Magness's voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from her life experience. A charismatic performer known for her electrifying live shows, Magness is a gutsy and dynamic musical powerhouse. She received the coveted 2009 Blues Music Awards for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year (she is only the second woman to ever win this award, Koko Taylor being the first) and for Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year, an honor she also received in 2006 and 2007. She has received eleven previous Blues Music Award nominations. USA Today declared, “Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness sings superb, potent soul-blues with a scorching intensity.”
Magness has logged thousands of miles on the road and played 150 nights a year at clubs, theatres and festivals all over the world. Her longest road trip yet was to Iraq and Kuwait in April 2008, as a co-headliner of Bluzapalooza, the first-ever blues concert tour to perform for American troops. The tour was an incredibly profound experience for Magness. “My job is a gift. It’s about human connection, to remind people they are not alone. I can’t think of anyone in greater need of a break than these soldiers. Those kids came up to me and said, ‘You made me forget where I was for two hours. Thank you!’ That was beyond priceless.”
Magness released a series of independent albums, including two on the Northern Blues label, prior to her extraordinary 2008 Alligator Records debut, What Love Will Do. Her new CD, The Devil Is An Angel Too, co-produced by Magness and Dave Darling (Brian Setzer, Meredith Brooks, Dan Hicks), is a hard-hitting collection of material that explores the depths of good and evil, with Magness’ glorious, soul-baring vocals burning their way through twelve powerful songs. “All of us have a light and a dark side. Human beings are capable of the most incredible acts of kindness and absolute wretchedness. This record explores both sides,” Magness explains. She wraps her huge, soulful voice around original material written especially for her, and songs from Julie Miller, Graham Parker, Nick Lowe, Joe Tex, Gladys Knight, Nina Simone, Ann Peebles and James Carr. From the haunting, seductive title track that explores evil masquerading as good to the spiritual awakening of “Walkin’ In The Sun” to the revenge tale of “I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down” and the joyful proclamation of “I Want To Do Everything For You,” Magness cuts to the heart and soul of each song with grit, heart and fierce passion, making The Devil Is An Angel Too her most compelling release yet.
Although Magness is now a bona fide blues star, her rise to the top was far from easy. Born in Detroit, Magness was inspired by the blues and country she heard listening to her father’s record collection, and by the vibrant music of the city’s classic Motown sound. By her teenage years, though, her life was in chaos. She lost both parents to suicide by the age of 16 and lived on the streets, bouncing from one foster home to another. At 17, she became a teenage mother who gave up her baby daughter for adoption. One night in Minneapolis, an underage Magness snuck into a club to see blues great Otis Rush, and it was there that she found her salvation and decided that the blues were her calling. Magness recalls, “Otis played as if his life depended on it. There was a completely desperate, absolute intensity. I knew, whatever it was, I needed more of it.” She began going to as many blues shows as possible, soaking up the sounds of her favorite artists, including Johnny Copeland and Albert Collins. She immersed herself in records by James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and all the other R&B greats.
Listening to these blues and soul artists, and watching them live, sparked Janiva and gave her life direction. Her first break came several years later, while working as an intern at a recording studio. She was approached by her boss to sing some supporting vocals on a track. Finding her voice, she soon began working regularly as a background singer. By the early 1980s, Magness made her way to Phoenix and befriended Bob Tate, the musical director for the great Sam Cooke. With Tate’s mentoring, she formed her first band, Janiva Magness And The Mojomatics, in 1985 and before long the influential Phoenix New Times named her group the city’s Best Blues Band. After three more independent releases, Janiva signed with Northern Blues and recorded Bury Him At The Crossroads in 2004 and Do I Move You? in 2006. Both CDs were co-produced by Magness along with Canadian roots star Colin Linden, and both garnered Magness a tremendous amount of critical and popular attention. Magness and Linden won the prestigious Canadian Maple Blues Award for Producers Of The Year for Bury Him At The Crossroads in 2004. Do I Move You? debuted at #8 on the Billboard Blues Chart and was the #1 Blues CD Of The Year in 2006 on Living Blues magazine’s radio chart. Blues Revue said, “Magness is a bold and potent artist with a powerful, soulful voice… impossible to forget.”
Magness signed with Alligator in 2008 and released her stunning label debut, What Love Will Do, to massive critical acclaim. The Chicago Sun-Times raved, “Her songs run the gamut of emotions from sorrow to joy. A master of the lowdown blues who is equally at ease surrounded by funk or soul sounds, Magness invigorates every song with a brutal honesty,” while Blues Revue called her “a blues interpreter of the highest rank…punchy and tough…swaggering, incendiary vocal performances.” Allmusic declared, “rollicking blues, swampy soul and R&B…stark, gritty, emotional material…terrific, magnificent voice. She rips into ballads with moving and riveting tenacity…she burns through these songs like she’s got everything to prove.” Fueled by all the positive press, Magness was profiled on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition, putting her in front of an audience of millions and expanding her ever-growing fan base.
