I took one look at you
That's all I meant to do
And then my heart stood still

My feet could step and walk
My lips could move and talk
And yet my heart stood still

Though not a single word was spoken
I could tell you knew
That unfelt clasp of hands
Told me so well you knew
I never lived at all
Until the thrill of that moment
When my heart stood still

I took one look at you
That's all I meant to do
And then my heart stopped right there

My feet could step and walk
My lips could move and talk
And yet my heart stood still

Though not a single word was spoken
I could tell you knew
That unfelt claps of hands
Told me so well you knew
I never lived at all
Until the thrill of that moment
When my heart stood still

Overall Meaning

Chet Baker's My Heart Stood Still is a poetic expression of how love can take over one’s entire being with just one look. The lyrics describe how the singer couldn't move, speak or think but could only feel as he set his gaze on the one he was falling in love with. The line “And then my heart stood still” implies that he was so profoundly affected by the encounter that his whole world had stopped, and only his affection was consuming him.

Although the singer doesn't speak a single word of love, the song alludes to a powerful mutual understanding between himself and the object of his affection through a silent language. The unfelt clasp of hands refers to how the two were figuratively holding each others’ hands and understanding each other's emotions without expressing them aloud.

Line by Line Meaning

I took one look at you
At that moment, I only glanced at you

That's all I meant to do
I did not intend to do anything else

And then my heart stood still
But soon my heart stopped and I felt mesmerized by you

My feet could step and walk
Although I was physically able to move forward

My lips could move and talk
And I was capable of speaking words

And yet my heart stood still
My heart remained motionless and entranced

Though not a single word was spoken
Even without communicating vocally

I could tell you knew
I could sense that you were aware

That unfelt clasp of hands
The act of holding hands that we did not actually engage in

Told me so well you knew
Conveyed to me that you also felt the same way

I never lived at all
Until that moment, I had not truly felt alive

Until the thrill of that moment
When I experienced the intense excitement of that moment

When my heart stood still
When my heart was captivated by you and could not move on

Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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