Songfacts®:

• By 1984, The Cars were pop stars with rock credibility, emerging from the punk/new wave scene with hit singles like "Shake It Up" and "Let's Go." Heartbeat City contained songs that were even more meticulous and catchy, thanks to the addition of Mutt Lange as producer. He was the guy at the helm for AC/DC's Back In Black album and Def Leppard's Pyromania, and he delivered similar results with The Cars: five hit singles, including this one, "You Might Think," "Drive," "Hello Again" and "Why Can't I Have You."
• Written and sung by Cars guitarist Ric Ocasek, this song is about an extraordinary girl the singer is enthralled with, so much so that being with her is like magic. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Mike - Santa Barbara, CA
• Directed by Tim Pope, the video was shot at the Hilton family estate in Beverly Hills (Paris Hilton wasn't in it). Taking the "magic" concept quite literally, the clip shows lead singer Ric Ocasek walking on water in the swimming pool. The effect was very low-tech - simply a plexiglass platform built into the pool. It collapsed on the first take, and the crew had to spend hours rigging a new one.
• With lines like "I see you under the midnight," this is an example of what Ric Ocasek called "manipulated contradictions," where the lyrics are anything but straightforward. In this song, the guy is nuts for the girl, but also convinced she's under his spell - that there are "love darts" in her eyes. He's probably way off, but Ocasek liked to let the listener decide.