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.

I'm Just A Prisoner
Candi Staton Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'd rather be lonely
Than to lose you
I'd rather be blue
Than to be all alone

'Cause if you leave me
My heart would grieve me
And my poor heart, no, no

Just couldn't stand the pain

Though your love
Has got me in captivity, yeah
Yet if you should leave me
I know I would die

Yeah, in other words
In other words, listen
I just couldn't take it, baby
I couldn't stand
For you to say goodbye

Now I'm just a prisoner
For your good loving
I'm just a slave, yes
Bound and chained

No, no, I don't ever wanna be free
So please don't ever leave me

For my poor heart (my poor heart)
No, it just couldn't stand the pain
(Stand the pain)

Though your love
Oh, yeah, got me in captivity
Yet if you should leave me
I know I would die

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
In other words, in other words
I just couldn't take it, baby
I couldn't stand, ho
To say goodbye (say goodbye)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm just a prisoner, oh
For your good loving, yes, I am
Yes, I'm just a slave (slave)
Bound and chained
(Bound and chained)

No, no, no, no
I don't ever wanna be free
Oh, no, so don't ever leave me
For my poor heart (my poor heart)
Just couldn't stand the pain
(Stand the pain)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm just a prisoner
(I'm just a prisoner)
Just a prisoner

I done tried

I done tried and
I can't live without him

Overall Meaning

The song "I'm Just A Prisoner" by Candi Staton is about the singer's deep love for her partner and how she would rather be lonely or blue than to live without him. She confesses that despite her partner's love holding her captive, she is okay with it as she does not want to lose him. She is willing to be bound and chained as a slave for his love as living without him would be unbearable for her. She is just a prisoner of his love for her and pleads with him never to leave her side.

The song is a soulful ballad that captures the emotions of someone who is hopelessly in love. Candi Staton's powerful vocals convey the intensity of the emotions that the lyrics depict. The singer's vulnerable delivery of the lines reinforces the idea of her love holding her captive.

Line by Line Meaning

I'd rather be lonely
I prefer to be lonely.

Than to lose you
Rather than losing you, I'll choose to be lonely.

I'd rather be blue
I'd rather be sad.

Than to be all alone
Being alone is less preferable than being sad.

'Cause if you leave me
If you go away.

My heart would grieve me
My heart would be sad.

And my poor heart, no, no
My heart doesn't want to feel that way.

Just couldn't stand the pain
It can't endure the pain of losing you.

Though your love
Even though you love me.

Has got me in captivity, yeah
Your love holds me captive.

Yet if you should leave me
But if you ever leave me.

I know I would die
I feel like I would die if you left me.

Yeah, in other words
To put it another way.

In other words, listen
Listen carefully to what I'm saying.

I just couldn't take it, baby
I couldn't handle the pain of your departure.

I couldn't stand
I wouldn't be able to cope with.

For you to say goodbye
If you told me you were leaving.

Now I'm just a prisoner
I feel trapped.

For your good loving
Because I love you.

I'm just a slave, yes
I'm completely under your control.

Bound and chained
I'm completely and utterly bound to you.

No, no, I don't ever wanna be free
I never want to be without you.

So please don't ever leave me
Please don't ever abandon me.

For my poor heart (my poor heart)
Because my heart is fragile.

No, it just couldn't stand the pain (stand the pain)
It's too painful to bear.

I done tried
I've tried.

I done tried and
I've tried but still.

I can't live without him
I can't survive without you.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EDDIE HARRIS, GEORGE HENRY JACKSON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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