Wisemen

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This article is about the song by James Blunt. For other uses of the term, see Wise men.
“Wisemen”
“Wisemen” cover
Single by James Blunt
from the album Back to Bedlam
Released March 2005 (UK and Europe)
March 2006 (Worldwide re-release)
Format CD single (Worldwide)
Vinyl single (United Kingdom)
Recorded Los Angeles, California
Genre Pop rock
Length 3:42
Label Atlantic Records/Custard Records
Writer(s) J. Blunt
J. Hogarth
S. Skarbek
Producer Tom Rothrock
Jimmy Hogarth
James Blunt singles chronology
"High"
(2004)

"High" (re-release)
(2005)		 "Wisemen"
(2005)

"Wisemen"
(2005)		 "You're Beautiful"
(2005)

"1973"
(2007)
Alternate Covers
Alternate cover
Alternate cover
7" single cover
7" single cover

"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, and became a top forty hit worldwide, charting at number eleven in Australia, number twenty-one in New Zealand, and at number twenty-three in the UK.

Contents

[edit] 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 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 molds 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 U.S. market.

[edit] Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Wisemen".

[edit] UK CD

  1. "Wisemen"
  2. "No Bravery" (Live)
  3. "Out of My Mind" (Live)

[edit] UK CD (re-issue)

  1. "Wisemen"
  2. "Out of My Mind" (Live at Bowery Ballroom, New York City)

[edit] UK one-sided 7" (re-issue)

  1. "Wisemen"

[edit] Chart performance

On March 7, 2005, "Wisemen" was released in the United Kingdom. The song became Blunt's first single to chart within the top seventy-five 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. Outside of the UK, the song was also successful.

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.

[edit] Charts

Chart (2005) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 44
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Czech IFPI Chart 1
Dutch Top 40 9
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 11
World Chart Show 14
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 21
United World Chart 22
Swiss Singles Chart 23
UK Singles Chart 23
Irish Singles Chart 36
Swedish Singles Chart 38
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart 3

[edit] Appearances in Popular Culture

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

[edit] References

[edit] External links

v • d • e
James Blunt
Albums
Singles
"High" · "Wisemen" · "You're Beautiful" · "Goodbye My Lover" · "1973" · "Same Mistake" · "Carry You Home"
Related
Languages