Added: 5 years ago
From: valentinalover
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  • I knew nothing of this song until the other day when it was on a BBC Radio 4 show. I think we all have had an unrequited love!

  • @Gledst0ne same!! desert island discs with james corden right?

  • fucking brilliant!

  • The BEST Love song ever created ?!! One can feel the sadness 'she' carries through her life, because of the depth of her love for the Art Teacher.

  • you are so good.

  • Magnifique. Rufus, you are a god.

  • 14 people married an executive company head

  • An amazing rendition of one of my favorite Rufus songs. This guy is so incredibly talented. A true original, which you really can't say about most of today's so-called musicians. His songs speak to the soul and really make you think. If you've never seen him perform live, you are really missing something. Incredible as it may sound, his voice is even more beautiful and compelling when heard live than on a recording.

  • He is amazing.

  • It's so weird I am a straight man but I love this song.  I just imagine or I flip the sex parts to woman. This cat is amazing

  • genius

  • amazing lyrics and voice!

  • Very talented man, with an amazing song. Love his piano playing, it's amazing to me. I love it in his song The Dream, Freaking amazing and so is his singing. :D

  • So simple, yet so meaningful. Love this song. Thank God For Rufus Wainwright.

  • It's silly, but this song always reminds me not of my art teacher, but of the guy who is now in art school that I've loved far too long. He'll always hold my heart, or at least a sizable portion of it. This song is so amazing in the way it just grabs you and breaks your heart.

  • Amazing song, bravo Rufus! ♥

  • I listened to this song on my iPod today, and didn't realise it was a live recording until the end where the audience applauded, it's amazing how silent they are throughout it, in awe of Rufus

  • @MissMcMusic if only all audiences were so well behaved.

  • @winggoddess Quite right. :P

  • rufus = genius. horny genius ; )

  • Hes so beautiful

  • I think this performance actually pre-dated the album release. For me, it was the first time I heard/saw the song, and the impact was utterly immediate. One of his best.

  • His voice is so different. There are so many singers who have almost the same voice, sometimes I cannot tell who is who, just by listening them. But his is very distinctive... And I absolutely love it ! Keep on, Rufus... (Sorry for my bad english)

  • Most of his songs need to be listened to several times before you get into them - at least if you come from mainstream rock and pop (even if it is sophisticated rock and pop). But they deserve it. There are so many songs by him which took time to grow on me and now I don't understand anymore why I didn't love them right from the beginning. I think you have to kind of listen to them with a "classical ear" instead of a "pop ear".

  • for the 13 people that disliked this song, you should listen to it again. I have nothing against you and nothing direspectful to say to you, however, i believe that this song has so much depth that just listening to it once and disliking it is a loss only for you. Try again, i hope you will try again.

  • Little update: I have bought Dinner At Eight in the meantime - and Waiting For A Dream. It is amazing how I keep getting into song after song. I liked the latter from the first time I heard it. Most of his songs I have to listen to many times to find the beauty in them. But I guess it is also the case that after listening to him for a while now I have gained more undersrtanding for his music in general. And The Art Teacher starts to sound better, too.

  • @sylvia1971de

    I agree - his songs are so complex, his phrasing so unusual, I do need to listen to each one a few times before I get it. But the songs are worth it, I love him x

  • I have stumbled here on YouTube on Rufus, trying to find something about Elvis Costello.. and... since mid November 2010 I do not listen to anything else but Rufus!!!!! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING artist and so NOT a main stream (unnecessary) musician, which we do have nowadays all around us. I was lucky to see him in concert which was also AMAZING!!!! Never been on a concert before, where I knew lyrics of all songs... BRAVO RUFUS!!!!!

  • On his DVD performance of this song, (clear video) his hands are absolutely mesmerizing. Will watch that over and over and over. Just love this man.

