Once the frontwoman of UK band Blue Zone, which saw modest success with their single "Jackie", she became a major international star beginning with her guest vocal stint on Coldcut's record People Hold On.
Stansfield is probably best known for her first UK #1 single, All Around the World (1989), which also peaked at #3 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the following year. Other worldwide hits from her debut solo album Affection include This is the Right Time (featuring a house music-styled production by Coldcut with Mark Saunders), Live Together, What Did I Do To You? and You Can't Deny It. "All Around the World" was the second song by a white female soloist to hit #1 on the Billboard R&B chart (the first being "Ooo La La La" by Teena Marie in 1988). "You Can't Deny It" also topped that chart. Affection went platinum in the U.S., and sold a total of five million copies worldwide.
In 1990, Stansfield was among a handful of high-profile artists to participate in the Red Hot + Blue charity album, which honored the songwriting career of Cole Porter, and benefitted AIDS research at a time when funding from government agencies was insufficient for those in need. She was given the chance to show her swing and jazz chops on the song "Down in the Depths" (video), which was one of a few throwback renditions to appear on the album. This likely won her the female lead in the independent film Swing (1999), for which soundtrack she also performed most of the songs. Thus began an illustrious and respected tradition of Stansfield offering jazz and torch songs to outside projects (she also sang I've Got the World on a String in the original movie soundtrack of 2003's Mona Lisa Smile).
In 1992, Stansfield won a BRIT Award as best British female solo artist. Her second album Real Love did not quite live up to the success of Affection, despite selling very well. However, it did spawn four Top 40 singles on the European charts: Change, All Woman, Time to Make You Mine and Set Your Loving Free. "Change" has since become one of her signature classics, and still receives regular air-play to this day. "All Woman" became Stansfield's third #1 single on the Billboard R&B chart, and due to the success of that song, the album went gold in the U.S. Filled with pathos and emotion, it is "kitchen sink soul", from the viewpoint of a woman taken for granted. Like "All Around the World", many critics initially believed that it had been performed by a black singer.
Stansfield continued recording disco-influenced soul throughout the 1990s. Her third album So Natural (1993) spawned three Top 40 European singles including the title track So Natural, In All the Right Places and Little Bit of Heaven, but the album was never released in the U.S. She had continued success throughout Europe, but her popularity in America had diminished.
sidenote: "In All The Right Places" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie Indecent Proposal (1993), for which Stansfield was shortlisted as the lead that eventually went to Demi Moore. You can catch her talking about it in this YouTube interview clip (@ 1:30).
Her self-titled fourth album Lisa Stansfield (1997) was a hit in Europe with two Top Ten singles - People Hold On (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Mix) (a re-released dance mix by The Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) and The Real Thing, and the Top 40 track Never, Never Gonna Give You Up (a remake of the late Barry White's 1973 hit). Upon being released in the U.S., the album scored some mainstream attention, but fared much better in the dance clubs where remixes were very successful; an astonishing four singles - "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up", Never Gonna Fall, I'm Leavin', and "People Hold On" reached #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. It charted modestly, peaking at #30 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #55 on the Billboard 200. Subsequently, The Remix Album was released due to revived interest in Stansfield within the dance community. The music video for "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (video) was an eye-catcher featuring her strolling nude down a city street, acquiring a few items of clothing along the way. VH1 featured the clip and even gave it the Pop-Up Video treatment. During the promotion for the single, Stansfield appeared on the RuPaul Show, but inexplicably, did not sing the song (or any others, for that matter).
Her 2001 album Face Up was less successful, barely charting through a lack of publicity, but featured the singles Let's Just Call It Love and 8-3-1, which found her experimenting with newer styles of R&B such as 2-step while continuing with her established sound. Stansfield's husband, Ian Devaney, delivered an arrangement for the ballad How Could You?, which displayed his love of Burt Bacharach's legacy. Only one single was officially released in the UK.
Following the release of Face Up, a 2-CD greatest hits collection titled Biography: The Greatest Hits was released in 2003, which sold well in the UK and Europe. Stansfield then parted ways with Arista/BMG, ending an 18-year association with the label.
Stansfield signed with ZTT Records from the UK, and her 2004 release The Moment was produced by Trevor Horn, well-known for his work with Seal, Grace Jones, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, among others. The album was distributed in Europe by Edel, featuring the singles Treat Me Like a Woman (released as a double A-side with Easier) and If I Hadn't Got You, a song written by Chris Braide with ex-Squeeze songwriter Chris Difford. The album found her exploring more pop-oriented material, and focusing on lush ballads.
Despite this, as with her previous release, the album and supporting singles were not a success. At the time of the project's release, ZTT was directing large amounts of its resources into re-marketing its back catalogue, and producing the Trevor Horn concert for The Prince's Trust and its accompanying double CD Produced by Trevor Horn. The release of "Treat Me Like a Woman" was twice delayed, and the label eventually paired it with "Easier". While ZTT did erect a billboard to advertise the album in Stansfield's home area of Greater Manchester, print advertising and in-store displays were reportedly absent. Later that year ZTT dropped her from their label.
Stansfield's talents also extended into acting; she starred in the 1999 film Swing with actor Hugo Speer, and recorded covers of swing classics and a few original songs written in the style for the soundtrack. She later appeared on a London stage in The Vagina Monologues. In 2006, she guest-starred in the series Goldplated. In 2007, she starred in an episode of Marple: Ordeal by Innocence, and later joined the cast of The Edge of Love.
On June 2012, Lisa told the UK newspaper, The Sunday Mirror that she's working on her seventh studio album, her first in nine years, and that it is going to be released in spring 2013. Lisa announced in November 2012 that the album will be titled 'Seven'.
Official website: http://www.lisa-stansfield.com
Takes A Woman to Know
Lisa Stansfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Guess you think that you're smart
Guess you think you can tie up my heart
With a ribbon and pull it apart
You don't wanna get down
You don't wanna go deep
Well, I told you I love you
If you were a man
You'd walk out that door
Tell me love is a crazy game
We've played it before
If you were a man
You'd get up and go
'Coz you know what it takes
Takes a woman to know
Did you think that I'd wait
With my arms open wide?
When I saw that it's over
I saw it was written right there in your eyes
You don't wanna get down
You don't wanna go deep
Well, I told you I love you
But baby, I figured that you were asleep
If you were a man
You'd walk out that door
Tell me love is a crazy game
We've played it before
If you were a man
You'd get up and go
'Coz you know what it takes
Takes a woman to know
Takes a woman, takes a woman
Takes a woman to know
Takes a woman, takes a woman
Takes a woman to know
Well, I wanted you forever, babe
But that ain't your style
So next time I'm kissing you
I'll be kissing you goodbye, yeah
If you were a man
You'd walk out that door
Tell me love is a crazy game
We've played it before
If you were a man
You'd get up and go
'Coz you know what it takes
Takes a woman to know
Takes a woman to know
Takes a woman to know
The lyrics of Lisa Stansfield's song "Takes a Woman to Know" speak to the idea that men can be emotionally unavailable while women have a greater understanding of love and relationships. The song suggests that the singer has been involved with a man who is not willing to commit or go deeper in the relationship. She expresses her frustration with him, saying that if he were a man, he would walk out the door and acknowledge the truth about the relationship. However, she also suggests that women are better equipped to navigate the complexities of love and understand the emotional needs of a partner.
The chorus, "Takes a woman to know," reinforces this idea, suggesting that women are more in tune with their emotions and those of others. The song also portrays a sense of power, as the singer encourages the man to leave if he is not willing to commit. Overall, the lyrics suggest that women have a greater understanding of love and relationships, and that men would benefit from trusting and acknowledging the emotional intelligence of women.
Line by Line Meaning
Guess you think that you're cool
You seem to believe that you are impressive or desirable in some way.
Guess you think that you're smart
You appear to think that you are intelligent and knowledgeable.
Guess you think you can tie up my heart
With a ribbon and pull it apart
You possibly imagine that you can easily capture and break my heart.
You don't wanna get down
You don't wanna go deep
Well, I told you I love you
But baby, I figured that you were asleep
You seem unwilling to engage in a true, meaningful relationship despite my declaration of love towards you.
If you were a man
You'd walk out that door
Tell me love is a crazy game
We've played it before
If you had the maturity and courage of a man, you would leave and acknowledge that love can be unpredictable and has caused us trouble in the past.
If you were a man
You'd get up and go
'Coz you know what it takes
Takes a woman to know
If you possessed the qualities often associated with being a man, you would leave because only a woman like me truly understands the complexities and demands of love and emotional connections.
Did you think that I'd wait
With my arms open wide?
When I saw that it's over
I saw it was written right there in your eyes
You expected me to wait eagerly and patiently for you, but when I looked into your eyes, I recognized that our romance had come to an end.
Takes a woman, takes a woman
Takes a woman to know
Takes a woman, takes a woman
Takes a woman to know
Only a woman can truly comprehend the intricacies of love and emotional connections.
Well, I wanted you forever, babe
But that ain't your style
So next time I'm kissing you
I'll be kissing you goodbye, yeah
I had hoped to have a long-lasting, committed relationship with you, but it seems that is not what you want. Therefore, the next time we kiss will be our last.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHARLIE DORE, TERRY BRITTEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind