The bands' story starts in Dayton, Ohio, where Wennerstrom found the name on a multiple choice video trivia game at a bar.
As a songwriting teenager during a time when Guided by Voices and Brainiac were packing local bars and three of the Breeders were still in town, Wennerstrom used to sneak into clubs to check out the scene. "I would just see those people—my music heroes—hanging out at the bar like everyone else," she remembers. "I could see myself in them. It gave me inspiration to do my own thing."
After doing the usual business of playing local shows, the trio set out the following year on a regional tour. One of the first gigs of the trip took them to a bar in Akron, where the Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney just happened to be one of only a handful of people in the audience. This chance encounter led Wennerstrom and the Heartless Bastards to Fat Possum Records, with whom they released their debut, Stairs and Elevators, in early 2005.
The band moved on with critical praise in their back pocket, including a four-and-a-half star review from Rolling Stone, which took note that, when Wennerstrom “opens her throat on Stairs and Elevators … she sounds like she’s wailing on the shoulders of giants; her sad and angry vocals channeling all the swagger and spit of a young Robert Plant”
By whatever yardstick you care to measure, it was high time for Erika to get out of Dayton.
In true ascetic discipline, she moved to Austin, Texas in 2007 for a change of inspirational scenery and a new recording project. With the help of producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of Dead), she assembled a group of musicians with whom she gave the songs life and uncovered yet another layer of Wennerstrom and the Heartless Bastards. Two of the new Bastards aren’t Texas ringers, but fellow Dayton brethren Dave Colvin on drums, and Jesse Ebaugh on bass, who actually played on the original demo that hooked Fat Possum, throw in one Austin native on guitar, Mark Nathan and you’ve got a new unstoppable force that “Take the stage and literally knock everybody down” – NY Times review of the Bastards SxSW record release performance.
The Decemberists’ guitarist Chris Funk said, "It's been a few years since I've had a voice on repeat in my mind. This voice seems to arrive in my ears while sound checking, often before the shows on a pre-show play list and after shows too -- the songs are just perfect and the band has found their spots behind this incredible woman. A unique and enduring artist arrived into our world once again."
The album, entitled The Mountain, (released February 2009) delivers the powerful howl that fans expect from the Heartless Bastards, but also weaves in adventure with mandolins, banjos, strings and Erika’s transcendent voice.
Brimming with confidence and creativity, The album Arrow (released February 2012) sees Heartless Bastards pushing their distinctive sound forward with their most eclectic, energetic collection thus far. The album – the Austin, Texas-based band’s first release with Partisan Records – is marked as ever by singer/guitarist/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom’s remarkable voice, at turns primal and pleading, heartfelt and heroic. Songs like “Parted Ways” and the searing “Low Low Low” expertly capture the Bastards’ multi-dimensional rock in all its strength and spirit. Following upon the difficult introspection of 2009′s acclaimed third album, The Mountain, Arrow stands as a powerhouse new beginning for Heartless Bastards.
“The Mountain was me going through some things after being in a relationship for nine years,” Wennerstrom says. ”This album is kind of like me being comfortable again.”
Only for You
Heartless Bastards Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd really really like to know you more, know you more
Oh your eyes they sing a song to me
And I'd really really like to move to it, groove
And I will open my heart
And I will only for you
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh yeah
Oh your eyes they're spinning 'round my head
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh
And I will open my heart
And I will only for you
And I just don't know what to do
My head has such a cloudy view
I'm so tired of trying
And I just don't know what to do
My head has such a cloudy view
I'm so tired of trying
Oh your eyes they're spinning 'round my head
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh yeah
Oh your eyes they're spinning 'round my head
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh
And I will open my heart
And I will only for you
In the Heartless Bastards' song "Only for You", the singer expresses her deep attraction towards someone she has just met. She speaks of how it's been a while since she has felt this way about someone and how she would like to get to know them better. She goes on to describe how the person's eyes seem to speak to her and she would love to dance to the song they seem to sing. The phrase "And I will open my heart, and I will only for you" is repeated multiple times, indicating how the singer is willing to be vulnerable and open to this person.
However, towards the end of the song, the singer admits that she's unsure of what to do as the view in her head seems cloudy, and she's tired of trying. This could be interpreted as the fear of vulnerability and uncertainty that comes with opening up to someone.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of deep attraction and willingness to be vulnerable while also acknowledging the fear and uncertainty that often comes with being open to another person.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been a while since I felt this way about someone
I haven't felt this strongly about someone in a long time.
