|
From the bottom of my heart – with utmost sincerity Have a heart –try to be sympathetic Heart and soul – energy, enthusiasm In a heartbeat – immediately My heart goes out to… – feeling sympathetic towards… Find it in your heart– to summon up willingness Follow your heart – to act according to your emotions and desires The heart of the matter - the central, most essential aspect Change of heart – to change your mind A heart of gold– to be generous Have a heart to heart – to have an intimate conversation Have your heart skip a beat – to be startled or surprised Have your heart in the right place – to be well intentioned Have your heart set on something – to want something very much Know in your heart of hearts – to know something as true despite not wanting to believe it Know something by heart – to know something from memory Lose heart – to give up; feel discouraged My heart’s not in it – to really not want to do something Pour your heart out – to vent your feelings Take something to heart – to take something seriously Tug at someone’s heartstrings – to appeal to someone’s emotions Wear your heart on your sleeve – to openly express your feelings Songwriters, too, rely on these same expression tools, often with great effect, as they are very familiar and efficient. I came across a lyric lately that I jotted down because it sounded good. But when I reflected upon it, I became more confused – what was the artist really trying to say? “Tell me how you’re gonna change your mind if your heart’s unmovable?” “Worldwide Beautiful” Kane Brown, Jordan Schmidt and Ryan Hurd, songwriters In this simple line, the songwriters use the word “mind” which implies an intellectual function separate from the organ that controls it – the brain. Sure, “brain” can be used to also convey the thought process (such as “Brainiac”) but “mind” is more definitive and not used synonymously for brain. The problem I have in understanding the author’s intent in this lyric is that the word “heart” has too many definitions, all of which are commonly used in every day conversations, like the list above. Context matters. But what exactly is it that has to move in order for us to change our minds… which definition of “heart”? Is it our feelings, our intentions, our desires or inclinations, our willingness, our energy or enthusiasm, our moral nature, or our emotional commitment? Are they simply saying that to change your mind you have to want to? Or in fitting words to a melody are they asking a bigger question: do our true feelings control our thoughts or is it that our thoughts control (even suppress) our feelings? I hear the refrain from my audience: “who cares?… who thinks about things like this?… don’t you have anything better to do?... just pick all of ‘em… you’re overthinking it again…. turn your head off and just enjoy the song". Fair points, all. But I know what it’s like to climb inside my head and struggle with trying to understand the meaning the artists intended. Only then can I consider the lyric worthy of committing to memory or writing about. We’d love to hear what you think by commenting on this article below. |