  • ... into getting to know someone's music. Although I don't like all his music at once, I keep coming back. That I love his voice and way of singing makes it easier, of course. Am I talking Chinese to the Rufus fans here, or can someone relate to all that? I am puzzled.

  • ... if I would finally like them. I do. With "Grey Gardens" and "Poses" I was fascinated somehow from the beginning, but still they took time to grow on me. "I don't know what it is" was similar to me. It had to grow on me. "Dinner at Eight" might just start to grow on me, we'll see. The point is: I have embarked on a slow Rufus journey and I don't know how far it will take me. But I am not yet willing to stop the journey. Never before have I been willing to invest so much time and effort ...

  • This is one of the songs where he loses me at the moment. I don't like superficial stuff, but I need something to cling to in the music, something that repeats itself. I need it a bit melodic. Atm, this doesn't sound melodic to me at all. It's the same with songs like "Martha" or "Zebulon". Songs that I immediately liked are "Going to a Town" and "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk". "The One You Love" and "April Fools" somehow stuck with me immediately, but I wasn't quite sure from the beginning ...

  • You have to see Rufus perform...he's marvellous!

  • absolutely perfect...I love his songs so much!

  • Rufus is a genius, pure and simple. Great composer, singer, performer. Seeing him live is even better than listening to his CDs. He gives an amazing performance. To top it off, he is incredibly sexy too. Rufus rules!

  • não conheço a bicha...e saiste do registo, tás com sono????

  • Wow, perfect, again 0_o

  • I saw him perform last night at the "Rockin' at the Knox" concert at the Albright-Knox art gallery (I volunteered to work there and got in for free). Not only did he sing this, I saw him in the gallery with some female friends discussing the Sargent there in great detail. Just him and his piano on stage, in fine voice. Martha also performed and joined in a couple of songs. Great show.

  • i love him!

  • love his songs

  • Just amazingly beautiful, I so adore this man! Just brilliant! oxo

  • the note he hits at 1:10 is ridiculous for his range

  • @Greesonmonkey44 I remember hearing a critic praising him for his range. It's absolutely stunning, isn't it!

  • REACT

    Pen is position opinion (RANK)

  • this song is perfect and rufus is perfect singing it. his voice is unbelievable and my support for him is beyond ANYTHING. he is soooo talented, sooo adorable- he's just fabulous in so many ways.

  • Utterly sublime.

  • He is mad. In a good way

  • adorable

  • Anyone know of a version of him playing it with the rest of the band ? I watched him do it live in Glasogw, was fkn amazing but i cant find it anywhere.... sos

  • its in his what two album

  • I don't think he's writing from his own perspective but from the perspective of character he's created

  • maybe he wanted to express that he was in love with the art teacher, but couldn't fit in "i was just a little gay boy then"

  • Great song of course, but it seems awfully empty without the horn...

  • I actually hear the horn... wonderful!

  • "He asked us what our favorite work of art was, never could I tell him it was him"

  • fucking brilliant

    its so amazing his talent

    its in his fucking blood people

    kate & ann macgerigal(cant spell it)

    his sister its wonderful

  • and his dad :)

  • One of a kind. Brilliant!

  • I love how simple the piano riff is. It's so effective!

  • true

  • fuck hes incredible!

  • my favorite song by him, possibly of all time, amazing live

  • I love how he can make such a low key sound so magical. The range in many of his songs are in this key but but not all musicians can pull it off the way Rufus can.

  • Who ever wants to comment this voice has to be saint, otherwise it would be an untruth.

    This voice is saint!

    Great.

  • Who wants to comment this voice has to be saint, otherwise it would be a an untruth. This is a saint voice!!

    Great.

  • was this on carson daly's show?

  • Thanks for sharing flybreath . Some people find him boring and monotone. I just love his Voice and he always looks like he gets totally lost in the Moment. FAB.

  • Beautiful

  • His voice is so amazing .....the breath makes it

  • ...and takes ours away....

