Candi Staton (born Canzetta Maria Staton on 13 March 1940, in Hanceville, A… Read Full Bio ↴Candi Staton (born Canzetta Maria Staton on 13 March 1940, in Hanceville, Alabama, USA) is an American gospel singer. She is best known for her disco hit Young Hearts Run Free and dance hit You Got The Love.

Staton sang with the Jewell Gospel Trio and as teenagers, they toured the traditional gospel circuit in the 1950s with The Soul Stirrers, C. L. Franklin, and Mahalia Jackson. They recorded several sides for Nashbro, Apollo[disambiguation needed ], and Savoy Records between 1953 and 1963, before launching a solo career in 1968.

She had 16 R&B hits for Fame Studios and received Grammy nominations for cover versions of country standards. In 1975 she started working with disco producer Dave Crawford and had hits "Young Hearts Run Free" and "Victim". Also, The Mighty Majors ("You Can Never Go Back") was her backup band once on the road.
In 1982 she returned to gospel forming Beracah Ministries with her husband John Sussewell. In 1991 she had a top 10 UK hit as The Source featuring Candi Staton with dance track "You Got The Love".

In 2004 when Sex and the City ended its successful six-year run, the last song played on that show was "You Got the Love" with Sarah Jessica Parker walking down New York City streets and talking about the endless relationship with herself.

How Can I Put Out the Flame
CANDI STATON Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You keep sayin'
It's all over
Ah yeah
That the feeling is all gone

But you keep stirring
Up my desires
Every time that we're alone

I'm trying
So hard to forget you
But you just keep me
Oh you keep me stringing along

Tell me how
How can I put out the flame
Baby baby baby baby
When you keep the fire burning on

I stop trying
To see you
But still
You just keep coming around
Oh you're not making it
Any easier
Oh no
For me, to put you down
No no no no no no

You know
You know, you know how I feel about you baby
You know my love
Oh my love for you
Is still going strong

So tell me how
How can I put out the flame
Baby baby baby
When you keep the fire burning on

Why don't you just leave me alone?

How can I put out the flame

Oh no
When you keep the fire burning on

Overall Meaning

In this song, Candi Staton sings about her struggle to move on from a past love. The person keeps stirring up her desires every time they're alone, making it difficult for her to forget them. She expresses her frustrations, questioning how she can put out the flame when the person keeps reigniting the fire. Despite her efforts to move on and avoid seeing the person, they keep coming around, making it even more challenging for her to let go. She acknowledges her love for them is still going strong, and as much as she wants to move on, she can't seem to find a way to. The lyrics express the internal struggle of wanting to move on but being unable to because of the persistent presence of the past love.

Line by Line Meaning

You keep sayin' It's all over Ah yeah That the feeling is all gone
You repeatedly tell me that our relationship is over and the love we shared is all dead

But you keep stirring Up my desires Every time that we're alone
Every time we meet, you awaken my desire and add fuel to the fire

I'm trying So hard to forget you But you just keep me Oh you keep me stringing along
I'm making an effort to move on and forget you, but your actions keep me tied to you

Tell me how How can I put out the flame Baby baby baby baby When you keep the fire burning on
I am inquiring how to stop my love for you when you keep the passion alive

I stop trying To see you But still You just keep coming around Oh you're not making it Any easier Oh no For me, to put you down No no no no no no
I tried to avoid you but you keep returning, which makes it difficult for me to let go of you

You know You know, you know how I feel about you baby You know my love Oh my love for you Is still going strong
Despite everything, you know I still love you deeply and my feelings for you are not fading

So tell me how How can I put out the flame Baby baby baby When you keep the fire burning on
I'm asking you how to stop the love I have for you, when you keep feeding the desire I have for you

Why don't you just leave me alone?
I want you to stay away from me and give me space to mend my broken heart

How can I put out the flame Oh no When you keep the fire burning on
It's hard for me to move on when you are still present and participating in my life, keeping the love and passion still alive

Contributed by Nathaniel A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS