American Songbook

A song I've always loved is "Have a Heart," by Bonnie Hayes, performed by Bonnie Raitt.

The "plot" is like Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Getting Back Together." A cad has one foot out the door, but he wants to keep Bonnie Raitt in limbo, just in case "the winds change." And, memorably, Bonnie says:

Hey!

Shut up.

Don't lie to me.

You think I'm blind, but I've got eyes to see.

Hey!

Mister!

How do you do?

Oh, pardon me. I thought I knew you.

This is an arresting and funny start. Raitt asks that her chatty, faithless lover just consider the option of "zipping your lips."

Oh, darling.

I love you so.

I told you yes, and then you told me no.

Baby, how can you say--

You should be free, and I should pay and pay?

Too much taking, inadequate giving. ("We hadn't seen each other for a month--when you said you needed space....") Money becomes a symbol: If one person is fully "free," then the other person has to "pay and pay."

And you talk and talk about you and what you need--

But, sooner or later, your love is gonna make me bleed.

Repetition helps to underline a theme: "talk, talk, you, you." This love is like an assault; it can draw blood. ("He calls me up again, and I'm, like, this is exhausting....")

I just admire the humor and bite in this song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9L0ewWvge8

Comments

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