"Anyone Who Had a Heart" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Ha… Read Full Bio ↴"Anyone Who Had a Heart" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) for Dionne Warwick in 1963. Warwick's original recording hit the Top Ten in the United States, Canada, Spain, The Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium and Australia in January 1964. Released on the Scepter label in November 1963, "Anyone Who Had a Heart" broke in Detroit, where it reached #1 that December. The track became Warwick's first Top Ten single in January 1964, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Pop 100 that February, also reaching #6 on the Cash Box R&B chart. The track was also a hit in Canada, reaching #11 on the hit parade for Toronto radio station CHUM, the country's most influential rock music broadcaster (national charts for Canada were not published during the chart run of "Anyone Who Had a Heart").

Warwick recorded "Anyone Who Had a Heart" at Bell Sound Studios in Manhattan in November 1963, in a session produced by Bacharach which also yielded "Walk On By" and "In the Land of Make Believe". According to published reports, Warwick nailed the tune in only one take – though an alternate remix of the take appears on a compilation album released in 1976 by Springboard International.

Anyone Who Had a Heart
Dionne Warwick Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Anyone who ever loved could look at me
And know that I love you
Anyone who ever dreamed could look at me
And know I dream of you
Knowing I love you so

Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in his arms and love me, too

You couldn't really have a heart and hurt me
Like you hurt me and be so untrue
What am I to do?

Every time you go away, I always say
This time it's goodbye, dear
Loving you the way I do
I take you back, without you I'd die dear
Knowing I love you so

Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in his arms and love me, too
You couldn't really have a heart and hurt me
Like you hurt me and be so untrue
What am I to do?

Knowing I love you so

Anyone who had a heart
Would take me in his arms and love me, too
You couldn't really have a heart and hurt me
Like you hurt me and be so untrue
Anyone who had a heart would love me too
Anyone who had a heart would take me
In his arms and always love me too
Why won't you?

Anyone who had a heart would love me too, yeah
Anyone who had a heart
Would surely take me in his arms and always love me
Why won't you? Yes

Anyone who had a heart would love me too
Anyone who had a heart
Would surely take me in his arms and always love me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Dionne Warwick's song "Anyone Who Had a Heart" express the pain of loving somebody who doesn't reciprocate those feelings. The singer speaks to anybody who has loved before, saying that they'll be able to empathize with her and understand how deep her emotions run. She says that her love for this person is so intense that even somebody who has only ever dreamed of love would be able to see it. She suggests that if this person truly had a heart, they would love her back and not hurt her the way that they have. She's confused about how to move forward since her love is so strong and all-consuming.

The chorus repeats the idea that anybody with a heart would love her, and that it's hard to believe that somebody could have a heart and hurt her at the same time. The final verse asks why this person won't love her despite the intensity of her own feelings.

Line by Line Meaning

Anyone who ever loved could look at me And know that I love you
I am openly expressing my love and commitment towards you to anyone who has ever experienced love in their life.

Anyone who ever dreamed could look at me And know I dream of you
My dreams are filled with thoughts of you and I am sure that anyone who has ever had a dream about someone they love would know how it feels.

Knowing I love you so
My love for you is constant and sincere, you can be assured of it.

Anyone who had a heart Would take me in his arms and love me, too
If you truly possess a loving heart, you would embrace me with open arms and return my love without any reservation.

You couldn't really have a heart and hurt me Like you hurt me and be so untrue
It's hard to believe that someone claiming to love me could cause me so much hurt, proving that their love was never true.

What am I to do?
I am lost and helpless in my love for you, not knowing what to do in the face of your betrayal.

Every time you go away, I always say This time it's goodbye, dear
Each time you leave me, I tell myself that I'll let you go for good this time, unable to bear being hurt by your love again.

Loving you the way I do I take you back, without you I'd die dear
The depth of my love for you is such that I can't resist taking you back, because living without you would mean certain death for me.

Anyone who had a heart would love me too
Simply put, anyone who has a true heart would love me equally as much as I love them.

Anyone who had a heart would take me In his arms and always love me too
A person with a genuine heart would always be there for me and provide me with the undying love and affection that I so desperately desire.

Why won't you? Yes
Despite being in love, you refuse to give me the love and affection that I need.

Anyone who had a heart would love me too, yeah Anyone who had a heart Would surely take me in his arms and always love me
I am convinced that a person capable of reciprocating my love with equal intensity would hold me close in their arms and love me unconditionally.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Burt Bacharach, Hal David

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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