Heart Explodes

Album: Easter Is Cancelled (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, lead singer Justin Hawkins has lost his girl, and he's trying to reclaim her. He sets out to write her a ballad, but it doesn't feel right: love songs don't capture the crushing realities that have split this couple apart. All he can do is hit the open road and run until his heart explodes.

    The song was inspired by a real relationship. Hawkins explained in his Songfacts interview: "That is a love unrequited, to the point where matters get taken into their own hands, and the whole thing falls apart. But it's partly about the freedom and the enjoyment of the new emotional freedom.

    But I think it's also a lament, because for once, it isn't the protagonist's fault. It's not just relationship mismanagement, it's fate. There are a lot of things that are unsaid in that song, but alluded to - I don't really want to go into it, because some of it is a bit personal. It's a fairly direct expression of complete and utter despair with a little tinge of hope."
  • This was the second single from the sixth Darkness album, Easter Is Cancelled. A master of hyperbole, Justin Hawkins wrote of the album: "In the search for perfect sonic equivalents of core truths, every musical instrument of the world has been explored and exploited to its fullest extent. Endless days in studios, museums, spiritual retreats and places of learning turned into endless months, as deeper and deeper layers of truth were uncovered, translated and set for eternity in sound."
  • The animated lyric video was directed by Dean Eastment and uses a comic-book motif to show Hawkins hitting the open road.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Harry Shearer

Harry ShearerSongwriter Interviews

Harry is Derek Smalls in Spinal Tap, Mark Shubb in The Folksmen, and Mr. Burns on The Simpsons.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.