Monsters

James Blunt wrote this song for his father, Charles Blount, a former cavalry officer in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, helicopter pilot and colonel in the Army Air Corps. His dad has stage four chronic kidney disease, and this minor-key piano ballad is a tear-stained tribute to his sick father. I'm not your son You're not my father We're just two grown men saying goodbye No need to forgive No need to forget I know your mistakes and you know mine Blunt explained to Apple Music: "I idolized this man throughout my childhood, but as we grew older, I realized that he had his own fallibilities, and that's an awesome thing to see because you suddenly can become friends then. And then obviously as parents get older, the responsibility starts to weigh on the children that look after them. Although that can be painful, there's something beautiful about it, too."

Blunt wrote and recorded the song without telling his father. According to an Event magazine interview, when Blunt played it for him in a room with just the two of them there, he responded, "That's the way it is."

"Monsters" was recorded in the Guards Chapel, on Birdcage Walk in London, where Blunt had been a serving soldier. It features The Trinity Boys Choir, who are all pupils at Trinity School, Croydon, London. The choir has made numerous TV and radio appearances through the years, including the Royal Variety Performance and Bing Crosby's 1977 TV Christmas Special.