on my knees)
Turned my face to the rain
That's when you heard my call
Sold me my stubborn soul (you sold me my soul)
Phoenix is rising, it's rising again (phoenix is rising)
Tell me, something that I don't know
I couldn't let you go
Fell on my knees
Turned my face to the rain
That's when you heard my call
Sold me my stubborn soul
Phoenix is rising
About
“Phoenix” offers some insight into James Arthur’s past with regards to recovering from drug addiction and continues the theme of finding a way out of dark times on the 2016 album Back From The Edge.
The lyrical content of this song is directly juxtaposed by the fun-loving nature of the song which precedes it on the album, “Sober”, allowing the audience to understand that, while there are some high point in life, the struggling with mental health and addiction is a continuous process.
“Phoenix” describes what the drugs did for him and about his rebirth through recovery from drug addiction.
The idea of rebirth is expressed through the title of the song. A phoenix is a mythical bird which lived for centuries at a time; they burned themselves and were reborn from their ashes, youthful and able to continue their life cycle again. This concept can be applied to James making his comeback from ‘burning himself out’ due to his past mistakes.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
In an track-by-track interview, James Arthur states the following about “Phoenix”
Well with “Phoenix” I was drawing upon D'Angelo influences and other soulful influences. I was listening to a lot of Miguel during the album process and he inspires me a lot, I think his music is phenomenal and I just tried to give my interpretation of that style of music. From trying to do something like that came one of the best songs, lyrically, I think. It’s just a really sick song if I’m honest.
- 3.Prisoner
- 4.Can I Be Him
- 5.I Am
- 6.Train Wreck
- 7.Safe Inside
- 8.Sober
- 9.Phoenix
- 11.Sermon
- 13.Finally
- 14.The Truth
- 15.Skeletons
- 16.If Only
