Out of Reach (2001) – Gabrielle

Posted on December 10, 2023 by observationblogger — 5 Comments

I’m such a big fan of this song Out of Reach from English singer Gabrielle that it currently heads my blog. I can’t recall where I first heard it, but I knew it was a keeper. Gabrielle’s silky voice is pure therapy for the soul. It reminds me of two other songs, namely No One by Alicia Keys which featured here back in September and Life by Des’ree which should have already been here, but I’ll will make amends for that. All these tracks never get old.

Out of Reach was written by Gabrielle and frequent collaborator Jonathan Shorten for the soundtrack of Sharon Maguire’s 2001 romantic comedy film Bridget Jones’s Diary. The London Session Orchestra provides the string instruments on the track.

[Verse 1]
Knew the signs, wasn’t right
I was stupid for a while
Swept away by you
And now I feel like a fool

[Pre-Chorus]
So confused
My heart’s bruised
Was I ever loved by you?

[Chorus]
Out of reach, so far
I never had your heart
Out of reach, couldn’t see
We were never meant to be

[Verse 2]
Catch myself from despair
I could drown if I stay here
Keeping busy every day
I know I will be okay

The following was from sourced from the Wikipedia references below:
Released as the soundtrack’s lead single on 9 April 2001, Out of Reach peaked at number one in Portugal, number two in New Zealand, and number four on the UK Singles Chart. As of March 2021, the song had sold 645,000 copies in the UK as stated by the Official Charts Company, and became the 10th-most-successful single of 2001 in New Zealand.

Louise Gabrielle Bobb was born in Hackney, London on 19 July 1969 to parents from Dominica. Gabrielle credited her mother for her love of soul and reggae music. Gabrielle has had ptosis, the drooping of one eyelid, since childhood; in public, she covers her eye with sunglasses, an eyepatch, a hat or hair. In school, she suffered from depression and was sometimes suicidal. After finishing her A-levels, she abandoned an idea to study law and began singing in nightclubs. The rest they say is history.

References:
1. Out of Reach (Song) – Wikipedia
2. Gabrielle (singer) – Wikipedia