If you listen carefully even pop stars sing the blues

If I stop lying,
I'd just disappoint you.
If I ever hurt you,
your revenge will be so sweet.

Before entering the priesthood in the fourth century, Augustine of Hippo beseeched God to grant him chastity and continence - but not quite yet.

The same commitment dilemma exists today, only more intensely. Williams is the archetypal modern man caught in emotional no-man's land. Rational to the point of being sceptical of all that our brilliant intellect has achieved, he's tired of thinking.

Yet without more questioning, he lacks a definitive reason for an unconditional surrender to his heart's deepest desires: the love of the right woman and a God-given purpose.

Whatever you think of his music and tattoos, at least Williams is frank about the darkness that besets most men at some stage or another. His heart-felt tilt at life's big questions is a true measure of the man, as it also is for non-rock stars.