In 1972, the Stewart family (which consisted of his parents, Jermaine, his sisters Norma, Sondra, Leandra, and Leanna, and finally his brother Gene) moved to Chicago, Illinois. He took his first steps towards a career in entertainment there. Stints on both American Bandstand and later Soul Train as a dancer helped to fuel his ambition.
Soon, Jermaine became a backup singer and dancer for several artists such as The Chi-Lites, The Staple Singers and Shalamar while recording backup vocals for such artists as Culture Club. He was featured prominently on the group's 1983 album Colour by Numbers and as a result the group used their influence to help him land a solo recording deal with Arista Records.
The 1986 Frantic Romantic album with the hit single "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" quickly went on to become a million seller, and a second single, "Jody" was released, the inspiration of the song being Jody Watley of Shalamar. A modest success, "Jody" reached both the U.K. and U.S. top 50. Another U.K. only single "Don't Ever Leave Me" was released, reaching number 76 on the British charts. The song was a ballad, and indicative of Jermaine's versatility in any musical style.
Jermaine's third album was probably his most successful internationally. Entitled Say It Again, the production was handled largely by André Cymone who had previously worked with Prince and Jody Watley. The result was an almost flawless collection of pop and dance funk tracks, of which almost any song could have been a successful single.
Supported by international live dates with his band, "The Party", the title track became Jermaine's second U.S. top 40 Billboard hit and also reached the R&B top 10. In the U.K., it made it all the way to number 7, helping the album into the top 40.
The next three singles all received the remix treatment from the production company behind such hits as "You Spin Me Round" by Dead Or Alive and Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." "Get Lucky," "Don't Talk Dirty To Me" and "Is It Really Love" found considerable European success, particularly Germany, where "Don't Talk Dirty To Me" was one of the biggest selling records of 1988, making the top 5.
At this point, Jermaine was highly focused on the mainstream pop market. His fourth and final album under his contract with Arista Records, What Becomes a Legend Most?, was filled with radio friendly catchy pop tunes. The first single "Tren De Amor" reached number 76 in the UK charts, while the follow-up, "Every Woman Wants To," didn't fared as well, only making it to number 95. Commercial success eluded this album, and a label change followed.
In 1992, Jermaine teamed up with Chicago producer Jesse Saunders for his last recorded work, an album for Reprise Records. Entitled Set Me Free, the album marked a return to the dance funk style of Say It Again. The title track was released as a single in the U.S., but found little success. The album remains unreleased.
He died in 1997 of liver cancer, caused by AIDS. Ironically, his hit "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" gained popularity as it was referring to the AIDS scare of the 1980s. In 2003, the song was placed by VH1 in its 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders list.
In 2005, a compilation CD celebrating Jermaine's underrated contribution to '80s R&B which included several of his hits and a few previously unreleased tracks was released by BGF Records, an Ohio record label ran by Jermaine's brother.
Set Me Free
Jermaine Stewart Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Hey-ey
Whoa-oh, sing it, whoa-oh, oh
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh
Flashback hit me right between the eyes
A girl just came and said to me
'i want you by my side'
So exciting, but not without a doubt (a doubt)
She's locked the door and thrown the key
Someone get me out!
I know she means no harm to me
Fulfilling won't confide in me
It only makes me wanna leave
Set me free!
Set me free, whoa-oh (hmm-mm)
Set me free, whoa-oh (oh, no)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
Baby, let me go
Set me free, whoa-oh (hmmm, hey)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
Got to get away
Falling, crashing in and out of love
Doing things that boys do
Then she came about
Hey, so delightful, all that I would want (could want)
She locked the door and threw the keep
Won't you let me out?
I know she means no harm to me
Fulfiiling won't confide in me
It only makes me wanna leave
Set me free!
Set me free, whoa-oh (ooh-ooh-ooh)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh (hmmm, hey)
Set me free, whoa-oh
I've got to go, please let me go
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh (oh)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
Got to get away
Let me go
You got me cornered in your sealed love
Let me go
Baby, you got to set me free
(Sax Solo)
(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh)
(Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh, whoa-oh)
I know she means no harm to me
Fulfilling won't confide in me
It only makes me wanna leave
Set me free!
Let me go
You gotta, gotta, gotta let me go, oh!
Let me go
Baby, won't you set me free?
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh (baby)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
I've got to go, please let me go
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
I got to get away
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
I'm grounded in your sealed love
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh (oh)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set, set me free, yeah
Set me free, whoa-oh (free, yeah)
Set me free, whoa-oh (set me free, yeah)
Set me free, whoa-oh (set me)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Baby, won't you set me free
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
You got me cornered in your sealed love, hey
Set me free, whoa-oh (set me free)
Set me free, whoa-oh (set me free, hey)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Set me free, whoa-oh
Falling, crashing into love
Set me free, whoa-oh (set me free)
Set me free, whoa-oh (let me go)
Set me free, whoa-oh (oh)
Set me free, whoa-oh
Jermaine Stewart's Set Me Free is a song that talks about the struggle of being stuck in a relationship that is not fulfilling despite the love between two people. The song opens with the singer having a flashback of a girl who came up to him and expressed her affection. Though he is excited, he is not sure about her intentions, and he quickly changes his mind after being locked up in her love, asking someone to get him out. He knows that the girl he loves means him no harm, but he needs to be set free from the confinement that she has created around him. The singer then repeats the chorus, making his plea for the girl to set him free.
The second verse of the song is a continuation of the first. The singer is falling in and out of love, doing boyish things, then the girl comes along. The excitements start again, all that he could want, but she locks him up again with her love, making him realize that he needs to get out. He pleads with the girl to set him free, knowing that she meant no harm to him. He repeats the chorus before ending the song with the saxophone solo and backing vocals.
Line by Line Meaning
Flashback hit me right between the eyes
Suddenly, memories of a past relationship came flooding back, catching the singer off guard
A girl just came and said to me 'i want you by my side'
A girl expressed interest in being in a relationship with the singer
So exciting, but not without a doubt (a doubt)
While it's exciting to have someone show interest, the singer still has some reservations
She's locked the door and thrown the key
The girl has made it difficult for the artist to leave or escape the situation
Someone get me out!
The artist is feeling stuck and trapped, and desires to be free from the situation
I know she means no harm to me
The singer understands that the girl has no malicious intent towards them
Fulfilling won't confide in me
The girl is not willing to open up to the singer or have a deeper connection
It only makes me wanna leave
The lack of a deeper connection or trust makes the artist desire to leave even more
Set me free!
The artist desires to be free from the relationship and the weight it brings
Got to get away
The artist feels the need to physically remove themselves from the situation and be free from it
You got me cornered in your sealed love
The girl's intense love has left the singer feeling trapped and without an escape
Baby, won't you set me free?
The artist is pleading with the girl to allow them to leave and be free
Lyrics © Bluewater Music Corp.
Written by: JERMAINE STEWART, JESSE SAUNDERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind