Born in Skewen, South Wales, Tyler rose to prominence with her first hit single "Lost in France" in 1976. She signed a management deal with British songwriters Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe, who wrote and co-produced Tyler's first four studio albums between 1977 and 1981. "It's a Heartache" became Tyler's first US hit, with worldwide sales in excess of 6 million.
In 1982, Tyler signed with CBS/Columbia and began working with producer-songwriter Jim Steinman. He wrote her biggest career hit, "Total Eclipse of the Heart", and produced its parent album, "Faster Than the Speed of Night" (1983), and the follow-up, "Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire" (1986). Both albums were noted for their bombastic pop-rock production and melodramatic lyrics. Tyler's next album, "Hide Your Heart" (1988), was produced by Desmond Child and included several tracks that later became hits for other artists, including "The Best" for Tina Turner and "Save Up All Your Tears" for Cher.
Tyler leaned further into a commercial pop sound in the 1990s. She signed with Hansa Records and recorded her next album, "Bitterblue" (1991), with an assortment of producers including Giorgio Moroder, Roy Bittan and Dieter Bohlen. Her subsequent albums "Angel Heart" (1992)" and "Silhouette in Red" (1993) were recorded almost exclusively with Bohlen.
Towards the end of the 90s, Tyler moved to East West Records and recorded the albums "Free Spirit" (1995) and "All in One Voice" (1998). She continued to experiment with cross-genre sounds in the 2000s, recording the covers album "Heart Strings" (2003) with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2004, Tyler began recording in Paris with producer Jean Lahcène, beginning with a re-recording of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" which topped the charts in France and Belgium. Tyler promoted her subsequent albums "Simply Believe" (2004) and "Wings" (2005) with a world tour and the release of her first concert film Bonnie on Tour.
Tyler spent the following eight years concentrating on her live work before returning to the studio for "Rocks and Honey" (2013). The album includes her UK Eurovision entry "Believe in Me". In 2018, Tyler reunited with David Mackay, who produced Tyler's first two albums in the 1970s, for her latest releases "Between the Earth and the Stars" (2019) and "The Best Is Yet to Come" (2021).
Tyler has contributed to several film soundtracks. Her most notable recording is "Holding Out for a Hero" which featured in Footloose, and has since become synonymous with action sequences, having later appeared in Shrek 2, Loki, and in numerous movie trailers. In 1984, Tyler sang the track "Here She Comes" for Giorgio Moroder's restoration of Fritz Lange's Metropolis, a recording which led to Tyler's third Grammy nomination.
Piece Of My Heart
Bonnie Tyler Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like you were the only man
Didn't I give you everything
That a woman possibly can
Lord but with all the love I give you
It ain't never enough
Well, I'm gonna show you baby
That a woman can be tough
Break it
Break another little piece of my heart now baby
Take it
Take another little piece of my heart now honey
You can have it
Have another little piece of my heart now baby
You know you've got it
If it makes you feel good
You're out on the street looking good
And you know, deep down in your heart
That it ain't right
No you never ever hear me when I cry at night
Though I tell myself that I can't stand my pain
But when you hold me in your arms, I say it again
So, come on, come on, come on, come on and
Break it
Break another little piece of my heart now baby
Take it
Take another little piece of my heart now honey
You can have it
Have another little piece of my heart now baby
You know you've got it
If it makes you feel good
Break it
Break another little piece of my heart now baby
Take it
Take it little piece of my heart now honey
You can have it
Have another little piece of my heart now baby
You know you've got it
If it makes you feel good
The song "Piece of My Heart" by Bonnie Tyler is about a woman who gave everything to a man whom she loved deeply. She treated him with all the love and care that a woman possibly can, but even then, it was never enough for him. The man took advantage of her love and left her heartbroken. Despite the pain, the woman decides to be strong and show the man that she can be tough. She invites him to break another little piece of her heart, and take it away, knowing well that he has the power to do so. She tells him that he can have the piece of her heart because she wants him to feel good, even if it hurts her.
The lyrics also describe the woman's struggle to cope with the pain of the man's actions. She watches him go out and look good, knowing that what he did wasn't right. She breaks down at night, crying herself to sleep, but when he holds her in his arms, she forgets her pain and repeats the cycle once again.
In summary, the song suggests that love can be all-consuming, and when it is not reciprocated, it can cause immense pain, yet some people would willingly give their hearts away despite the potential for heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Didn't I make you feel
Did I not make you feel special and loved?
Like you were the only man
Like there was nobody else in the world more important than you
Didn't I give you everything
Did I not give you all of my love and attention?
That a woman possibly can
Every single thing I could have done to show my love
Lord but with all the love I give you
Despite all the love, care and affection I bestow upon you
It ain't never enough
It seems never enough for you
Well, I'm gonna show you baby
I will make sure to prove you wrong, my dear
That a woman can be tough
Women can be strong and powerful, too
So, come on, come on, come on, come on and
Please, just take another chance on me and follow my lead
Break it
Break my heart
Break another little piece of my heart now baby
Shatter my heart into even tinier little pieces
Take it
Take my heart
Take another little piece of my heart now honey
Take even more of my heart and make it your own
You can have it
You have permission to take it all
Have another little piece of my heart now baby
Take some more of my love and heart, my dear
You know you've got it
I trust you to take care of my heart and love
If it makes you feel good
If it brings you joy and happiness by taking it from me
You're out on the street looking good
You're out there looking dashing and handsome
And you know, deep down in your heart
You're aware in the depths of your being
That it ain't right
That what you're doing is not right
No you never ever hear me when I cry at night
I cry myself to sleep alone and you're never there for me
Though I tell myself that I can't stand my pain
Even if I tell myself that I cannot handle this sadness and loneliness
But when you hold me in your arms, I say it again
When you hold me, I forget everything and fall in love with you all over again
Lyrics © THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bert Berns, Jerry Ragavoy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Philip Kassabian
on Straight From The Heart
Yet another excellent Bonnie Tyler song.
Philip Kassabian
on Holding Out for a Hero
A great and fantastic song by Bonnie Tyler.