I'd really really like to know you more, know you more
I'm very interested in getting to know you better.
Oh your eyes they sing a song to me
Your eyes are captivating and tell a story to me.
And I'd really really like to move to it, groove
I want to dance and feel the energy from your eyes.
And I will open my heart
I'm willing to be vulnerable and share my feelings.
And I will only for you
I'm choosing to be vulnerable with you specifically.
Oh your eyes they're spinning 'round my head
I can't stop thinking about your eyes and the way they make me feel.
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh yeah
This feeling is intense and bright, and I'm loving it.
And I just don't know what to do
I'm feeling lost and unsure about what's happening.
My head has such a cloudy view
My thoughts are jumbled and unclear.
I'm so tired of trying
I'm exhausted from trying to figure out what to do or say.
Lyrics © REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: Erika Wennerstrom
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@deuskadinahe4878
Heartless Bastards - Only For You (lyrics)♡
It's been a while since I felt this way about someone
I'd really really like to know you, more oh,
I know you, more, oh
Oh, your eyes, they sing a song to me
And I'd really really like to move to it, oh, groove, oh
And I will oh, open my heart
And I will oh, only for you, uh
Oh, your eyes are spinning round my head
And all, all this line of song, uh, yeah Around, uh, yeah
Oh, your eyes are spinning round my head
And all, all this line of song, uh, yeah Around, uh
And I will, ohh, ohh, Ahh
And I will, oh, only for you, uh
And I just don't know what to do
My head has such a cloudy view
I'm so tired of trying, ooh ooh ooh
And I just don't know what to do
My head has such a cloudy view
I'm so tired of trying, ooh ooh ooh
Oh, your eyes are spinning round my head
And all, all this line of song, uh, yeah
Around, uh, yeah
Oh, your eyes are spinning round my head
And all, all this line of song, uh, yeah
Around, uh
And I will
Oh! Open my heart
And I will
Oh, only for you
@springfreesia
Been a while since I felt this way about someone,
I'd really really like to know you, more,
Oh oh, know you, more
Oh, your eyes, they sing a song to me,
I'd really really like to go to it, oh, go, oh
And I will oh, open my heart
And I will oh, only for you
All your lies are spinning round my head
And all, all this line of sorrow, ooh, yeah ooooh, yeah
All your lies are spinning round my head
And all, all this line of sorrow, ooh, yeah ooooh
And I will, I I ohh, ohh
And I will, oh, only for you
And I just don't know what to do, my head has such a cloudy view,
I'm so tired, of trying, ooh ooh ooh
And I just don't know what to do, my head has such a cloudy view,
I'm so tired, of trying, ooh ooh ooh
All your lies are spinning round my head
And all, all this line of sorrow, ooh, yeah ooooh ooh, yeah
All your lies are spinning round my head
And all, all this line of sorrow, ooh, yeah ooooh, ooh
And I will open my heart
And I will oh, only for you
@antoniovalle9997
Lyrics:
It's been a while since I felt this way about someone
I'd really really like to know you more, know you more
Oh your eyes they sing a song to me
And I'd really really like to move to it, groove
And I will open my heart
And I will only for you
Oh your eyes they're spinning 'round my head
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh yeah
Oh your eyes they're spinning 'round my head
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh
And I will open my heart
And I will only for you
And I just don't know what to do
My head has such a cloudy view
I'm so tired of trying
And I just don't know what to do
My head has such a cloudy view
I'm so tired of trying
Oh your eyes they're spinning 'round my head
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh yeah
Oh your eyes they're spinning 'round my head
And oh, oh this light is on, ooh yeah, on, ooh
And I will open my heart
And I will only for you
@brunette5121
Remember, the algorithm only learns from you...do not thank the algorithm...you are here because you are you
@babumber10
thanks for that comment, my friend...
@israelvalverde3678
thanks. love you!
@michaelaramis1210
heretic sinner
how dare you...
\[T]/ all praise the algorithm!!!
@caiosiqueira6912
An Inconvenient Truth
@manuelt.6650
The best thing i heard all day
@galtzar
I hope that someone likes this comment and that I receive a notification years later and return to listen to this masterpiece; I thank you in advance.
@Pulcherrim_haadu
Time to watch the song again Budd come back here 😭😭
@galtzar
@@Pulcherrim_haadu oh wow thanks... hahaha
@Vanessa-sb6qz
I know it’s only been 13 days but it’s Friday night, I feel like you need this song today. 😊