Lyrics for Light My Candle as interpreted by Eggos=yum

Light My Candle Lyrics
Roger:
What'd you forget?

(Mimi enters, holding a candle and looking for a match; her electricity is out, too)

Mimi:
Got a light?

Roger:
I know you? -- You're --
You're shivering

Mimi:
It's nothing
They turned off my heat
And I'm just a little
Weak on my feet
Would you light my candle?
What are you staring at?

Roger:
Nothing
Your hair in the moonlight
You look familiar
(He lights her candle. Mimi starts to leave, but stumbles)
Can you make it?

Mimi:
Just haven't eaten much today
At least the room stopped spinning.
Anyway. What?

Roger:
Nothing
Your smile reminded me of --

Mimi:
I always remind people of -- who is she?

Roger:
She died. Her name was April

(Mimi discreetly blows out the candle)

Mimi:
It's out again
Sorry about your friend
Would you light my candle?

(Roger lights the candle. They linger, awkwardly)

Roger:
Well --

Mimi:
Yeah. Ow!

Roger:
Oh, the wax -- it's --

Mimi:
Dripping! I like it -- between my --

Roger:
Fingers. I figured...

Oh, well. Goodnight.

(Rogers gestures towards the door. Mimi exits. Roger heads back toward his guitar on the table. There is another knock, which he answers)

It blew out again?

Mimi:
No -- I think that I dropped my stash

Roger:
I know I've seen you out and about
When I used to go out
Your candle's out

Mimi:
I'm illin' --
I had it when I walked in the door
It was pure --
Is it on the floor?

Roger:
The floor?

(Mimi gets down on all fours and starts searching the floor for her stash. She looks back at Roger, who is staring at her again)

Mimi:
They say I have the best ass below 14th street
Is it true?

Roger:
What?

Mimi:
You're staring again.

Roger:
Oh no.
I mean you do -- have a nice --
I mean -- You look familiar

Mimi:
Like your dead girlfriend?

Roger:
Only when you smile.
But I'm sure I've seen you somewhere else --

Mimi:
Do you go to the Cat Scratch Club?
That's where I work - I dance - help me look

Roger:
Yes!
They used to tie you up --

Mimi:
It's a living

(Mimi douses the flame again)

Roger:
I didn't recognize you
Without the handcuffs

Mimi:
We could light the candle
Oh won't you light the candle?

(Roger lights it again)

Roger:
Why don't you forget that stuff
You look like you're sixteen

Mimi:
I'm nineteen -- but I'm old for my age
I'm just born to be bad

Roger:
I once was born to be bad
I used to shiver like that

Mimi:
I have no heat -- I told you

Roger:
I used to sweat

Mimi:
I got a cold

Roger:
Uh huh
I used to be a junkie

Mimi:
But now and then I like to --

Roger:
Uh huh

Mimi:
Feel good

Roger:
Here it is -- um --

(Roger stoops and picks up a small object: Mimi's stash)

Mimi:
What's that?

Roger:
It's a candy bar wrapper

(Roger puts it behind his back and into his pocket)

Mimi:
We could light the candle

(Roger gently blows out the candle)

Mimi:
What'd you do with my candle?

Roger:
That was my last match

Mimi:
Our eyes'll adjust, thank God for the moon

Roger:
Maybe it's not the moon at all
I hear Spike Lee's shooting down the street

Mimi:
Bah humbug ... Bah humbug

(Mimi places her hand under his, pretending to do it by accident)

Roger:
Cold hands

Mimi:
Yours too.
Big. Like my father's
You wanna dance?

Roger:
With you?

Mimi:
No -- with my father

Roger:
I'm Roger

Mimi:
They call me
They call me Mimi



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MEMPSestina
07-03-2002

 Rated  0 
this is the best song.

