Piece Of My Heart
Janis Joplin ( Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
An' didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can?
Honey, you know I did!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I've just had enough,
But I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.
I said come on, come on, come on, come on and take it,
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby,
Hey! Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
You know you got it if it makes you feel good,
Oh yes indeed.
All right!
You're out on the street looking good, honey,
Deep down in your heart I said you know that it ain't right,
Never never never never never never hear me when I cry at night.
Honey, I cry all the time!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I can't stand the pain,
But when you hold me in your arms, I'll sing it once again.
I'll say come on, come on, come on, come on and take it!
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby.
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah,
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good, hey!
Now all right!
Now come on, come on, come on, come on and take it,
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby.
Break another little bit of my heart, honey, yeah.
Hey! Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it if it makes you feel good.
Hey! Hey! Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
Break it, break it, break it, yeah.
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good.
The lyrics of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart," are essentially a message from a woman who has given her all to a man who has still left her with a broken heart. She asks if she didn't make him feel like he was the only man and give him everything that a woman possibly could. She is reminding him of all the good things she provided for him, but despite her efforts, he left her feeling heartbroken. However, she is also reminding him that a woman can be tough and she won’t let him bring her down.
In the chorus, Janis Joplin sings "Take another little piece of my heart now, baby, break another little bit of my heart now, darling." By singing this, she is telling the man to take another piece of her heart, as he has already broken bits of it before. Nevertheless, she is willing to take the risk and give him another chance because she believes in love. Throughout the song, Joplin portrays herself as a powerful woman, one that is not afraid to love and to fight back when she’s wronged.
Line by Line Meaning
Didn't I make you feel like you were the only man, yeah,
I made you feel special and loved, like you were the only man in the world.
An' didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can?
I gave you everything I could as a woman in a relationship.
Honey, you know I did!
You know I did my best to make you happy.
And each time I tell myself that I, well I've just had enough,
Every time I reach my limit and feel like I can't take any more of this pain,
But I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.
I'll prove to you that women can be strong and resilient despite what you put me through.
I said come on, come on, come on, come on and take it,
I'm inviting you to take another piece of my heart.
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby,
Take another small part of me, even though it hurts.
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah.
Hurt me and break my heart even more, if that's what you want.
Hey! Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
I'm still willing to give you more of me, even though you've hurt me before.
You know you got it if it makes you feel good,
If taking another piece of me makes you happy, then you can have it.
Oh yes indeed.
Without a doubt, I know this is the right thing to do.
You're out on the street looking good, honey,
You might look good on the outside, but inside we both know there's something wrong.
Deep down in your heart I said you know that it ain't right,
You know deep down that what you're doing to me is wrong.
Never never never never never never hear me when I cry at night.
You never listen to me or care about how much you've hurt me.
Honey, I cry all the time!
I cry frequently because of the pain you've caused me.
And each time I tell myself that I, well I can't stand the pain,
Each time I try to convince myself that I can't take any more of this emotional pain.
But when you hold me in your arms, I'll sing it once again.
But even though you've hurt me, I'll still come back to you because I love you.
I'll say come on, come on, come on, come on and take it!
I'm inviting you to take another piece of my heart again.
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah,
Go ahead and break my heart even more, I can take it.
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
I'm still willing to give you more of myself, even though it hurts.
You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good, hey!
If taking another piece of me makes you happy, then you can have it.
Now all right!
Ok, let's do it.
Break it, break it, break it, yeah.
Go ahead and break my heart even more, I can handle it.
You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good.
If taking another piece of me makes you happy, then you can have it.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC.
Written by: JERRY RAGOVOY, BERT BERNS, ROBERT MCDONALD LIVINGSTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@perennialxennial
No machines, no electronic dubbing, no synthesizers, no crap lyrics, just pure soul and raw talent. RIP Janis...
@emilhawking8504
Yes Yoda 👍👍👍
@Deeenne
I love Janis Joplin, and this is a hit that I keep coming back to.
I completely agree with you that this is so much more authentic, pure-raw-talent, and far less computerized music that I absolutely love, as a 29 year old Millenial who grew up listening to 50s, 60s, and 70s music.
However, this music IS synthesized, it IS multi-tracked, it IS mixed, I'm sad to say it myself. Not a lot, but at least a little bit, as all music was even back then, which we know and which no one has ever questioned or refuted, certainly none of the studios or music artists themselves who were the talent of the 60s. With Janis Joplin, who wanted as little mixing as possible, this is among the most authentic, real pure-raw- talent as anything recorded at the time.
But hey, one can take solace in the fact that technology in the 60s and throughout the 70s was not anything near what it is today, and it wasn't even remotely close to the capabilities of what current synthesizers and mixers have sadly done to today's music, which just sounds like incomprehensible noise.
@marilynhudson9879
You're exactly right💯🔥🔥🔥💥
@kelliewaring9158
Yessss indeed!!
@ocenshorebreak9140
Fuckin right on Yoda back at you bruth
@Kevin-hn6wp
50 years later I still get goose bumps , we'll never forget Janis ! Mozart must share a cloud !
@lisalopez7488
Absolutely 💯
@thecelt4807
very true ...beth hart is one to have a listen to if you havent i asked my self when i heard beth hart why she is not world wide known she is a talent
@tarronirvin4419
I'm 39 and black and I learned of this song 3 years ago, and it's an all time classic and I'm from Detroit/Motown and I said that