Born Janis Eddy Fink on 7th April 1951 to a Jewish family in New York City, she was primarily raised in New Jersey, initially on a farm, and attended East Orange High School and the New York City High School of Music & Art. Her parents, Victor (a music teacher) and Pearl, ran a summer camp in upstate New York, and, in that Cold War era, were frequently under government surveillance because of their left-wing politics. (Ian alluded to these years later in her song "God and the FBI"). Young Janis admired the work of folk pioneers such as Joan Baez and Odetta. At the age of twelve, Ian wrote her first song, "Hair of Spun Gold", which was subsequently published in the folk publication Broadside and was later recorded for her debut album.
At the age of thirteen she legally changed her name to Janis Ian, using as her new last name her brother Eric's middle name. Also in that year, Ian wrote and sang her first hit single, "Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)", about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers; the girl ultimately decides to end the relationship, claiming the social norms of the day have left her no other choice. Produced by George "Shadow" Morton and released three times between 1965 and 1967, "Society's Child" finally became a national hit on its third release, after Leonard Bernstein featured it in a television special: Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The song's content was taboo for some radio stations, and they withdrew or banned it from their playlists; in her 2008 autobiography Society's Child, Ian recalls receiving hate mail and death threats as a response to the song, and mentions that a radio station in Atlanta that played it was burned down. In the summer of 1967, "Society's Child" reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
Her most successful single in the United States was "At Seventeen", released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty, the illusion of popularity, and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the perspective of a twenty-four-year-old. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. It won the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female. The song's album, Between the Lines, reached number one on Billboard's Album chart. It was quickly certified gold, and later earned a platinum certification for sales of over a million copies sold in the U.S.
Ian finally became one of the first "indie artists", resurfacing in 1993, with the worldwide release of Breaking Silence and its title song about incest. She also came out as a lesbian with that release. Her most recent album, Folk Is the New Black, was released in 2006; it is the first in over twenty years for which she did all the songwriting herself.
Candlelight
Janis Ian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'll be right, you'll see, night is a shadow on the soul
And if you want to set me wholly free, stay by me tonight
I've been afraid of love, knowing I need you to stay
I've been ashamed to love, knowing you're leaving me day after day
I'm begging you, pleading, I like you best when night runs
A shadow on the soul, no more empty hands to hold
Don't let the evening sun go down, I haven't found a way
To trade the night, sheer delight, burning bright, candlelight
Lay me down, astound me, not a sound, surround me
Skies unbound, I'm unwound, lay me down
I've been afraid to love, this is no time to hesitate
I've been ashamed to love but lay me down, I just can't wait
I like you best when night is a pleasure you can give
Lay me down, now I know how to, lay me down, now I know how to
Lay me down, now I know how to live
Janis Ian's Candlelight is a song about the fear and vulnerability that comes with loving someone who is leaving. The singer begs her lover not to let the sun go down on her, as she doesn't want to be alone. She knows that night brings a shadow on the soul and that being left with empty hands to hold would be devastating. She wants her lover to stay with her and free her from her fear of love.
The singer is torn between her fear of love and her desire for intimacy. She has been ashamed to love someone who is leaving her day after day. But now she can't wait any longer and wants to be laid down by her lover. She finds sheer delight and burning bright in the candlelight. She knows that night can be a pleasure that her lover can give her. The final chorus declares that she now knows how to live, free from fear and ready for intimacy.
The song is a beautiful expression of the fear and vulnerability that comes with love, as well as the joy and pleasure that can come from letting go of fear and embracing intimacy. It is a testament to the power of love and the ways that it can change and heal us.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't let the sun go down on me, I do not want to be alone tonight
I don't want to be left alone in the darkness of the night.
We'll be right, you'll see, night is a shadow on the soul
We'll be fine even in the darkness of the night, which represents sadness and despair.
And if you want to set me wholly free, stay by me tonight
Only by staying with me tonight, you can free me from my fears of love and loneliness.
I've been afraid of love, knowing I need you to stay
I've been scared of loving you, but at the same time, I know I need you with me.
I've been ashamed to love, knowing you're leaving me day after day
I feel embarrassed to love you because I know you'll keep leaving me every day.
I'm begging you, pleading, I like you best when night runs
I beg you to stay with me because I feel best when I have you by my side, and since you're leaving anyways, just stay the night.
A shadow on the soul, no more empty hands to hold
The night represents sadness, and if you stay, I won't have to be alone and depressed anymore.
Don't let the evening sun go down, I haven't found a way
I don't know how to deal with the sadness of the night, and I don't want to be alone in it.
To trade the night, sheer delight, burning bright, candlelight
I want to exchange my sorrowful night for a joyful one illuminated by candlelight.
Lay me down, astound me, not a sound, surround me
I want you to lay me down, surprise me, and wrap me in your embrace in silence.
Skies unbound, I'm unwound, lay me down
I am excited and free from my troubles, so just lay me down now.
I've been afraid to love, this is no time to hesitate
I've been fearful of loving you, but it's now or never to take this chance.
I've been ashamed to love but lay me down, I just can't wait
Although I feel embarrassed to love you, I can't wait to have you lay me down.
I like you best when night is a pleasure you can give
I feel happiest when you are here with me at night, giving me pleasure.
Lay me down, now I know how to, lay me down, now I know how to
Now I know how to let my worries go and let you lay me down.
Lay me down, now I know how to live
Being with you and feeling your love is how I want to live now.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: JANIS IAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jan de Vries
Great! Janis;’ song fits perfectly.