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PRtwilight85
09-16-2002

 Rated  0 
i love this song. i mean, you really gotta watch this song to really get it, but its so sweet lol. its their love song, but its not all blunt and stupid and "LOVELOVELOVELOVE MUSH!!!" its just "light my candle". aww its so sweet... mimi blowing out the candle to stay longer and the last time roger blows the candle... he takes the leap. its sucha sweet song

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Ieatbubbles1787
04-10-2003

 Rated  0 
dude, this song rocks. along with all the other rent songs. so yeah.

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angeleyes07
12-03-2005

 Rated  0 
yeah dude this song is awesome, the movie is awesome, the whole soundtrack is awesome.

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BrainStewed74
12-27-2005

 Rated  0 
She's asking Roger to light the candle so that she can do her drugs. And her stash are the drugs she's going to take. That's why she's shivering - because she hasn't had her drugs.

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meerys74
01-05-2006

 Rated  0 
i like this song its cute but my one interpretation of the line "i hear spike lee's shooting dow the street" i think that refers to mark ya know who he "atttempts" to be and hes kinda makin fun of him and i think mimi replies w/ bah humbug b/c it was kind of like a scrrogish line to say about ur roomate/good friend cuz i THINK mimi knows mark but then again idk

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jenazabab
01-06-2006

 Rated  0 
IS ANY ONE ELSE LOVING THE RENT SOUNDTRACK? I must admit, when I first saw the movie I wasn't used the singing in every scene, the AIDS, the lesbians and gay people. When the movie was done though, it meant so much more than that. It was a great movie, one of my favorites. This is probably my favorite song on the soundtrack. I love the whole soundtrack- I think CD 1 is better then CD 2 though.

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such is life
03-05-2006

 Rated  0 
oh god, how i adore the movie version of this song.
the one from the original musical.. eh, not so much. i love the original, definitely, but..
mimi's voice on the original musical didn't do much for me. it sounded too whiny and.. something else i can't quite place. but i didn't like it as much as rosario dawson's. - shrug. -
this song's sweet though. and catchy as all hell. :]

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crazy4soccer14
04-08-2006

 Rated  +1 
I love how Roger is like a little kid in this song. He was like "I mean you do have a very nice a....a.... i mean you...." he changes the topic because he is scared to commit to her because he has HIV and is nice enough to know that and not spread it around. Mimi i am upset with though because she does not seem to say that she also has HIV and so what if Roger didnt. That would be bad. She needs to tell him. I also like how when Roger mentions his girlfriend, Mimi imidietly changes the subject and blows out her candle. Then when she gets burned she is putting it between her cleavage and he is all "ahh i cant do this!". He wants to but cant.

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Shwankky
07-31-2006

 Rated  0 
Roger is hilarious when he gets all nervous... :)

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ebonyeyes
08-08-2006

 Rated  0 
the first time i heard this song i was like wtf? but then after a couple of listens it really grows on you. i lub it!

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ebonyeyes
08-08-2006

 Rated  0 
the first time i heard this song i was like wtf? but then after a couple of listens it really grows on you. i lub it!

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ChillyKitten
10-26-2006

 Rated  0 
"She's asking Roger to light the candle so that she can do her drugs. And her stash are the drugs she's going to take. That's why she's shivering - because she hasn't had her drugs." ~BrainStewed74

I find it funny how everything on this site revolves around drugs... even though drugs are plainly mentioned in RENT.. haha. Your comment makes no sense. Her candle was already lighted when Roger was singing his "Glory" song.. She blew it out as an excuse to get into Roger's apartment. She throws her stash under the table as they sing "Light my Candle".. If she was just asking to have her candle lighted for drugs, she would have left right when he lit the candle. She wouldn't have kept stalling to get closer to him.

As for the shivering, It could have been a combination of not taking her drugs or from the cold. The freezing was mentioned in "Rent" as "..How can you generate heat when you can't feel your feet, and they're turning blue?" Oh well, i'm not starting arguments.

This is a great song. One of my favourites. I love Mimi. =3

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js_piano123
12-16-2006

 Rated  0 
i got that the lighting of the candle was a drug reference, and a reason for Mimi to stay with Roger, but i thought there might have been a sexual inuendo in there as well, thats what i got from it anyway.

