Fine Young Cannibals were a trio formed in Birmingham, England in 1984 by b… Read Full Bio ↴Fine Young Cannibals were a trio formed in Birmingham, England in 1984 by bassist David Steele, off UK band The Beat, guitarist Andy Cox and vocalist, actor/model Roland Gift. Their name came from the 1960 film All The Fine Young Cannibals starring Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood. The band's eponymous debut album was released in 1985, spawning two hit singles, "Johnny Come Home" and a cover of Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" featuring additional vocals by Jimmy Somerville.

In 1990 the band won two Brit Awards: Best British Group, and Best British Album for "The Raw and the Cooked" which also reached number one in the US album charts. It was re-packed as a remix album ("The Raw & the Remix" and spawned six singles over three years; "She Drives Me Crazy","Good Thing", "Don't Look Back", "I'm Not the Man I Used to Be", "I'm Not Satisfied" and "It's O.K. (It's Alright)".

The trio split in 1992, though they recorded a new track in 1996 to promote their The Finest compilation. Gift soon reactivated the brand and toured in the 2000s as Roland Gift and the Fine Young Cannibals.

Fine Young Cannibals appeared as the house band in the 1987 film comedy Tin Men, peforming some of the songs that ended up on The Raw and the Cooked. Steele and Cox had previously recorded under the moniker Two Men A Drum Machine and a Trumpet.

The Flame
Fine Young Cannibals Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'll never be far from home
Talkin' on the telephone
You told me it's over, you made up your mind,
I'm part of the life that you're leaving behind

I'm left holding the torch
And the heat from the flame,
Only ease me a pain

Don't you know how much it hurts,
You took all I had and you threw it away

I'm left holding the flame, yes I am
Holding the flame once again
I'm left holding the flame, yes I am
Holding the flame once again

No matter what you say, it hurts
You didn't had to make it worse
It wouldn't be better as you told me yourself,
Instead that you left to somebody else

Maybe I could understand
You'd been staying with another man
Day isn't long and nights can be lonely
I wasn't there and you needed to hold me

I'm left holding the torch
And the heat from the flame,
Only ease me a pain

Don't you know how much it hurts,
You took all I had and you threw it away

I'm left holding the flame, yes I am
Holding the flame once again
I'm left holding the flame, yes I am
Holding the flame once again

I'll never be far from home
Talkin' on the telephone
You told me it's over, you made up your mind.
I'm part of the life that you're leaving behind.

I'm left holding the torch
And the heat from the flame,
Only ease me a pain

Don't you know how much it hurts,
You took all I had and you threw it away

I'm left holding the flame, yes I am
Holding the flame once again
I'm left holding the flame, yes I am
Holding the flame once again
I'm left holding the flame, yes I am
Holding the flame once again
I'm left holding the flame, yes I am

Holding the flame once again
I'm left holding the flame, yes I am

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Fine Young Cannibals' song "The Flame" are about the pain of an unrequited love. The singer of the song is speaking to someone who has left him/her for someone else. They have made it clear that the relationship is over, and the singer is left holding the torch for this person. The torch here refers to their love or passion, that is still burning intensely, and they cannot seem to get rid of it.

The person who left the singer is moving on with someone else but has not yet extinguished the flame the singer held for them. The singer feels the heat from the flame and is in pain because of it, and wishes that the person who left them could feel the pain they now feel. However, the person who left did not have the same attachment, or they wouldn't have left, which makes it difficult for the singer.

The song speaks to the universal experience of unrequited love, of holding onto the flame of a passion that is no longer reciprocated. The pain of this experience is emotional and real, and it is expressed in the lyrics of the song with raw intensity.

Line by Line Meaning

I'll never be far from home
I will always be emotionally attached to my home

Talkin' on the telephone
Communicating with someone via phone

You told me it's over, you made up your mind,
You informed me that our relationship is finished and that you have made the decision

I'm part of the life that you're leaving behind
I am someone or something that you are leaving behind as you move on with your life

I'm left holding the torch
I am left with the responsibility or burden of carrying on

And the heat from the flame,
The passion or intensity of the situation

Only ease me a pain
Provide temporary relief from the emotional pain

Don't you know how much it hurts,
Do you not understand the emotional pain that I am experiencing?

You took all I had and you threw it away
You disregarded and disposed of everything that I offered or gave to you

I'm left holding the flame, yes I am
I am the one who still has the emotional attachment or burden

Holding the flame once again
Dealing with the same emotional burden or attachment once more