September

Album: It'll All Make Sense in the End (2021)
Charted: 55
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, James Arthur recounts the story of a relationship. He starts with the first time he met his girlfriend.

    I remember when I met you, just before September
    You were dancing in the street, rocking that pink and leather


    Arthur pursued the girl for a year before kissing her for the first time. He recalls falling in love with her after meeting her Irish mother, and the endless wait for the weekends when she would visit him. His feelings for his lover haven't faded since, so the English singer declares he will love her for the rest of his life.
  • James Arthur wrote the song with pop songwriter Wayne Hector, who has penned hits for the likes of Westlife ("Flying Without Wings"), One Direction ("Best Song Ever"), and Olly Murs ("Thinking Of Me").
  • Arthur recorded this tale of a passionate romance for his fourth album, It'll All Make Sense In The End, which he wrote and recorded in his home studio during the COVID lockdown. At the time he was quarantining with his long-term girlfriend, dancer Jessica Grist, who he first started dating during his appearances on the X-Factor show back in 2012. In March 2021, Arthur told The Sun she had inspired much of upcoming record, but two months later the newspaper reported they'd broken up. He released this song, perhaps awkwardly, not long after on June 11, 2021.
  • Red Triangle produced the track. The British songwriting and production duo comprising Rick Parkhouse and George Tizzard also co-produced Arthur's previous single, "Medicine."
  • Filmed in LA, the Bryan Schlam-directed video finds Arthur enduring the trials of dating the daughter of a Mafia family.
  • I remember bein' foolish when I met your mother
    Because she had that Irish charm right then I knew I'd love her


    Arthur's first encounter with his new girlfriend's mum did not go to plan. The X Factor winner was waiting outside her home when he had a crazy idea. "I don't know what I was on at the time, but I drove to this little field near her house started making crop circles in the car. Like, doing donuts in the middle of this field," he recalled to the BBC. "I was a little bit away from the house, so I wasn't trying to draw attention to myself. I just thought she would find it funny."

    Then Arthur got stuck in the mud, so his girlfriend's mother and father arrived to help the push the car. As they tried to move his vehicle out of the sludge, the singer revved the engine and sprayed them full in the face with mud.

    "I was just mortified," he said. "But she's a lovely Irish lady and she was cool about it. In a way it broke the ice. She found out pretty quickly that I was a silly goose."

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