Prisoner of Love
James Brown's Captivating Tale of Love's Chains
Lyrics
Alone from night to night you'll find me
Feeling isolated and alone throughout the nights.
Too weak to break the chains that bind me
Unable to overcome the emotional or metaphorical chains that bind the speaker.
I need no shackles to remind me
Not needing physical restraints to be reminded of the emotional captivity.
I'm just a prisoner of love
Expressing being metaphorically imprisoned by love.
For one command I stand and wait now
Waiting obediently for a command from the person who controls the speaker's fate.
From one who's master of my fate now
Acknowledging someone else as the master of the speaker's destiny.
I can't escape for it's too late now
Realizing it's too late to escape the emotional confinement.
I'm just a prisoner of love
Reiterating the theme of being a prisoner of love.
What's the good of my caring if someone is sharing those arms with me
Raising the question of the speaker's caring if someone else shares intimate moments with the person they love.
Although she has another, I can't have another for I'm not free
Expressing the speaker's inability to seek another love interest due to the emotional ties with the current person.
She's in my dreams awake or sleeping
Describing the person of affection appearing in the speaker's dreams, both awake and asleep.
Upon my knees to her I'm creeping
Symbolizing a sense of submission and vulnerability, being on the knees before the beloved.
My very life is in her keeping
Highlighting the importance of the beloved in controlling the speaker's very existence.
I'm just a prisoner of love
Reiterating the theme of being confined or restricted by the power of love.
What's the good of my caring if someone is sharing those arms with me
Repeating the question of the speaker's caring in the context of sharing intimate moments with someone else.
Although she has another, I can't have another for I'm not free
Emphasizing the speaker's lack of freedom to pursue another love interest due to existing emotional ties.
She's in my dreams awake or sleeping
Reiterating the presence of the beloved in the speaker's dreams, both awake and asleep.
Upon my knees to her I'm creeping
Repeating the image of being on the knees, suggesting a submissive and devoted stance.
My very life is in her keeping
Affirming the profound influence the beloved has on the speaker's life.
I'm just a prisoner of love
Concluding with the affirmation of being a prisoner of love, encapsulating the central theme of the song.
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