by Moe Zilla

Created on: June 27, 2008   Last Updated: June 28, 2008

It's one of the most intense rock performances ever - with a secret history. The song opens with 12 seconds of a single, unbroken chord trembling on an organ, before Ian Hunter's voice wails out with pain and defeat. "I finally found you out," he sings with somber pride. Frozen in place, the chord doesn't change for another 10 seconds

"You won't make it through the night," Hunter warns bitterly.

"And you're standing in my light."

It's the ultimate "moving on" song - a fierce mix of feelings from a relationship that's ended. Yes, it's sadder but wiser - but it's the bitterness after the bitterness. Hunter lays down his final verdict, as though shouting his last words from a distance.

"You know you've been bad for me.
You ain't got the weight to hate.
But you ain't no pretty sight.
And your standing in my light."

The rest of the band doesn't even join in until 1:10 - a bluesy piano, a strumming guitar, and a soft tambourine, as Hunter walks through the relationship's aftermath. It all comes down to that one sentence, which Hunter sings four times to form the song's chorus.

"Move over, 'cause you're standing in my light.
Move over, 'cause you're standing in my light.
Move over, 'cause you're standing in my light.
Move over, 'cause you're standing in my light."

Hunter had released two failed albums since he'd left Mott the Hoople. Despite the initial success of his first solo debut in 1975, his career was now on the line, and with a new label giving him a chance, Hunter brought in members of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, along with guitarist Mick Ronson. "Revenge is a great motivator," Hunter remembered in one biography which describes his mood at the time of the recording "Anger. Total misery. Negative emotions. Especially when people think you ain't got a shot."

"That's when I'm great. That's when I can do it."

The album's liner notes included the quote along with the backstory of Hunter's album, which went on to become his most successful. ("You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic" spawned the classic rock song "Cleveland Rocks," along with "Ships That Passed In The Night," which ironically became a huge single for Barry Manilow). But the liner notes also reveal the answer to a lingering mystery. Who was Hunter singing about in this angry ballad? Who was standing in his light?

The song turns fierce halfway through, as Hunter sings about the years going by, and "sweeping dead bodies 'cross an open sky." The lyrics aren't universal; they're suggesting a twisted personal pain. And according to the liner notes, Hunter was singing about Tony Defries, the "somewhat controversial" manager of David Bowie who had also managed Mott the Hoople briefly before Hunter left the band in 1974. "I ain't gonna trade with the pain of the New York Dolls," Hunter sings at one point - referencing another glam band that Defries had also managed. Hunter closes his song by leaving Defries with one final message.

"I wish you luck on your very last chance
'cause I know you blew it at the song and dance.
You froze my feelings, but that's all right.

And your standing in my light."

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