Born in Almora, Uttar Pradesh, India, Ananda was the son of Amala and Uday Shankar, popular dancers. He was also the nephew of renowned sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ananda did not learn sitar from his uncle but studied instead with Dr. Lalmani Misra in Varanasi.
In the late 1960s Shankar travelled to Los Angeles, where he played with many contemporary musicians including Jimi Hendrix. There he was signed to Reprise Records and released his first studio album, the self-titled Ananda Shankar in 1970, featuring original Indian classical material alongside sitar-based cover versions of popular hits such as The Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and The Doors' "Light My Fire". This album has become an enduring cult classic.
Returning to India in the early 1970s Shankar continued to experiment musically and in 1975 released his most critically acclaimed album, Ananda Shankar and His Music, a jazz-funk mix of Eastern sitar, tabla and mridangam, Western rock guitar, drums and Moog synthesizers. Out of print for many years, Ananda Shankar and His Music was re-released on CD in 2005.
After working in India during the late 1970s and 1980s, Shankar's profile in the West began to rise again in the mid-1990s as his music found its way into club DJ sets, particularly in London. His music was brought to a wider audience with the release of Blue Note Records' popular 1996 rare groove compilation album, Blue Juice Vol. 1., featuring the two standout tracks from Ananda Shankar and His Music, "Dancing Drums" and "Streets of Calcutta".
In the late 1990s Shankar worked and toured in the United Kingdom with London DJ State of Bengal and others, a collaboration that would result in the Walking On album, featuring Shankar's trademark sitar soundscapes mixed with breakbeat and hip hop. Walking On was released in 2000 after Shankar's sudden death from heart failure the year before.
In 2005, his song "Raghupati" was featured in the soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
Light My Fire
Ananda Shankar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
The time to hesitate is through
No time to wallow in the mire
Try now we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
Try to set the night on fire
"Light My Fire" by Ananda Shankar is an instrumental cover of the The Doors' iconic song of the same name, which was written by the legendary rock band's guitarist, Robby Krieger. The song is about a man trying to convince his lover to indulge in their desires and passion, and to light his fire, which is a metaphor for having sex. The lyrics convey a sense of urgency and determination to seize the moment and to not waste any time in acting on their desires.
The opening lines of the song set the tone for the rest of the lyrics, as the singer admits that he would be lying if he were to say that they couldn't get any higher. He urges his lover to light his fire and to try to set the night on fire. The time to hesitate is through, and there's no point in wallowing in the mire. If they don't act now, they risk losing their chance at love and ending up in a funeral pyre.
The overall message of the song is about seizing the moment and following one's desires. It encourages listeners to not wait and to take action towards what they really want. The instrumental version by Ananda Shankar infuses traditional Indian music elements such as sitar, dholak, and tabla, giving a unique twist to the original Doors song.
Line by Line Meaning
You know that it would be untrue
I can't deceive you by hiding the fact that we both are in love.
You know that I would be a liar
It's impossible for me to deny my love for you.
If I was to say to you
If I said to you anything that hinted towards not loving you, it would be a lie.
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Our love can't be taken any higher than what it already is right now.
Come on baby, light my fire
Make me fall in love with you even more deeply.
Try to set the night on fire
Let's create an intense and passionate moment.
The time to hesitate is through
We should stop delaying and express our feelings for each other.
No time to wallow in the mire
There's no point in focusing on past difficulties or problems.
Try now we can only lose
We should attempt to be together before it is too late, even if it may seem like a risk.
And our love become a funeral pyre
If we don't try, our love will slowly die out like a funeral pyre.
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
Let's have a night filled with wild passion and love.
Try to set the night on fire
Let's make the night unforgettable with our love and passion.
You know that it would be untrue
I cannot lie to you about my love for you.
You know that I would be a liar
It's impossible for me to deny my love for you.
If I was to say to you
If I said to you anything that hinted towards not loving you, it would be a lie.
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Our love can't be taken any higher than what it already is right now.
Come on baby, light my fire
Make me fall in love with you even more deeply.
Try to set the night on fire
Let's create an intense and passionate moment.
Try to set the night on fire
Let's make the night unforgettable with our love and passion.
Try to set the night on fire
Let's have a night filled with wild passion and love.
Contributed by Julian P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Clem Alford
I met him in Kolkata in 1969 when he had just done this recording in LA...said he did it because too many people were expecting him to be a classical sitarist to the level of his uncle, Ravi Shankar.
Clem Alford
@A L Yes but with the daughters, Nora Jones and Anushkar Shanar, one plays Sitar the other piano, sort of says a lot. Norah's mother had serious differences with Ravi. Anoushka only got into Sitar much later when Ravi's touring life was over and teamed up with her mother again. He had taught and promoted Shubo, his son who sadly died of a heart attack when he was young. Ravi's life as a musical godfather on a personal level was a bit sad and tragic.
A L
@Clem Alford I can guess how much expectation there must have been for him. Not only for having Ravi as Uncle but also being son of the great Uday Shankar. Greatness runs through their blood. Even now with both Anoushka and Nora.
Clem Alford
@AHAREEN SAHA What is a ditar? Nikhil Banerjee added an 8th String to the Sitar so he tried to combine the Ravi type with Karaj and the Vilayat Sitar with the two steel drone strings and no Karaj. There wasn't enough space to get to play the Karaj so he took one of the streel drone strings off!! Nowadays all kinds of experimentation is going on with Sitar construction using guitar parts and so on. Ananda da told me he just played his standard Sitar and the engineer did the electronics on the desk in the studio. I experimented with the electronic thing on my album 'Mirror Image'. A new guitar gadget came out around that time in 1972-3 the 'wah wah' pedal and I thought I might experiment with it.
Clem Alford
@AHAREEN SAHA If you are talking about the Ananda Shankar album it wasn't Ravi Shankar playing Sitar on it. He wouldn't do that type of stuff. Anyhow Ananda Shankar was quite proficient to play it. As I said before when I met him in Kolkata in 1970 he told me about why he did it. He was a good Sitar player but being related to Ravi people would be expecting a very high level.
Clem Alford
@AHAREEN SAHA Don't understand what point you are trying to make. There were many more great musicians and Sitarists of his generation. Nikhil Banerjee for one and sadly not recognised for his unique style to the extent of Ravi but then he didn't have the Beatles association which Ravi did. Ravi was lucky being in the right place at the right time. In terms of musical depth, Ali Akbar Khan's Sarod was my tops!!
Prabhash Gokarn
When I was growing up I thought this song was an Ananda Shankar Original on the Sitar. I discovered the Door's Original only when I went to college!
harpyion
i discovered this recently and am glad i did so. the sitar is a perfect instrument for doing the lead melody. Jim Morrison is doing yoga in heaven while listening to this one :)
Patrick Leahey
I rediscovered him after 40 years or so. I am glad you posted him. I like his version of this song very much
Richard Cameron
the sound quality of the recording is incredible - as is the music.