My Heart

Hello, my dear friends!

I promise you, this one is going to be pretty short and sweet, in stark contrast to the last few posts.  This is welcome news to you, I'm sure.

The first thing of which I would like to make mention is that Sugarland has announced its release date for the duo's new album.  The album, called The Incredible Machine, is set to hit stores on October 19th of this year and has already spawned the unbeliveably catchy "Stuck Like Glue" as its first single.  Of course, I've only listened to the 30-second snippet that iTunes provides (over and over and over and over again...), so I can't say if the song as a whole is good, but so far, so good.  Like I said, catchy.  'Wah-oh wah-oh stuck like glue / you and me, baby, we're stuck like glue...'

And the second piece of news is [drum roll] the annoucement of Miss Taylor Swift's brand-new album!  She announced it via a live chat on her website (yes, I watched.  I'm overseas, and I still watched.), and it's going to be called Speak Now.  The release date is six days after the Sugarland album, October 25th.  I will be staying up until midnight, I assure you, and buying it early on the day!  And my own personal hard copy, of course.  A single has already been released from it.  It was meant to be released a few weeks from now, but after a low-quality version had been leaked somehow, Big Machine decided to release it earlier, and "Mine" was sent to radio yesterday.  Again, despite my eagerness to hear the song in its entirety, I have resorted to memorizing the 30-second bit that iTunes generously provides, and from what I have heard, the song shines.  It's beautifully, unmistakeably Taylor.  'You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter / you are the best thing that's ever been mine...'

And that, my friends, concludes that section and brings me to the order of the business of the day.

How did I come up with this song?  Well, I was writing a different song, and I came across (read: came up with) the line 'don't need pictures, I've got it in my heart,' and I began musing (as I so often happen to do when I'm tired) about the simple beauty of the phrase 'my heart,' and I thought that someone should write a song with that title.  My next thought was, "well, why not I?"  And then I did.  And almost an hour later, it was done.  I've found that the best songs I write are the ones that just come out by themselves.  The ones I don't even have to really think about.  And this one flowed out as naturally as....a heartbeat.

It's about as self-reflective a song as you can possibly get.  My heart is a pretty stupendous thing, I've found, writing this song.  And that, my friends, is the honest and simple truth.

My Heart

I know it's there, though I've never seen it
it beats sixty-five times in every minute
as long as it's beating, I know I'm alive
it's called a heart, and this one is mine

I've placed my hand over it every day
during the Pledge of Allegiance we all stood to say
and I learned its anatomy, the blood and the valves
when I was fifteen, in biology class
but I never learned more about what it can do
until the day I fell in love with you

CHORUS:
my heart breaks for the homeless I see on the street
my heart beats in time to a good song's melody
my heart tries to be good and put others first
my heart aches like the devil when it's been hurt
my heart burns with anger at what the unjust did
my heart melts when I see a sweet little kid
my heart beats when I'm excited, it beats when I cry
as long as it's beating, I know I'm alive

I've seen what a heart looks like on my TV
but I can't think how mine can hold all that it carries
like an image of you and your beautiful eyes
or the sting of all other guys' unfulfilled lies
it's fiercely loyal, this much is true
and if you believe that, it won't give up on you

CHORUS:
my heart breaks for the homeless I see on the street
my heart beats in time to a good song's melody
my heart tries to be good and put others first
my heart aches like the devil when it's been hurt
my heart burns with anger at what the unjust did
my heart melts when I see a sweet little kid
it beats when I'm excited, it beats when I cry
as long as it's beating, I know I'm alive

BRIDGE:
I'll say this, if you wanna know more
it used to be mine, but now it's yours

CHORUS:
my heart breaks for the homeless I see on the street
my heart beats in time to a good song's melody
my heart tries to be good and put others first
my heart aches like the devil when it's been hurt
my heart burns with anger at what the unjust did
my heart melts when I see a sweet little kid
it beats when I'm excited, it beats when I cry
as long as it's beating, I know I'm alive

I know it's there, though I've never seen it
it beats sixty-five times in every minute
as long as it's beating, I know I'm alive
it's called a heart, and this one is mine...

And that's that.  I'm going to have the melody with which I wrote it stuck in my head all day, and I don't mind.  I see it as a glorious triumph, but if you disagree, please let me know!  This is, after all, what this blog is for and what the ability to write comments allows you to do.

Much love, and thank you for the musik!

NBK

81 days until Speak Now!