Songfacts®:

• Rod Stewart released some swaggering rockers in his younger years (check out "Stay With Me" from his group Faces), but later on he would sometimes play the fool in love, as he did with "My Heart Can't Tell You No." The song finds him mad for a woman who has another man, but no matter how hard he tries, he turns to pudding in her presence. His brain wants to send her off, but his heart can't tell her no.
• This is one of the few new songs Stewart recorded that he didn't write. It was penned by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan; the pair also wrote Aretha Franklin's hit "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)." Morgan went on to become a top country music songwriter, with cuts for Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell and George Strait.
• According to Stewart, the highlight of this song is the acoustic guitar solo played by his longtime collaborator Jim Cregan.
• Stewart was a youthful 43 when this song was released on his Out Of Order album, which also includes the hits "Lost In You" and "Forever Young." His sound was maturing along with his audience, which followed him from Rock radio to Adult Contemporary, and from MTV to VH1. Over the next few years, he delivered more Lite Rock favorites, including "Downtown Train" and "Rhythm Of My Heart."
• The girl in the music video is played by the redhead Denise Greer (even though we all know Stewart prefers blondes). Directed by Russell Mulcahy, it's a sequel of sorts to the video for "Lost In You," where Stewart is also seen pining for Greer.