Bonfire Heart

Album: Moon Landing (2013)
Charted: 4
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Songfacts®:

  • Having been through a number of relationships where the flame eventually burnt out, Blunt sings here of finally meeting a girl whom he believes will keep the fire in his heart alive. "The song is about love, life, fear and hope," said the singer when sending out a link to the song stream to fans that belong to his email list, "and more than anything, you… and me…"

    The single was premiered on BBC Radio 2 on July 29, 2013.
  • Blunt explained the story behind the climax of the music clip. "We shot the video throughout Wyoming and Idaho over two days using real characters," he said, "and the final scene took place in the car park of a bar, where everyone we'd met on the journey would meet up and we planned to film a wrap party. What we didn't know was that in the bar, a wedding was taking place, and when they saw us arrive, the entire wedding piled out and joined us."

    "I played them all 'You're Beautiful' in the car park on my guitar with the bride and groom pushed to the front by the 80-strong crowd," Blunt continued. "Then we lit fires and sparklers, put on 'Bonfire Heart,' and the bride and groom had their first dance to it, which we filmed, and which is now the climax of the video. In fact, it stopped being my promo video, and became their wedding video."
  • Blunt penned the song with OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, who doubles up as a successful songwriter/producer. His credits include Leona Lewis' transatlantic chart-topper "Bleeding Love" and Beyonce's hit single "Halo." The song was composed in Luxembourg and Amsterdam, recorded in the US and Sydney and mixed in Los Angeles. "So you could say the song has already gone global," said Blunt before the track's release.
  • Blunt told Billboard magazine that the song has a simple message that anyone can relate to: "That notion of connection," he explained. "So the lyrics are really simple: People like us, we don't need that much. Just someone to light the spark in our bonfire heart.'"
  • The Moon Landing album takes its name from the themes of love and loss Blunt explores throughout. "The moon landings were a moment of incredible human achievement that for some, we don't seem to be able to repeat," he said. "Like first love."
  • Blunt told Music Radar about collaborating with Tedder on this tune. "Working with Ryan Tedder on Bonfire Heart allowed me to say, 'Let's make this upbeat, driving song that connects with lots of people,'" he said. "That was the meaning of the song when we wrote it. He has the hyperactivity within his musicianship that I wanted."
  • The song topped the charts in several countries, including Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

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