"You Give Me Something" is the debut single of English singer James Morrison, released on 17 July 2006. The song is featured on his 2006 debut album, ''

Undiscovered ''Undiscovered'' is a 2005 American drama film directed by Meiert Avis. The plot is about a group of aspiring entertainers who intend to establish their careers in Los Angeles. Released on August 26, 2005, the film received a largely negative r ...

''. The single reached number one in New Zealand and charted within the top 10 in several nations, including Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The song was nominated for a

BRIT Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

in the category Best British Single Shortlist in 2007. This song was ranked number 100 on MTV Asia's list of the "Top 100 Hits of 2007".

Meaning

When James Morrison was in New Zealand and appeared on ''

New Zealand Idol ''New Zealand Idol'', also known as ''NZ Idol'', was the New Zealand version of the Idol series originated as the hit British TV series '' Pop Idol''. New Zealand first saw the ''Idol'' format when TV2 aired '' American Idol 2'', which garnered ...

'', the two finalists asked Morrison what the meaning behind the song was, and Morrison said that it was intended to be a "harsh love song". The lyrics mean that the protagonist of the song does not love the person as much as she loves him, but is willing to give the relationship a try.

Music video

The music video takes place in a

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

where Morrison is seated in a chair, surrounded by microphones while singing and playing guitar. His backing orchestra plays behind curtains that show only their shadows. Watching him are a woman with a lollipop, a group of girls

skipping rope A skipping rope (British English) or jump rope (American English) is a tool used in the sport of skipping/jump rope where one or more participants jump over a rope swung so that it passes under their feet and over their heads. There are multi ...

and a group of

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s. A second version of the video was released in early 2007. It features Morrison performing the song for pedestrians in New York City's

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

. It was filmed on the corner of

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and Canal Street. A

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bus is briefly visible in the background.

Track listing

# "You Give Me Something" # "Is There Anybody Home?" # "Burns Like Summer Sun"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2006 songs 2006 debut singles James Morrison (singer) songs Music videos directed by Philip Andelman Number-one singles in New Zealand Polydor Records singles Songs written by Eg White Songs written by James Morrison (singer)