James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American composer, conductor,… Read Full Bio ↴James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American composer, conductor, and music producer. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, Emmy Award, and nine Academy Award nominations.

Throughout his prolific career, James Newton Howard has scored films of all scales and genres, earning multiple award nominations for his work. Howard began studying music as a young child and went on to attend the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California and then majored in piano performance at the University of Southern California. After Howard left college, he toured with Elton John and Toto as a keyboardist during the late 1970s and early 1980s before moving into film music in the mid-1980s.

By the 1990s, Howard truly hit his career stride, scoring the surprise blockbuster romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990) and receiving his first Academy Award nomination for his score for Barbra Streisand's drama The Prince of Tides (1991). Setting the musical mood for numerous films throughout the decade, Howard's skills encompassed a plethora of genres, including two more best original score Oscar nominations, the Harrison Ford actioner The Fugitive (1993) and the Julia Roberts romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding. In addition, Howard scored the Western epic Wyatt Earp (1994), the legal drama Primal Fear (1996), and the blockbuster M. Night Shyamalan suspense thrillers The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), and The Village (2004). His collaborations on tunes for One Fine Day (1996) and Junior (1994) garnered Best Song nods. Along with scoring such smaller, character-driven films as Five Corners (1988), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), and American Heart (1993), Howard proved equally skilled at composing for big-budget Hollywood spectacles, including Space Jam (1996), Dante's Peak (1997), Dinosaur (2000), and Collateral (2004). Although for Dante's Peak he only composed the main theme only, the score itself was composed by John Frizzell. Though he concentrated primarily on films, Howard has also contributed music for TV series, earning an Emmy nomination in 1995 for his theme to NBC's ratings smash ER.

Howard is now one of the most recognized composers for film. His work in 2004 on The Village, with violin solos by Hilary Hahn, earned him an Oscar nomination. Since, he has composed for several major motion pictures, notably the score for Batman Begins which he co-wrote with Hans Zimmer. On October 14, 2005, it was officially announced that Howard would replace Howard Shore as composer for King Kong, due to "differing creative aspirations for the score" between Shore and director Peter Jackson. The resultant score earned Howard his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score.

Since then he has been nominated for Best Original Score for the legal thriller Michael Clayton in 2008 and the war film Defiance in 2009. Since then he has composed music for blockbuster franchises and solo films including I Am Legend,The Dark Knight with Hans Zimmer, all of The Hunger Games films and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He was nominated for another Academy Award nomination in 2021 for his work on News of the World

Searching for a Heart
James Newton Howard Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Darkness in the morning
Shadows on the land
Certain individuals
Aren't sticking with the plan
And I'm searching for a heart
Searching everyone
They say love conquers all
You can't start it like a car

You can't stop it with a gun
Leaving in the evening
Traveling at night
Staying inconspicuous
I'm staying out of sight
And I'm searching for a heart
Searching everyone
They say love conquers all
You can't start it like a car
You can't stop it with a gun
They tell me love requires a little standing in line
And I've been waiting for you, lover, for a long, long time
I've been pacing the floor
I've been watching the door
Meanwhile I'll keep searching for a heart
Searching high and low for you
Trying to track you down
Certain individuals
Have finally come around
And I'm searching for a heart
Searching everyone
They say love conquers all
You can't start it like a car
You can't stop it with a gun
They tell me love requires a little standing in line
And I've been waiting for you, lover, for a long, long time
I've been pacing the floor I've been watching the door
Meanwhile I'll keep searching for a heart
Searching everyone

They say love conquers all
You can't start it like a car

Overall Meaning

"Searching for a Heart" is a hopeful song that speaks of optimism in dark times. The darkness and shadows mentioned in the beginning of the song could be a metaphor for the troubles or obstacles that are present in one's life. The song focuses on the journey of finding a heart, a true connection with someone or something that makes life meaningful. The repetition of the line "searching for a heart" emphasizes the eagerness of the singer to find this heart within everyone they meet. The lyrics "you can't start it like a car, you can't stop it with a gun" signifying that love isn't something that can be controlled or manipulated.

As the song progresses, a sense of melancholy creeps in, as the singer talks about leaving in the evening and travelling at night while staying lowkey, perhaps to escape from someone or something. However, the singer keeps searching, and they are seemingly buoyed by the thought of finding their love. The line "they tell me love requires a little standing in line" could mean that one has to be patient, sometimes for a long time, and sometimes love comes when people least expect it. The final lines of the song reveal that the singer is still waiting for their love, but despite this, they continue searching.

Line by Line Meaning

Darkness in the morning
Even in the early hours of the day, things seem bleak and hopeless.

Shadows on the land
There is a sense of gloom and despair all around.

Certain individuals Aren't sticking with the plan
Some people are not following the expected course of action or behaving as expected.

And I'm searching for a heart Searching everyone They say love conquers all
The artist is looking for someone to care for and love in these difficult times, believing that love can overcome any obstacle.

You can't start it like a car You can't stop it with a gun
Love cannot be forced or controlled like a machine or weapon.

Leaving in the evening Traveling at night Staying inconspicuous I'm staying out of sight
The singer is being stealthy, perhaps trying to avoid danger or escape from a threatening situation.

They tell me love requires a little standing in line And I've been waiting for you, lover, for a long, long time
Patience and persistence are necessary for finding true love, and the singer has been waiting and hoping for a significant other for a while.

I've been pacing the floor I've been watching the door
The artist is nervous and anxious, constantly checking and waiting for signs of their beloved.

Meanwhile I'll keep searching for a heart Searching high and low for you Trying to track you down
Despite the obstacles and challenges, the artist is determined to find someone to love and care for, no matter where they have to look or how hard they have to try.

Certain individuals Have finally come around
Some people have changed their behavior or attitude, perhaps becoming more supportive or helpful.

And I'm searching for a heart Searching everyone They say love conquers all You can't start it like a car
The search for love continues, but the singer still believes that love is worth pursuing and that it cannot be forced or controlled.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: WARREN ZEVON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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