He joined his first band, The Legends, at the age of 13, with his brother Dave. Hartman played keyboards and wrote much of the band's music. The band released several records but none were hits. He joined The Edgar Winter Group and played on three of their albums; Dan wrote the band's second biggest pop hit Free Ride in 1972. He launched a solo career in 1976.
In 1978 Hartman reached number-one on the Dance chart with the single "Instant Replay", which crossed over to #29 on Billboard's Hot 100; musicians Hartman worked with on the associated album include Vinnie Vincent and G.E. Smith. This was followed by his second chart topper on the Dance charts with "Relight My Fire" (1979). Both tracks are considered by many to be anthems of the disco era. There was also a cover version of Instant Replay which was a one-hit wonder for a boy duo called Yell! (Paul Varney and Daniel James) in January 1990.
He was back in the charts yet again with the top-10 single "I Can Dream About You" from the Streets of Fire soundtrack in 1984. Hartman was not featured in the video for the track, which received heavy rotation on MTV; instead, his vocals were convincingly lip-synched by Stoney Jackson,an African-American actor. Hartman then scored a third number 1 single on the Dance charts, "We Are The Young." During the next decade he worked as a songwriter and producer, and collaborated with such artists as Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Young, James Brown, Nona Hendryx and Steve Winwood.
He died at age 43 in Westport, Connecticut from a brain tumor caused by AIDS. At the time of his death, Hartman's music was enjoying a revival; a cover version of his song "Relight My Fire" became a British number-one hit for Take That and Lulu. Sales of Hartman's solo recordings, group efforts, production, songwriting and compilation inclusions exceed 50 million records worldwide.
More information can be found at www.danhartman.com
Relight My Fire
Dan Hartman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah ah
I need you so much but I don't think you really need me ah ah
And if we all stand up in the name of love
And state the case of what we're dreamin' of
I've got to say I only dream of you
But like a thief in the night
You took away the love that I knew oh, oh oh oh
Relight my fire
Your love is my only desire
Relight my fire
'Cause I need your love
Ooh!
When I say
Turn back the time 'till the days when
Our love was new, do you remember?
No matter what was happenin'
I was there with you, aha
Well if we all stand up for what we believe
And maybe live within our possibilities
The world would be wild for the dream
So baby don't turn away
Listen to what I got to say oh, oh oh oh oh
Relight my fire
Your love is my only desire
Relight my fire
'Cause I need oh need your love
Yeah, you gotta be strong enough to walk on through the night (yeah!)
There's a new day on the other side (yeah!)
You gotta have hope in your soul (yeah!)
Just keep on walkin' yeah yeah yeah, oh
Just keep on walkin' yeah yeah yeah, oh
Just keep, oh keep on
Oh oh oh oh oh
Strong enough to walk on through the night (yeah!)
There's a new day on the other side (yeah!)
I got hope in my soul
So I'll keep on walkin' yeah
Keep on walkin' yeah
Relight the fire
Your love is my only desire
Relight the fire
Just say ah!
Relight the fire (well well well!)
The song "Relight My Fire" by Dan Hartman is a plea to a loved one who has disappeared and has taken away their love. The lyricist conveys a deep sense of longing and insecurity that they need their love interest more than ever, but they do not believe that they are needed equally in return. However, the singer believes that if they all stood up for love and what they believed in, they could make the world a better place.
The chorus is a plea to reignite the fire of their love, as it is the singer's only desire. They want to turn back the clock to when their love was new and reminisce about a time when no matter what was happening, they were there for each other. The lyricist explicitly states that they dream only of the person they love, and their love was so strong that it was stolen from them like a thief in the night.
The verses are an appeal to their loved ones, reminding them of how they used to feel and how they can get that feeling back if they stand up for what they believe in. The song's message is that love can conquer all, and the singer wants their love to help them overcome their insecurity and fear so that they can be happy with their loved one.
Line by Line Meaning
Help me escape this feeling of insecurity,
Ah ah
I need help getting rid of this unsure feeling I have, ah ah.
I need you so much but I don't think you really need me ah ah
I depend on you a lot, but I don't think you need me as much, ah ah.
And if we all stand up in the name of love
And state the case of what we're dreamin' of
I've got to say I only dream of you
If we all showed love and talked about our dreams, I would say that all I dream about is you.
But like a thief in the night
You took away the love that I knew oh, oh oh oh
You took away the love from me suddenly, just like a thief in the night, oh, oh oh oh.
Relight my fire
Your love is my only desire
Relight my fire
'Cause I need your love
Ooh!
When I say
Bring back that passion we had before,
I want your love more than anything else,
Bring back that passion,
Because I need your love,
Ooh!
I mean it.
Turn back the time 'till the days when
Our love was new, do you remember?
No matter what was happenin'
I was there with you, aha
Let's go back to the time when our love was fresh and new,
Do you remember that time?
No matter what happened, I was there with you, aha.
Well if we all stand up for what we believe
And maybe live within our possibilities
The world would be wild for the dream
So baby don't turn away
Listen to what I got to say oh, oh oh oh oh
If we all stuck to our beliefs and lived up to our potential,
The world would be wild for our dreams,
So please don't turn away,
Listen to what I have to say, oh, oh oh oh oh.
Yeah, you gotta be strong enough to walk on through the night (yeah!)
There's a new day on the other side (yeah!)
You gotta have hope in your soul (yeah!)
Just keep on walkin' yeah yeah yeah, oh
Just keep on walkin' yeah yeah yeah, oh
Just keep, oh keep on
Oh oh oh oh oh
You have to be strong enough to make it through the tough times,
There's a new day waiting for you on the other side,
You have to have hope inside of you,
Just keep on walking, yeah yeah yeah, oh,
Just keep on walking, yeah yeah yeah, oh,
Just keep, oh keep on,
Oh oh oh oh oh.
I got hope in my soul
So I'll keep on walkin' yeah
Keep on walkin' yeah
I have hope within me,
So I'll keep on walking, yeah,
Keep on walking, yeah.
Relight the fire
Your love is my only desire
Relight the fire
Just say ah!
Relight the fire (well well well!)
Bring back that passion we once had,
Your love is all I want,
Bring back that passion,
Just say ah!
Relight the fire (well well well!)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dan Hartman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind