Most of her career has been as lead singer for The Staple Singers. She first recorded solo for the Stax subsidiary Volt in 1969. Subsequent efforts included a Curtis Mayfield-produced soundtrack on Curtom, a nod to disco for Warner Bros. Records in 1979, a stab at electro-pop with Holland-Dozier-Holland in 1984, and a collaboration with Prince in the late 1980s and early 90s (producing the two solo albums Time Waits for No One in 1989 and The Voice in 1993, and various other collaborations). Staples has a rich contralto voice that has neither the range of Aretha Franklin nor the power of Patti LaBelle. Her otherworldly power comes instead from a masterful command of phrasing and a deep-seated sensuality expressed through timbre manipulation. Both the Staple Singers and Mavis found fresh audiences stemming from their participation on the CD Rhythm, Country and Blues, and in 1996 she issued Spirituals and Gospel: Dedicated to Mahalia Jackson. Her next recording project didn't land for another eight years, although Have a Little Faith on Alligator Records became her highest profile release in years.
Staples released a new album for Anti- Records titled We'll Never Turn Back on April 24, 2007. The Ry Cooder-produced concept album focuses on songs of the civil rights movement and includes two new original songs.
See also:
Wikipedia
Official Site
I Have Learned To Do Without You
Mavis Staples Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You put me in a groove and all I could think of
Were your sweet lips upon my face,
You tender voice I thought I could never erase
Although you're gone, and I'm all alone
In an unhappy home
I have learned to do without you,Even though, even though it hurts me deep down inside
I have learned to do without you
I have wiped those tears from my eyes.
I'm not perfect, oh, and I know it's true,
But all my intentions were good for you,
My true love and affection, it just wouldn't do,
So you found yourself, found somebody new.
Now that you're gone, and I'm all alone
In an un-, in an un-, in an unhappy home
Oh, I have learned to do without you,
Even though, even though it hurts me deep down inside
So hard.
I have learned, learned, learned to do without you
I have wiped all the tears from my eyes.
Now that you've had, had your rendez-vous,
You realized just how good, how good I was to you,
You've come back to my front door
But it's too late, it's too late, it's too late
I just don't need you no more.
So, baby, go, go and leave me alone
In this un-, in this un-, in this unhappy home
Cause you know what?
I have learned to do without you,
I'm doing just fine all by myself
Go on back to your new love
I don't need you
I don't need you no more.
Cause I have learned, learned, learned to live without you,
Yes, I somehow got over you,
Yeah
Doing some I didn't think I could do
I have learned to do without you
The lyrics of Mavis Staples’s song “I Have Learned to Do Without You” represents the story of a woman who has been abandoned by her lover, but despite the pain and hurt, she has learned to survive on her own. The song starts by stating how the lover was the first taste of love for the singer and how she became really fond of the person to the extent where all she could think of were the lover’s sweet lips and tender voice. However, things fell apart, and the lover found someone new, leaving the singer alone in the midst of an unhappy home. Despite all the hurt, the singer has managed to learn how to live and be contented without the lover, having wiped the tears from her eyes.
The singer admits to not being perfect but knows that her intentions were good for her lover. However, it doesn’t change the fact that her lover moved on to someone else. The lover later realized how good the singer was but returns when it’s too late, and the singer has already learned to manage and live without the lover. The singer eventually lets the lover know that they are doing just fine without the lover, and they don’t need them anymore.
Overall, the lyrics in “I Have Learned to Do Without You” tell the story of heartache and the journey of healing and independence. It shows how one can learn and grow from heartbreak, and how they can thrive on their own without relying on anyone else.
Line by Line Meaning
You gave me my first taste of love,
You introduced me to what love feels like for the first time.
You put me in a groove and all I could think of
You made me feel so good that all I could focus on was you and the way you made me feel.
Were your sweet lips upon my face,
I was so drawn to you that the memory of your kisses is still with me.
You tender voice I thought I could never erase
Your voice was so sweet and loving that I thought it would be with me forever.
Although you're gone, and I'm all alone
Even though you're not here with me anymore, I'm still by myself.
In an unhappy home
I'm living in a place of sadness and loneliness.
I have learned to do without you,
I've learned to live my life without you in it.
Even though, even though it hurts me deep down inside
Even though it still hurts me on a deep emotional level.
I have learned to do without you
I've figured out how to live without you in my life.
I have wiped those tears from my eyes.
I've stopped crying over you and moved on.
I'm not perfect, oh, and I know it's true,
I acknowledge that I'm not perfect.
But all my intentions were good for you,
I had good intentions when it came to you.
My true love and affection, it just wouldn't do,
Even though I loved you deeply, it wasn't enough to make things work between us.
So you found yourself, found somebody new.
You moved on and found another person to be with.
Now that you're gone, and I'm all alone
Now that you've left, I'm still by myself.
In an un-, in an un-, in an unhappy home
Still living in the same place of misery and loneliness.
Oh, I have learned to do without you,
I've adjusted to life without you in it.
Even though, even though it hurts me deep down inside
Even though I'm in pain because you're not here.
So hard.
It's been really difficult.
I have learned, learned, learned to do without you
I've really, truly learned how to live without you in my life.
Now that you've had, had your rendez-vous,
Now that you've had your fling with someone else.
You realized just how good, how good I was to you,
You've come to see how kind and loving I was to you.
You've come back to my front door
You've tried to come back into my life.
But it's too late, it's too late, it's too late
You've missed your chance, it's too late to come back.
I just don't need you no more.
I've moved on and don't need you in my life anymore.
So, baby, go, go and leave me alone
I don't want you in my life, go away and leave me alone.
In this un-, in this un-, in this unhappy home
I'm still living in the same unhappy place as before.
Cause you know what?
And let me tell you something.
I have learned, learned to do without you
I've really and truly figured out how to live without you.
I have learned to do without you,
I've moved on from you and am doing just fine.
I'm doing just fine all by myself
I'm living a good life without you.
Go on back to your new love
Go back to the person you left me for.
I don't need you
I don't need you in my life.
I don't need you no more.
I've moved on from you and am living without you.
Cause I have learned, learned, learned to live without you,
I've come to really figure out how to live without you.
Yes, I somehow got over you,
Yes, I've managed to move on from you.
Yeah
Yes.
Doing some I didn't think I could do
I'm doing things I didn't think I was capable of.
I have learned to do without you
I've really come to terms with life without you.
Writer(s): Jimmy Barnes, David L. Jordan, Don Davis
Contributed by Ruby D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.