Song of the Week: Mark Heard's "Heart of Hearts"

The player for the featured "Song of the Week" can be found on the upper right corner of the weblog for one week.

As promised last week, this week's "Song of the Week" comes from Mark Heard. Mark passed away in August 1992 at the age of 40, on the verge of some well-deserved exposure. It's surprising how often his music has been covered since his death, considering that he got very little appreciation from the music industry during his lifetime. As I mentioned last week, Austin's Monte Montgomery covered his song, "In the Gaze of the Spotlight's Eye" (Youtube). Also, Rich Mullins covered "How to Grow Up Big and Strong" on the 1993 album A Liturgy, A Legacy, A Ragamuffin Band (iTunes; Amazon). (The song was also covered by Olivia Newton-John on a tribute album. Interesting.) Leslie Phillips (now known as "Sam" Phillips) covered his song "Heart of Hearts." The Canadian musician Bruce Cockburn said he regarded Heard as his favorite songwriter and even wrote "Closer to the Light" in response to the news of his death (Dart to the Heart on iTunes; Amazon). Julie Miller's song "All My Tears" was dedicated to Heard. And her husband, Buddy Miller, covered his song "Worry Too Much" (Youtube) on the album Universal United House of Prayer (iTunes; Amazon). To learn more about Mark Heard, go to the tribute website or pick up the book, Hammers & Nails: The Life and Music of Mark Heard.

From his 1982 project, Victims of the Age, here's "Heart of Hearts." The recording is from a well-worn record of mine (yes, record--as in the flat, black vinyl disk that ancient peoples once played using needles on turntables). The iTunes version is crisper if you want to sample it there. Lyrics:

Tears in the city
But nobody's really surprised, you know
My heart's taking a beating
Existence is bleeding me dry, you know

But way down in my heart of hearts
Way down in my soul of souls
Way down I know that I am a fortunate man
To have known divine love

The world is in shambles
I'm just a young man
but it's been gettinga little bit old to me
I'm already aching
The years have been taking
a little bit of a toll on me

But way down in my heart of hearts
Way down in my soul of souls
Way down I know that I am a fortunate man
To have known Divine love

Two in the morning
The siren is a warning that
everything is not quite alright
The city is sleeping
I'm down on my knees in the night
tonight

But way down in my heart of hearts
Way down in my soul of souls
Way down I know that I am a fortunate man
To have known Divine love