  • I have loved loved LOVED Rufus for years now. I own Want 2 on Vinyl. And I just Love this song. I have a crush on A Lesbian instructor at college, and this song reminds me of her. <333 She is such a cutie pie. *sighs*

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  • His voice leaves me absolutely speechless... this is one of my favorite songs thanks to him. <3

  • 'I married an executive company head'.

    Rufus sings.

    I love it.

  • <333

  • I love him. I heard it on TV and fell in love instantly.

  • I love the piano.

    Rufus plays it like he really means it.

    He hammers it with such passion.

    This is a wonderful song.

    It sounds complicated yet simple.

    Emotional.

  • Um, the exact same thing happened to me. I saw him on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and I was so taken with the music and his voice. Rufus Wainwright=my new favorite!

  • yeah, i know. i think i saw the same jimmy fallon. the one with john mccain and miranda cosgrove. i could not describe how much i loved the performance. it was great. i didn't even know who he was until i saw it.

  • He looks like River Phoenix from the side, and when he does that certain thing with his eyebrows. 1:16

  • this guy is fucking amazing isnt he really...fuck....

  • Absolutely amazing.

  • Ouch. This song hurts my heart in the most painful of ways.

  • Why so?

  • Unrequited, unspoken love.  oof.

  • Had it myself.. But I found my Love with someone else.

  • He took the words right out of my mouth. This is my new favorite song.

  • Intriguing, haunting, phenomenal.

  • I gotta give him props this song kicks ass.

  • Touches my ego.

  • This is an original song Rufus wrote about an actual art teacher he met and befriended at the gym. He wrote it based on the stories this guy related to Rufus about his many admiring female students.

  • I also understand that the piano track came from this story: Rufus was doing something at Julliard and Phillip Glass was practicing in the same room (they were both waiting to perform I believe). Phillip Glass was just playing around with this music (wouldn't it be great to have such a talent as to sit down and just play THIS?) and after he got up from the piano, Rufus sat down, played it back to him, and put these lyrics on top.

  • @roomto Thanks for the insight, it would have been hard to make that connection. :)

  • @roomto. Rufus actually told me at a show that this song was about a crush his mother had on her Art Teacher in school.

  • is this a cover or isit his song i ask because he refers to himself as a girl

  • OMG LUV THE SONG!

  • This song moves me deeply, as I'm in the same sort of situation right now. I can only hope that my case won't end the same as this song. I love Rufus' music. The first concert I ever went to in my life was of him, about 4/5 years a go, it was amazing. A true and pure artist.

  • so beautiful

  • The whole song is amazing but the piano bit is just...i wish i had the tutorial of that

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  • I WISh my childeren were better behaved....

  • lolwut?

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  • Yes it is. It is easily solved with a quick stop by a search engine.

  • This is one of the best things that ever existed.

  • Having such supertalented parents......thank God for having Rufus, 30 years ago I adored his mother and auntie....Thank God for Rufus, he's a bit crazy, but his talent......OMG, wish my kids had 10 % of it

  • They do, you have not yet uncovered it. Give your kids some credit. Some are late bloomers in the talent department. Took me 21 years to really blossom.

  • He's like a Greek God, having one special power. His talent is so powerful...Anyone that has seen him live, especially knows what I speak of!

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  • this is exactly how im feeling right now and im kind of scared this will happen to me casue it had already started

  • omg love this song! its so sad tho.

  • Cool song-like all of his works. Love him. Why do haters bother to comment on his vids anyway?! I guess they think we who love his work need their great insight and wisdom! ~Just go away,PLEASE!!!/ Very sweet vid thankx!

  • Have to admit I didn't instantly like Rufus the first time I heard him. What got me hooked was his appearance in that Leonard Cohen documentary "I'm Your Man". His performance was nothing short of riveting. I then bought every single CD and went to see him in concert four times in less than a year! My one big regret is that I never saw any of his Judy concerts. Rufus is a true genius--his talent knows no bounds!

