Wisemen

This article is about the song by James Blunt. For other uses of the term, see Wise men.

"Wisemen"
Song

"Wisemen" is a pop rock song written by British singer James Blunt, Jimmy Hogarth and Sacha Skarbek for Blunt's debut album Back to Bedlam (2004). The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and Jimmy Hogarth and received a mixed reception from music critics. The song was released as the second single in the first quarter of 2005 and reached the top fifty in the United Kingdom, peaking at number forty-four. Following the success of "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", "Wisemen" was re-released in the spring of 2006, number twenty-one in New Zealand, and at number twenty-three in the UK.

Music videos

The first music video, released in tandem with the first UK release of the single, has Blunt and his band performing in the Café de Paris. The only occupants of the café are three middle-aged men, supposedly businessmen, who are accompanied by a young woman. The woman stands and begins to dance in the middle of the room but is ignored by the men. Three masked men, supposedly the wisemen, then enter and kidnap Blunt, putting him into a car and driving to the shore where he is imprisoned in a hastily-constructed shack by the seaside, in reference to the lyric, "Those three wisemen, they've got a semi by the sea." The masks were constructed from moulds cast from Blunt's own face. The second version, which was released in tandem with the UK re-release of the single, has Blunt burning his personal papers and passport in a forest before slowly internally combusting. This video has been released to the US market.

Track listings

UK CD Single (Initial Release)

1. "Wisemen" - 3:59
2. "No Bravery" (Live) - 4:06
3. "Out Of My Mind" (Live) - 3:22

UK CD Single #1

1. "Wisemen" - 3:59
2. "Out Of My Mind" (Live) - 3:22

UK CD Single #2

1. "Wisemen" - 3:59
2. "Sugar-Coated" (Live) - 3:16
3. "Wisemen" (The Making Of The Video) - 2:54
4. "Wisemen" (Video) - 4:00

UK 7" Single

1. "Wisemen" - 3:59
2. "Tears And Rain" (Live) - 4:12

Chart performance

On March 7, 2005, "Wisemen" was released in the United Kingdom. The song became Blunt's first single not to chart within the top 40 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number forty-four. It was re-released in the UK the following March and became his fourth top forty single when it peaked at number twenty-three on the singles chart, and spent a total of six weeks in the top seventy-five. It reached number eleven in Australia and became his third single to reach the top twenty. In Canada, the song became an airplay hit, reaching number three on the BDS Airplay chart.

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	11
Austrian Singles Chart	15
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart	3
Czech IFPI Chart	1
Dutch Top 40	9
German Singles Chart	40
Irish Singles Chart	36
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	21
Swedish Singles Chart	38
Swiss Singles Chart	23
UK Singles Chart	23

Appearances in Popular Culture

The 2006 film Trust the Man used this song in its theatrical trailer. Wisemen was also used in the second series of popular BBC Three sitcom Gavin and Stacey.

References

• "Chart Data: James Blunt". Worldwide chart positions. Retrieved June 4, 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)

External links

• Official James Blunt website
• Official Atlantic Records website