In addition to her musical accomplishments, Magness is reaching out to help others. She is a National Spokesperson for Casey Family Programs (her fourth consecutive year), promoting National Foster Care Month. “It is a huge honor and a daunting responsibility. But I am very excited to be a part of it, and I look forward to carrying the message of hope for youth in the foster care system,” says Magness. “Casey Family Programs does groundbreaking work, and I am deeply honored to work with them again.” Magness has also reconnected with her daughter, and is now the proud grandmother of an eight-year-old boy. “Our fate doesn’t have to be our destiny,” she says. “I’m living proof of that. And I’m so very grateful.”
Magness is also incredibly grateful for her Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. “Winning Entertainer Of The Year is overwhelming to me,” she says. “Being the only woman besides Koko Taylor to win this award is just staggering. I adored and worshipped Koko for so long that it’s really hard for me to wrap myself around it, but I couldn’t be prouder of that award. It’s very humbling, because I still can’t believe that people find me worthy to stand in her company.”
Janiva Magness’ deeply emotional music, sung with passion, conviction and soul, and her telepathic ability to connect with an audience, assures her place among the blues elite. “We need real music now more than ever because it gives us strength to pull through tough times,” says Magness. “We need it in a real bad way. Blues is a ray of hope. It articulates what’s lacking in people’s lives.” With The Devil Is An Angel Too and her explosive live shows hitting cities across North America and Europe, Janiva Magness continues to spread her empowering message of hope through music.
You Were Never Mine
Janiva Magness Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They asked all the same old questions, I gave the same excuse
They said, "What a shame, what a shame, to lose a love so fine"
But I never lost you, I never lost you
I never lost you, you were never mine
I kept on believing what I wanted to believe
But it's a sin, oh, it's a sin to tell yourself a lie
I never lost you, I never lost you
I never lost you, you were never mine
Did you give me all that you gave me just because I needed you
But when I needed, all your love completely was it more than you could do
Sometimes deep in the night when I hold you in my dreams
I get lost in your loving touch, baby, I can't believe how real it seems
And I know, yes I know, I'll have you till the end of time
'Cause I never lost you, I never really lost you
I never lost you 'cause you were never mine
I never lost you, I never really lost you
How could I lose you, you were never mine
Janiva Magness's song "You Were Never Mine" explores the idea of unrequited love and how it can be a form of self-deception. The singer in the song is reflecting on a past love and encounters someone who remembers their relationship, but the singer insists that they never really lost the person because they were never truly theirs to begin with. Despite the promises that were made and the love that was given, the relationship was never fully realized and the singer was left with the painful realization that they were living a lie.
The lyrics suggest that the singer may have been giving more to the relationship than their partner was capable of giving back. The line "Did you give me all that you gave me just because I needed you / But when I needed, all your love completely was it more than you could do" suggests that the singer may have been relying on their partner for emotional support, while the partner ultimately may not have been capable of sustaining that level of intimacy.
The final verse of the song acknowledges that the singer still holds onto the memory of their lost love, even if it was never fully realized. The line "And I know, yes I know, I'll have you till the end of time" suggests that the singer will always carry the memory of this person with them, even if they can't be together in reality. It's a bittersweet ending that acknowledges the pain of unrequited love while also recognizing the beauty and power of holding onto memories.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw someone again today who remembered me and you
Today, I saw someone who reminded me of our past relationship.
They asked all the same old questions, I gave the same excuse
When asked about our relationship, I gave the same response I always do.
They said, "What a shame, what a shame, to lose a love so fine"
The person I talked to expressed regret over the end of our relationship, as they thought it was a great love.
But I never lost you, I never lost you
I never lost you, you were never mine
I did not lose you as you were not truly mine to begin with.
I kept on believing what I wanted to believe
I held onto my own version of the story and what I wanted to believe despite the reality of the situation.
The unspoken promises that you could never keep
You made promises to me without actually saying them, but in reality, you could never keep them.
But it's a sin, oh, it's a sin to tell yourself a lie
It's wrong to continue deceiving oneself and believing in a lie.
Did you give me all that you gave me just because I needed you
But when I needed, all your love completely was it more than you could do
I question if you truly gave me everything or if it was only because I needed you, and when I needed you the most, you couldn't give me all of your love.
Sometimes deep in the night when I hold you in my dreams
I get lost in your loving touch, baby, I can't believe how real it seems
And I know, yes I know, I'll have you till the end of time
In my dreams, I hold onto the memory of your love and feel lost in the moment. Even though we're no longer together, I know that I'll have this memory of you forever.
'Cause I never lost you, I never really lost you
I never lost you 'cause you were never mine
I never lost you, I never really lost you
How could I lose you, you were never mine
I never lost you because you were never truly mine to begin with, and therefore, how could I have actually lost you?
Writer(s): Delbert Ross Mc Clinton, Benmont M. Tench, Gary Tolbert Nicholson
Contributed by Jordyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@KateMagicMusic
I saw someone again today
Who remembered me and you
They asked all the same old questions
I gave the same excuse.
