At the age of 11 Jon became interested in the electric guitar techniques and music of Edddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page.
When he was 18 he swapped his electric for an acoustic and moved towards the playing styles of guitarists such as Roy Harper and John Renbourn. At this time Jon moved to Durham, England to study horticulture and became influenced by North Eastern folk music.
Here, he developed his singing and percussion skills (playing tabla, congas and djembe) and at 22 joined the young borders band Tarras, who shortly after signed a record deal with Topic Records.
Over the next 5 years Tarras released 2 albums and toured extensively in Europe and the U.S. The band shared their song writing and singing duties giving Jon a chance to find his own unique voice, and to develop his arrangement skills.
After Tarras disbanded, Jon moved between Manchester and the North East where he worked as a croupier. This gave him time to explore his solo songwriting, drawing from personal experience whilst broadening his use of musical influences to include: Steve Reich, Steely Dan, John Coltrane and Pink Floyd.
In 2004 Jon decided to start a solo career and moved to London to start work on his self-funded debut album. Once there he teamed up with multi instrumentalist and arranger, Patrick Durkan and together they worked on the concept and arrangements for the album. 'May Be Some Time' was recorded in September and October 2005, produced by Real World's engineer Ben Findlay and completed in January 2006.
The album distils Jon's experience and skill as a musician, songwriter, arranger and vocalist. The result is an album of intelligence and emotional depth, which repays repeated listening.
Cant Take The Heat
Jon Redfern Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't find myself inside, it's all a memory
If I light a candle for you, it won't ease my mind
Miss you when you're not here, I just ran out of time
I can watch the sun rising, but it don't mean much to me
Another winter's coming and I can't take the heat
Really took your time to understand your every need
I'm not interested in the inequalities
I'm gonna take my time, I'm gonna set it up for free
I can watch the sun rising, but it don't mean much to me
Another winter's coming and I cant take the heat
Another winter's coming and I cant take the heat
The lyrics of Jon Redfern's song Can't Take The Heat are about feeling lost and overwhelmed after a relationship has ended. The first line, "Can't see the picture when you're always in my way," suggests that the singer is having trouble moving on from their ex because their memory is always present. The second line, "Can't find myself inside, it's all a memory," reinforces the idea that the singer's identity is wrapped up in their past relationship and they are struggling to move forward.
The next two lines, "If I light a candle for you, it won't ease my mind/Miss you when you're not here, I just ran out of time," highlight the singer's attempts to find comfort in traditional methods of coping with loss, like lighting a candle or waiting for time to heal the wounds. However, these methods are not helping the singer, and they feel like they are running out of time to move on.
The chorus, "I can watch the sun rising, but it don't mean much to me/Another winter's coming and I can't take the heat," captures the singer's general feeling of disconnection from the world. They can see the beauty in nature, like sunrise, but it doesn't bring them any joy. The impending winter is a metaphor for the end of something, and the singer is struggling to handle it.
The second verse touches on the complexity of the relationship, with lines like "Can't believe, you left it so open in the breeze/Really took your time to understand your every need." The singer seems confused and hurt by their ex's actions, but they ultimately decide that they need to focus on themselves and move on.
Overall, the lyrics of Can't Take The Heat are a poignant exploration of the pain of a broken heart and the difficulty of moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
Can't see the picture when you're always in my way
I can't see the whole picture with you constantly obstructing my viewpoint
Can't find myself inside, it's all a memory
I can't seem to find myself anymore, it's all just a memory now
If I light a candle for you, it won't ease my mind
Even if I pray or hope for you, it won't bring me peace or comfort
Miss you when you're not here, I just ran out of time
I long for you when you're not present, but I know that time has run out for us
Can't believe, you left it so oh open in the breeze
I can't believe you left things so exposed and vulnerable
Really took your time to understand your every need
You really took your time to understand what you wanted and needed
I'm not interested in the inequalities
I'm not interested in focusing on the differences and imbalances in our relationship
I'm gonna take my time, I'm gonna set it up for free
I am going to take my time and set things up the way I want them to be, free from any constraints
I can watch the sun rising, but it don't mean much to me
I can witness the beauty of a sunrise, but it doesn't hold much significance for me
Another winter's coming and I can't take the heat
Another difficult and trying time is coming, and I don't feel capable of handling it
Another winter's coming and I cant take the heat
Again, I am expressing my fear and inability to handle the challenges that lie ahead
Contributed by Aaron R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.