  • I hated him first time I heard him. I'm madly in love with his music now. First time song I heard was Hallelujah.

    I seriously adore this song :)

  • @roomto Yeah. I think I'm still paying off my credit card to go see Rufus at the Hollywood Bowl. But man was it worth it. Seriously once in a lifetime. You couldn't max out a credit card for that sojourn?

  • @meanlittlemonkey If I had known about Rufus only six months earlier, I would have definitely tried to see him in the summer of '06 at Carnegie Hall! Never tire of listening to that performance, by the way. The Hollywood Bowl would have also been fantastic, but I had already used up all my vacation time seeing him several times in NYC and San Francisco. Looking forward to catching his performance at the Boston Opera House in August (and Martha will be there, too!)

  • Boy musical tastes are so individual...I find this guy extremely annoying, yet others seem to really like him.

  • lol.. I have friends who find rufus annoying. Guess it's a "you get it or don't" thing.

    This song, to me, is a snapshot of one's first crush. The overwhelming grip of one's first love or crush. One moves on, matures, loves a different way, maybe better ways... but that first ignition of love is a spark that may wane but never is extinguished. it's the kindling match for every flame of passion we encounter in life. Both silly and precious.

  • my biology teacher was hot but 'the biology teacher'...me no likey

  • was this on kimmel?

  • carson daly it looks like

  • One of the very best pieces of him. Just magical.

  • jesus, the ringtone? fuck that...

  • What a god!

  • Er... YUM! I love this song, his voice is so lovely. Amazing performance! :D

  • Beautiful...

  • one of my favorite Rufus Tracks

    great performance. i luv his voice

  • This man is AMAZING. Stunning performance!!!

  • Fantastic song by a great artist

  • this is gorgeous. and the story of my life for the past year ahaha

  • Just got back from the Rufus concert. He was awesome (and seemed obsessed with the large group of Burmese people in the audience--interrupting many of his songs to speak to them--haha)

  • I love this song. It's so beautiful and mesmerizing. [: It makes me so happy; I listen to it every morning before school. Rufus's voice has me going "Zing! Went the strings of my heart." <33 Rufus you're super beautiful! <33 Muy Hermoso, Rufus <33 I love you. xD I want to go see him in concert! Rufus come to Michigan! Please! </3

  • Doesn't The Art Teacher send the best high though out your body!

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  • I get to see him on Thursday at Yale! Yey!

  • I learned about him for the first time in 1998. I'm glad I did, because he is what I listen to in times of discord.

  • o: me too. his beautiful voice calms me down.

  • Yeah me too. Relaxes me.

  • This is gorgeousssssss. And it's live! He's one of the few artists who truely sound as good as recorded.

  • he's coming here in april! and i can't wait to hear him.(in Ma)

  • perfect voice.

  • he's amazing. in every way possible.

  • I'm so sorry, that I discover Rufus just 1 1/2 year ago.

    Very great musician, songwriter and SINGER!!!!

  • better than me, I discovered him about five minutes ago when I was doing random searching

  • Ah, I've known about him for 8 years, and I'm only 13.

  • Sweet.

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  • Lemme guess lulu...shrek soundtrack?

  • Good guess, and you're right.

  • Phenominal. This and 'dinner at 8'. These songs are so strong, the take me out of my head for the few minutes hey are on.

  • I LOVE YOU RUFF!

  • this song is incredible and so beautiful. i saw him perform it live in a small bookstore and couldn't help but cry.

  • Pure perfection :)

  • Ah, what a beautiful song.

  • Absolute perfection! The version on Want Two is also live. It never ceases to amaze me what this man can accomplish in his live shows.

  • remember that song Roberta Flack sang "Killing me Softly"? He sang as though he knew me....

  • Such a pretty lyric, one of my favorites.

  • A "pop Mozart" !!!!!

  • What an artist.

    Plus, I think a lot of girls can relate to this.