When
B.B. King & Eric Clapton Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

When my heart starts beating like a hammer
And my eyes get full of tears,
Oh, when my heart starts beating like a hammer
And my eyes get full of tears,
You know you've only been gone 24 hours, baby,
Oh, but it seems like, it seems like a million years.

Now if I ever mistreated you baby,
You know I didn't mean no harm.
Oh, if I ever mistreated you baby,
God knows I didn't mean no harm.
You know, I'm just a little country boy, baby,
And I was raised right down on the cotton farm.


Oh, you give me so much trouble, baby,
Babe, that I don't know what to do.
Oh, you give me so much trouble, baby,
Baby, I don't know, I don't know what to do.




Oh, I ain't got nothing, I ain't got nothing now, baby,
Babe, and it's all on, it's all on account of you.

Overall Meaning

"When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer" is a song by B.B. King and Eric Clapton about a man who has just been separated from his loved one for 24 hours but it feels like a million years. It is a song about a man who loves his partner so much that even the slightest separation makes his heart ache. The lyrics "When my heart starts beating like a hammer/And my eyes get full of tears" describe the intense feeling of sadness and longing that he feels when he is away from his partner. The line "I'm just a little country boy, baby, and I was raised right down on the cotton farm" portrays his humble background and emphasizes that he is not trying to hurt his partner intentionally.


The next verse, "If I ever mistreated you baby/God knows I didn't mean no harm", shows that he regretted any misunderstandings or hurt he has caused in the past. He loves his partner and never meant to hurt her. The final verse, "Oh, you give me so much trouble, baby/Babe, that I don't know what to do", emphasizes the fact that he is lost without his partner and doesn't know how to function without her. He also states that he has lost everything because of her, emphasizing how much she means to him.


Line by Line Meaning

When my heart starts beating like a hammer
When I feel my heart racing with intense emotion


And my eyes get full of tears,
And tears start streaming down my face


Oh, when my heart starts beating like a hammer
Oh, when I feel overwhelmed with emotions


And my eyes get full of tears,
And tears start flowing uncontrollably


You know you've only been gone 24 hours, baby,
You know it's only been a day since we were last together


Oh, but it seems like, it seems like a million years.
But it feels like an eternity since we've been apart


Now if I ever mistreated you baby,
In the past, if I ever did you wrong


You know I didn't mean no harm.
You should know that I never intended to hurt you


Oh, if I ever mistreated you baby,
Oh, if I ever did you wrong before


God knows I didn't mean no harm.
I swear to God that it was never intentional


You know, I'm just a little country boy, baby,
You should know that I come from simple roots, babe


And I was raised right down on the cotton farm.
And I grew up on a farm where we grew cotton


Oh, you give me so much trouble, baby,
Oh, you cause me so much stress and difficulty, babe


Babe, that I don't know what to do.
That I don't know how to handle it


Oh, you give me so much trouble, baby,
Oh, you trouble me so much, babe


Baby, I don't know, I don't know what to do.
I don't know what actions to take


Oh, I ain't got nothing, I ain't got nothing now, baby,
I have nothing left, absolutely nothing left now, babe


Babe, and it's all on, it's all on account of you.
And it's all because of you, babe




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JULES BIHARI, RILEY B. KING

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

tenodogblu

You can just see the love oozing from BB and the appreciation of having those other greats on stage with him. Bless his heart wherever he may be xx

Katherine Woody

Some of the greatest guitar players on this stage! You had to be good back in the days when these guys played. The technology wasn’t like it is today to make someone sound better. Pure raw talent! ❤🎸🔥

Fisa Cussimbua

BB Ki ng, the master

Igor L

Каждая композиция шедевр , крепкого тебе здоровья дорогой наш король блюза , долгих тебе лет , и огромного вдохнавленья. Спасибо за дар слышать тебя.

М-р. Алекс

Король умер в 2015 году...

Penni Oltheten

I am so glad that I got to see him before he passed. One of the best blues player ever. RIP BB King

Josephine Ortiz

Erjejdi

Ruslan Kalchev

B.B. King is a great bluesman! I want to listen again and again, his sounds bring harmony.

Игорь Иванов

Эта сама любовь

Natalie L Craft

@Игорь Иванов
Yes Thank you ❤️

More Comments

More Versions