STATE OF THE HEART
(Lyrics and Music by Eric McCusker / additional music, lyrics and
arrangement by Rick Springfield & Tim Pierce)
Just a state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
In the state I'm in
I know your name
I told you mine
We've stopped and passed the time of day
You work in town
I work at night
That gives us six until seven to work this out
If I seem a little strange
It's just the state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
In the state I'm in
You are the moon
I am the sea
You pull me in and gaze on down at me
I was alone
I thought I was immune
It's good to know
The door can still be open wide
If I seem a little strange
It's just the state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
In the state I'm in
It's just the state of the heart
I wait in the dark
In the state I'm in
We get closer and closer
To falling out or falling in
I go over and over
But I can't change the state
This heart is in
If I seem a little strange
It's just the state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
In the state I'm in
It's just the state of the heart
You know I wait in the dark
In the state I'm in
It 's the state of the heart
State of the heart
The state of the heart
State of the heart
Woe, oooo
The state of the heart
State of the heart
The state of the heart
State of the heart
Woe, oooooo
(total playing time 4:00)
Song Facts:
The opening of this song is started with a young boy saying "Who's There"
over and over. It is in fact Tim Pierce's son speaking over a heartbeat in the background.
The heartbeat actually belongs to Bill Drescher's daughter and was obtained through a
sonogram.
Rick started
performing this song live during the 1985 tour, and continues to perform it
live.
State of the
Heart appears on the following releases: Tao, Alive-Greatest Hits, Best 21
(Jpn), Best of, Best of Rick Springfield, Greatest Hits, Rick Springfield,
Anthology (import), VH1's Behind the Music: The Rick Springfield Collection, The Best of
Rick Springfield (Japan), Legendary, Platinum and Gold, Anthology
(written in rock), We Are The '80s. It reached #22 on
the Pop Charts, debuting 6/8/85.
Rick
Says:
I was in
Australia for a visit in '83 I think and I heard the song on the radio.
I've always been a Ross Wilson fan, ever since 'Sons of the Vegetal
Mother', (a band he had in the 60's) and loved the song. I was backstage
at one of my shows in the States a few months later and started playing
round with the idea of doing the song on my next record (Tao). I sped it
up a little and wrote a 'bridge' and did some instumental changes and it
has become one of the more popular songs in concert tho' it wasn't that
big of a hit initially. Actually it's the song my band likes to play most
in the live show because it has such a great feel. - "Ask Rick"
on www.rickspringfield.com
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I never understood the "who's there" track before this
song starts. I remember it confusing me somewhat back in the 80's, then because my
brain could not figure it out I suppose I stopped wondering. I just kind of took it
as something Rick wanted out there for whatever reason, it was there - period. It
wasn't until the questions about our thoughts on it came up that I started pondering it
again. The liner notes credit Nigel Lundemo Pierce as the talking boy. I
always just assumed it was Tim Pierce's son, maybe I was wrong. What/who he is
looking for, I have no idea. But in researching the whole "Tao" idea when
we first started reviewing this album, I've found that basically that's what taoism stands
for. The search for yourself and your meaning and/or standing in this world.
The boy asking, "Who's there?" could represent Rick in this timeframe,
feeling like the boy asking himself who the man is. Why this track is in front
of this song instead of say, Walk Like a Man or The Tao of Heaven is a mystery to me.
I must confess right off the bat, I was a bit disappointed to find out Rick didn't really
write this whole song. I've been searching by the way for the original recording
done by Mondo Rock to compare the two, but I have not yet found it to hear it.
When I first saw the title, State of the Heart, my heart sank. Me being
the LIO lover that I am did not like the similarity to AOTH. I now however, see a
theme going... with Religion of the Heart on Karma. I'm starting to wonder
which "...of the Heart" song we're going to get on the next album
<wink>.
This song is totally "the dating song". A guy sees a girl he finds
interesting, they keep passing each other on the way to work. They have very little
time to get to know each other, yet he thinks there is something there that he should wait
for - he should allow this slow, getting to know you phase play itself out. So now
he feels that fluttery feeling in his stomach you get when you are attracted to someone,
yet don't really know them. The metaphoric phrase, "You are the
moon, I am the sea...you pull me in and gaze on down at me" symbolizes how
women are like a heavenly body with this pull like the effect of the moon on the tides to
a man. Sigh...poetic. So now he feels like his heart is directing his
every move, he's in a "state". "If I seem a little strange, it's
just the state of the heart". How many guys did you know who would/will
act totally goofy because of the woman they love? Totally true sentence here.
The music in the song behind the lyrics seem to support that light, walking on air
feeling you get when you're first pursuing a relationship also.
So again, I'm wondering...is it the man we love oh-so-much responsible for this beautiful
song/poetic masterpiece or Eric McCusker? How much did OUR man add to this?
What's Tim Pierce's role? We may never know.
I know your name, I told you mine, We've
stopped and passed the time of day, You work in town, I work at night, That gives us six
until seven to work this out. This part always tugged at my heart. There's just
never enough time for relationships, especially when you're young (curfews, phone limits,
distance driving, etc.) and now that I'm older, I'm still not sure we make enough time.
If I seem a little strange, It's just the state of the heart, I'm waiting here for
you, In the state I'm in. Sigh... if only that were true and damn it, you're
waiting in Australia and I'm stuck here in Kansas! (that's what I thought when I was teen,
'cause you know that was the ONLY reason we never hooked up..ahem..I found out some time
later that he was already married by the time this song was out).
You are the moon, I am the sea, You pull me in and gaze on down at me. Here I
always felt that the music reflected the words. The gentles sounds like the waves lapping
on the shore, and then gradually building into larger waves and crashing.
I was alone, I thought I was immune, It's good to know, The door can still be open
wide. Lots of doors on this album..."it's a gateless gate for those who
never try."
This song is easily one of my favorites.
It appeals to all the romantics.
The lines of "You are the moon I am the sea You pull me in and gaze on down at me
I was alone I thought I was immune
It's good to know The door can still be open wide" are simply sooo poetic.
It just has such an endearing quality to it. You can almost visualize him as
this sappy, lovesick man that wants nothing but the love of his woman. Romance isn't
easy and there's always the chance that the love will not be reciprocated. Rick sums
up that "state of the heart" so eloquently.
Well, this has got to be my favorite song on this CD /
Album / Tape. Yep, I have all three!
This song has an aura to it for me. When I hear it, the words throw me back to my
sophomore year in college. At that time in my life, I was in the turmoil that I get out of
this song. Is it filled with turmoil? Or is that just how I interpret it? During this time
I had already met the man I would one day marry, but he was kind of there and not there
for me. Then I met a really cool guy and I cried my heart out to him.
You are the moon, I am the sea, You pull me in and gaze on down at me. So this
guy finds me at just the right time... I was alone Yes! So I cried my heart
out to him. I thought I was immune. I didn't know that crying my
heart out could bring us so close. It's good to know the door can still
be open wide. With all the turmoil, I could still give my heart to someone else??
Maybe.... We get closer and closer. Self explanatory! to
falling out or falling in. In and out of love??
I go over and over. Should I forget about the guy that's out there somewhere
that I am so in love with or forget about him and start again with someone else??
Hard decision!
But I can't change the State this heart is in. Okay, still in love with the other
guy. Sorry, cool, cute, new guy. I have to go and find out if the love in my heart is
going to survive this "why is he stomping on my heart phase?" or if it's time to
move on. Well, it survived, because I married the first guy. But when I hear this song, I
always think of that other guy. What's he doing now? Does he still live in town? Actually,
I know he got married. So, State of the Heart, was just like there at this time. I don't
think I ever really put it all together, but anytime I hear it, I remember that time....
and it's not always a good feeling, but I do love this song still.
I love hearing it live!!! |
