Bonamassa was born in Utica, New York. He started playing guitar at age four, encouraged by his father, who was an avid music fan and exposed him to British blues rock records by Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, greatly inspiring him. At 11 years old Joe was mentored and trained by American guitar legend, Danny Gatton. When he was 12 years old, he had his own band called Smokin' Joe Bonamassa, which gigged around western New York and Pennsylvania, including cities such as Scranton and Buffalo, but only on weekends since Joe had school on weekdays. Bonamassa played a crimson 1972 Fender Stratocaster he called "Rosie", which his father had bought in Utica, New York.
When he was 12 years old, Bonamassa opened for B.B. King. In the last 13 years Bonamassa has put out 15 solo albums through his independent record label J&R Adventures, of which 11 have reached number 1 on the Billboard Blues charts. Bonamassa has played alongside such artists as Stephen Stills, Eric Clapton, Blondie Chaplin, Foreigner, Buddy Guy, Steve Winwood, Warren Haynes, Solomon Hicks,and Derek Trucks among others.[4] His career highlights include performances at the Royal Albert Hall and has had three Grammy Award nominations in 2013, for his collaboration album with Beth Hart "Seesaw", in 2016 for the album "Live at the Greek Theatre" and 2022 for the album "Royal Tea". In addition to his music career, Joe Bonamassa runs a nonprofit organisation called the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, whose mission is to further music education by funding scholarships and providing music education resources to schools in need. in 2020, he added an extension to the foundation. Called Fuelling Musicians, it provides $1500 cheques to struggling musicians affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
in 2021, he broke his own record for having more #1 Billboard blues albums than anyone in history. The album "Time Clocks" clocked up his 25th #1 album.
He is also known for his enormous collection of vintage guitars and related gear.
Close To My Fire
Joe Bonamassa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Watch it burn and flames getting higher
You light me up, sweet old desire
So won't you come close to my fire?
Baby, it's cold when you're gone
Don't make me wait, wait too long
Whenever you're near I have all this feeling
Oh, I'm a believer
Strike a match and set me on fire
Watch it burn and flames getting higher
You light me up, sweet old desire
So won't you come close to my fire?
Boy you are my symptom delusion
You're melting me down, my resolution
I can escape, can't say I'm trying
You say my name , oh I can't hide it
So come on, shoot down
Don't smoke it down
You can't stop craving til you come around
I can't deny it, I'm right here at home
My fever is waiting
Oh you know I want ya
Strike a match and set me on fire
Watch it burn and flames getting higher
You light me up, sweet old desire
So won't you come close to my fire?
Close to my fire
Ain't no need to tell me why
Ain't no need to tell me why
Because you know I want you to...
Strike a match and set me on fire
Watch it burn and flames getting higher
You light me up
Oh yea yea yea, You light me up
Oh come on, You light me up!
Close to my fire
Come come come come close to my fire
The song “Close To My Fire” by Joe Bonamassa is a bluesy rock song that speaks about the intense yearning, desire and craving for physical and emotional intimacy. The lyrics speak of the relationship between two people, where the woman is the epicenter of the relationship, the one who sets the relationship on fire. The man is drawn to her and is powerless to resist her charm and beauty. The lyrics indicate that he is dependent on her for his emotional and physical wellbeing. The singer describes himself as a “believer” and this implies that he has given in to his feelings and is deeply committed to the relationship.
The chorus of the song, “Strike a match and set me on fire, watch it burn and flames getting higher, you light me up, sweet old desire, so won't you come close to my fire?”, communicates how the woman ignites his passion and makes him feel alive. The line “boy, you are my symptom delusion” speaks to how his desire for her is like an addiction, and he cannot resist her allure. The song is powerful in the way it describes the powerful attraction between two people, while also hinting at the pitfalls of such an intense relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Strike a match and set me on fire
I want you to ignite my passion and desire with your love and affection
Watch it burn and flames getting higher
My love for you is growing stronger and stronger, just like a fire that consumes everything in its path
You light me up, sweet old desire
Your love and presence makes me feel alive and fulfills all my desires, just like a fire that is fueled by oxygen
So won't you come close to my fire?
I need you to be near me and share in the passion and intensity of my love, just like how a fire needs fuel to keep burning
Baby, it's cold when you're gone
I feel empty and lonely without you by my side, just like how it feels cold without the warmth of a fire
Don't make me wait, wait too long
I can't bear the anticipation and longing for your love for too much time, just like how a fire needs fuel to keep burning
Whenever you're near I have all this feeling
Your presence fills me with emotions and sensations that I can't describe, just like how a fire radiates heat and light
You're melting me down
Your love and affection is melting my heart and making me vulnerable, just like how heat melts down hard substances
Oh, I'm a believer
I have finally found true love and I believe in its power and magic, just like how we believe in things we see with our eyes
Boy you are my symptom delusion
Your love makes me feel like I'm in a dream world, where everything feels perfect and magical
You're melting me down, my resolution
Your love is breaking down my defenses and making me surrender to you completely, just like how heat melts down hard substances
I can escape, can't say I'm trying
I can't resist your love and I don't want to, just like how we can't resist the warmth and comfort of a fire
You say my name , oh I can't hide it
Your love makes me feel vulnerable and exposed, just like how a fire illuminates everything around it
So come on, shoot down
I want you to bring me down and surrender to your love, just like how a fire is eventually put out
Don't smoke it down
I don't want our love to be consumed and destroyed by negative emotions and thoughts
You can't stop craving til you come around
I can't resist the desire and longing for your love, just like how you can't resist craving for warmth and comfort in front of a fire
I can't deny it, I'm right here at home
I can't deny my love for you, it's where I belong and where I feel safe and secure, just like how a fire feels at home in a fireplace
My fever is waiting
My love and passion for you is burning inside me, just like how heat causes a fever
Oh you know I want ya
I need you and want you more than anything else in this world, just like how we can't resist the attraction and allure of fire
Ain't no need to tell me why
I understand my love for you and don't need an explanation, just like how we don't need to explain why we love fire
Because you know I want you to...
I want you to fulfill my love and desire, just like how we want fire to provide warmth and comfort
Oh yea yea yea, You light me up
Your love and warmth fill me with energy and enthusiasm, just like how fire provides us with light and warmth
Oh come on, You light me up!
I need you to keep fueling my love and passion for you, just like how fire needs oxygen to keep burning
Close to my fire
I want you to be near me and share in the warmth and passion of my love, just like how we want to be close to a fire to feel its warmth and comfort
Come come come come close to my fire
I'm urging you to come closer to me and share in the heat and intensity of my love, just like how we want to be as close as possible to a fire to feel its warmth and comfort
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PETER HOPPE, STEPHANIE POPP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AnaMaria-pl4tc
I'm literally in love with this song, the guitar, the sensuality..
Simply amazing!
@Jeff53536
Perfect analogy
@kevinsargeant9171
I didn’t want it to end .......
@eugeniogomesdacunha5531
This lady is feeling the song down to the bone. Love it.
@Lisa58Mc
Yes indeed 👍
@lyndastohr2202
Why would anyone give this a thumbs down? This song is nothing but perfection. Absolutely perfect!
@jamesswan4426
He said lovd, wo rks.😘
@CurlyFromTheSwirly
it's a nice song, but I considered giving a thumbs down for her skinny man legs.
@coffee-lp8iv
Why act surprised? Humans just acting like humans... they might just dislike her for her looks. Personally I upvoted her because she is one of the best blues singers I've ever had the privilege of hearing. Don't forget Joe and the rest of the band... bloody top quality.
@lyndastohr2202
@@jamesswan4426 ?