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Tush
03-13-2007

 Rated  0 
I always took as she was trying to laid ( very blunt) or just get with him, sex or no sex.

Mimi see's Roger, immedietly falls for him.. So she uses the candle as an excuse to get inside of his important. The candle seems like it is her way to flirt with him.

"Would you light my candle?" It is like its asking, do you want to get to knowme? Be with me?

I never took the song as a drug reference! All sexual, just from the way she acts while in the apartment. Like sitting on the couch with him, and fiddling with his hands.. Or the way she gets on the ground to search.

I always thought she dropped her stash on purpose, just unsure where it landed because she got too caught in flirting with roger.

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yoshimi
05-07-2007

 Rated  0 
ChillyKitten, don't be so naive. not *everything* inent this site revolves around drugs, but a big part of RENT sure as hell does and it's clear in this song. i'm sure she could've lit her candle some other way and she went to Roger's because she wanted an excuse to talk to him/get in his pants, but HELLO, half of the song revolves around her finding her stash/being a junkie, him calling her out on it etc Drugs are mentioned a lot of times throughout the play, they even have a character who's a dealer. Mimi is a heroine addict, she almost dies from it in the end. did you even watch the musical?

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1 Reply  · 
devilslittlesister
03-13-2008

 Rated  0 
The first time I saw this movie, I wasn't really in to it. I didn't catch all the words and references and I even feel asleep during part of it. But I bought the DVD anyway and the soundtrack and now it's my absolute favorite! I love it sooo sooo much!
It took a few times for me to realize that lighting the candle was about Mimi's heroin addiction. The first time, I thought it was mainly one big sexual innuendo. I still think it partially is.
It's a beautiful and funny song all at once. Roger's so cute with his awkwardness and Rosario Dawson has such a pretty voice.
I can't wait to see the play!

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alexwood
09-12-2008

 Rated  0 
candle is slang for herion
she's asking for a light so she can shoot up, but is also using it as a sexual innuendo


sex and drugs guys, that this movie. dont be so naive

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Tyler2004durden
02-07-2009

 Rated  0 
Sweet song. I like the movie version.
Rosario Dawson sounds so hot, when she sings.


Favorite part:

Mimi:
Our eyes'll adjust, thank God for the moon

Roger:
Maybe it's not the moon at all
I hear Spike Lee's shooting down the street

Mimi:
Bah humbug ... Bah humbug

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General Comment
teenqueen22
06-16-2009

 Rated  0 
LOL.

Roger: They used to tie you up...
Mimi: It's a living.

I love this song.

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General Comment
teenqueen22
06-16-2009

 Rated  0 
LOL.

Roger: They used to tie you up...
Mimi: It's a living.

I love this song.

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General Comment
xaratherus
07-26-2011

 Rated  +1 
The truth is that there are numerous layers to this particular song; several have been mentioned already.

First, Mimi is a heroin user. Heroin is typically cooked in a spoon over an open flame - a candle, for instance. So the top layer, literal, and obvious meaning of the song is that Mimi is looking for a light for her candle so that she can do her drugs.

However, watching the scene again you'll find that this can't account for all of it, because before entering we can see Mimi standing outside Roger and Mark's flat (during One Song Glory), and her candle is lit. She blows it out intentionally.

Why? She finds Roger attractive and is looking for a reason to introduce herself for companionship. So in this case, "light my candle" refers to Mimi's search for love.

On a more blunt level, the theme of many of Mimi's lyrics here are sexual in nature, so "light my candle" could also refer to Mimi looking for a sex partner - in this case, "light my candle" would be to have an orgasm.

From Roger's perspective, it seems like his heart has been somewhat "frozen" of love since the loss of April. Lighting a candle would allow that to be thawed out, so despite his awkwardness, Roger is looking for someone to be with as well.

And unknown to Mimi, Roger was a former heroin-user as well; to him, the candle symbolizes his addiction, which he has "blown out" - so his hesitation toward the end of the song to give Mimi her stash back is an indication that he worries that being with her might relight the candle of his own addiction.

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General Comment




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