They said what a shame, what a shame
To lose a love so fine.
But I never lost you
I never really lost you
I never lost you
You were never mine
I kept on believing
What I wanted to believe
The unspoken promises
Them that you could never keep
But it's a sin, oh, it's a sin to tell yourself a lie
But I never lost you
I never lost you
I never lost you
You were never mine
Did you give me all that you gave me
Just because, 'cause I needed you
But when I needed all your love completely
Was it more, more than you could do
Sometimes deep in the night
When I hold you in my dreams
I get lost in your loving touch, baby
I can't believe how real it seems
And I know, Lord, I know
I'll have you 'til the end of time
'Cause I never lost you
I never lost you
I never lost you
'Cause you were never mine
I never lost you
I never really lost you
How could I lose you
'Cause you were never mine.
➡️(I'm sure it happened at least once, to all of us. And the worst is that, in front of our heart's needs, no reason wins...) ❤️
@neemeshraimusic3730
I saw someone again today
Who remembered me and you
They asked all the same old questions
I gave the same excuse
They said what a shame, what a shame
To lose a love so fine
But I never lost you
I never really lost you
I never lost you
You were never mine
I kept on believing
What I wanted to believe
The unspoken promises
Them that you could never keep
But it's a sin, oh, it's a sin to tell yourself a lie
But I never lost you
I never lost you
I never lost you
You were never mine
Did you give me all that you gave me
Just because, 'cause I needed you
But when I needed all your love completely
Was it more, more than you could do
Sometimes deep in the night
When I hold you in my dreams
I get lost in your loving touch, baby
I can't believe how real it seems
And I know, Lord, I know
I'll have you 'til the end of time
'Cause I never lost you
I never lost you
I never lost you
'Cause you were never mine
I never lost you
I never really lost you
How could I lose you
'Cause you were never mine
@sjcaplan18
Mari, you got me again!
I met a girl, in my second year of college. We fell madly in love.
At the end of the year, I decided to travel through Europe alone.
It was something I felt, that I needed to do for my "self".
I planned to travel for two months, and had enough money saved for just that.
I ended up travelling to 12 countries and living in Copenhagen for two months, then went all through Sweden, Norway, and down through Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, and took a long train ride along the Riviera of all the Mediterranean countries.
I stopped in Barcelona for one month. Then onto Italy, Greece, and flew to Israel for a six month stay. Had a fantastic time. Slept in a tent and had a small gas stove, that I bought in Belgium. I ate bread with strawberry jam everyday.
Anyway, I finally went home to Cape Cod, to see my love.
I don't know what happened in my heart over the many months that I was gone? She loved me like no other... I moved down to Florida and worked on oil rigs out of Louisiana, in the gulf of Mexico. I did that for 6 months.
I also worked on oil boats for awhile. I then went back to university. My life took off from there and after graduating first in my class in both, psychology and philosophy, and being offered a professorship in philosophy, I went to grad school for psychology.
After some time, my father, who was in the shoe business, offered me a job to live in Hong Kong, and travel through Asia producing all different types of shoes. I lived there ten years.
Spent, 80% of the time in China. Learned Cantonese and Mandarin. Lived in five beautiful hotels in different provinces in China. I had a really interesting and good time. Met so many good people. All government factory workers. Managers of factories, making $40USD a month! The girls in the factories made $18USD a month. No one really spoke English, but I learned just enough Chinese to convey good feelings to these people. Many good friends all over China, but it was work, and when I left, I never had contact with anyone again.
That's part of life, Mari. We connect and then leave, though we leave a part of our selves with each person and they to us. I think of that girl I fell in love with almost every day, 40 years later! She was mine, but I was never hers! Thank you, Mari!
@johnanthony9313
In 75 years I've heard all the best female singers....none of them can touch Janiva for feeling, control, phrasing.....unique reality of expression. It's personal. I love this woman...which is just fine 'cos she is my daughter in law LOL
@wander-a-lottravel8091
Why is this lady not more well known? I’ve loved her music for years.
@michelemiller9403
I agree
@user-hg1wd6xo4e
Каким же надо быть богом одарённым человеком, чтобы создавать такие прекрасные композиции!!!
@nhl1798
Я оставил многим своим друзьям ваши комменты. Но только теперь начал понимать что для этого надо созреть—дорасти душевными стенаниями. Поражён тем что постоянно хочется послушать ваши композиции. Переосмысление жизни происходит быстрее. Новы не переживайте. Вас услышат те кто готов душевными порывами к этому!
@evarosen9557
Så mycket känslor
@larisasirikova6246
Благодарю вас, Mari! Вы - солнышко при любой погоде!
@cynthiaguthrie2409
for 5 years i was in love with a man who claimed to love me, but i began to see that i was always his last option, so i walked away and it hurt so bad and then someone sent me this song and i listened to it and cried. He was never mine. i started to reach for the phone to call him but i put it down because i knew then that he was never mine.
@pamspencer5733
Dignity 💪muscle flexing❣️
@RayRay-cn8rg
Good on you Girl !