about
The song is about second chances and receiving a love I didn’t deserve. The idea came while I was waiting outside my girlfriend-at-the-time's (now wife!) house. The snow was thick and I wondered what was beneath those layers of snow, and what spring would soon reveal. I could picture my own heart under there: frozen, crusted and needing the warm spring breeze to thaw it out.
And that warm breath came, mainly from the mouth of my Beccy O, who eventually did come home that day to let me in (but not before I scribbled down a couple verses). This song is about the process of my own heart thawing, but it’s also a love song to the one who brought the warmth.
I like using the analogy of a physical blood-pumping heart to portray how my metaphorical heart/soul/core functions. When I first played this song for my friend Matt, he said it was disgusting, which I took it as high praise. The grotesque picture of a thawing, dysfunctional heart seemed to communicate my story well.
lyrics
Verse 1:
I left my heart in the snow ‘cause I didn’t know
If I’d ever need it again
But when winter ‘came spring, you found that old thing
And mistakenly thought it was a gem
So you took it inside, and hung it by the fire
There was something you saw, as it began to thaw
What a treasure you thought you had found
A piece of junk when I left it on the ground
See you didn’t know that the valves wouldn’t close
And the tenderness was low as far as tenderness goes
And it wouldn’t pump blood, the tubing was full of crud
Its capacity to love was shot
Chorus:
But you loved it anyway
And you love it still today
What were you thinking when you picked it up
And thought it could be saved
Verse 2:
When I saw the lost and found ad you posted throughout town
I didn’t recognize the description
Stared at the paper on the pole and felt sorry for the soul
Missing such a lovely organ
So I called the contact number to see if I could help
And your voice was sweet as candy and soft as felt
You said, “Meet me at the diner at nine,
I’ll bring the heart along to show it’s genuine”
And when you showed it to me I couldn’t believe the repairs
You’d performed on the chambers with skill and care
The stitching unflawed, the plumbing unclogged
Fully capable of love
And my reply, was one of disbelief
Why would you, put yourself through all that grief
For a broken heart
Chorus
Verse 3:
Then it clicked in my brain, I’d been heartless for months
I hadn’t laughed or cried, no not even once
Then I realized the heart you were holding was mine
Oh-oh it was mine
Chorus
credits
from
Glass Display,
released May 15, 2010
Grant Adams on vocals, acoustic & electric; Jeremy Erickson on acoustic & keys; Anthony Schaefer on bass & trombone; A.J. Sabers on drums
license
all rights reserved
