Mark Heard released 13 studio albums in his lifetime (as Mark Heard & Ideola) also 1 album with Infinity Plus Three), and produced and performed with many other artists as well, such as Daniel Amos, Sam Phillips, Pierce Pettis, Phil Keaggy, Vigilantes of Love, Peter Buck of R.E.M., John Austin, The Choir, Randy Stonehill and Michael Been of The Call. Heard produced part of Olivia Newton John's The Rumour, which also included a cover of Heard's "Big and Strong".
On July 4, 1992, Heard suffered a heart attack on stage while performing with Pierce Pettis and Kate Miner, at the Cornerstone Festival, near Chicago, Illinois. Heard finished his set and went to the hospital immediately afterwards. Two weeks after being released from the hospital, Heard had a cardiac arrest and died in August of 1992. Sadly, this happened at a time when Heard's musical career never looked brighter. Not only had he just released three albums (Dry Bones Dance in 1990, Second Hand in 1991, and Satellite Sky in 1992) that many hailed as his best work to date, but he had also just been included on a sampler from Windham Hill's High Street label.
Heard's early work was often marked by strong, poetic lyrics; but musically he lingered in a generic folk/folk-rock style. But Heard continued to experiment musically; his most extreme was perhaps the elaborately-produced electronic rock on the album Tribal Opera, which he released under the name iDEoLA. With Dry Bones Dance, however, Heard's music blossomed into an intense folk-rock fusion, marked by driving rhythms, virtuosic instrumentals, passionate vocals, and interwoven elements borrowed from styles such as Appalachian folk, zydeco, bluegrass, and country (though Heard's music is none of those). Second Hand returned to a more acoustic guitar-based folk sound, but retained the energy and creativity discovered through Dry Bones Dance. His final official album, Satellite Sky, was again more like the latter.
Mark Heard's lyrics are deeply grounded in a Christian view of the world, though explicitly so only half the time. He was often critical and had an eye for emotional pain and spiritual desolation, yet he remarkably avoided cynicism. When his lyrics turned to expressing hope or joy, they were powerful. As a poetic lyricist, Heard cultivated verbal sound (e.g. with internal rhyme), strong images and elaborate personae, while avoiding the cheap punch-line metaphors popular in much contemporary folk music. Some of his images, most notably "bones," can be found repeated and richly varied in their meaning across years of songwriting.
In 1994, many artists came together to record a tribute album called Strong Hand of Love. Artists lending their talents to the project included Victoria Williams, Chagall Guevara, Buddy Miller, Julie Miller, Daniel Amos, The Choir, Rich Mullins, Bruce Cockburn, and the Vigilantes of Love. The project was later reissued as a 2 CD set with additional tracks and retitled Orphans of God.
Awake in the Nighttime
Mark Heard Lyrics
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In the old times
And all those faces
And all those lines got to me
I’ve got to see how it ends
And I’m
Awake in the nighttime
Lost in a lifetime
It was a love to end all bogus devotion
It was a war to end all hostile belief
Such a bittersweet notion
Now I can’t get to sleep
And I’m
Awake in the nighttime
Awake in the nighttime
Lost in a lifetime
Awake in the nighttime
Lost in a lifetime
Awake in the nighttime
Bleary eyes, dusky skies
Take my mind to another place
Show me who, tell me what
Make me wonder why
Make a life flash in front of my eyes
It was the best of times
And it was the worst of times
Big screen kisses and bombed-out villages reigned
Some things never change
And now I’m
Awake in the nighttime
Awake in the nighttime
Lost in a lifetime
Awake in the nighttime
Lost in a lifetime
Awake in the nighttime
The lyrics of "Awake in the Nighttime" by Mark Heard paint a picture of someone who is awake in the middle of the night, unable to sleep due to an inner turmoil. The first stanza talks about how in the past, people used to see the world in black and white, and how the singer was affected by all the faces and the lines that he saw. He wants to see how it all ends, implying a longing for clarity and resolution. The chorus repeats the phrase "Awake in the nighttime, lost in a lifetime" suggesting that the singer is unable to escape the weight of his past experiences and is stuck in a state of uncertainty.
The second stanza talks about how the singer had a love that ended up being false, and a war that destroyed his beliefs. The singer seems to be looking back at his past with a sense of regret and disappointment. The phrase "now I can't get to sleep" is repeated, emphasizing the restless state of mind that the singer is in. The third stanza talks about how the singer is looking for something to break the monotony of his thoughts. He wants to be taken to another place, shown something new, and made to wonder why. Finally, the song concludes with the phrase "some things never change", perhaps indicating that no matter how much we try to escape our past, some memories will always remain with us.
Line by Line Meaning
They cast their visions in black and white
People used to see the world in extremes of right and wrong
In the old times
This happened in the past
And all those faces
All the people he has seen
And all those lines got to me
Their personal stories affected him deeply
I’ve got to see how it ends
He needs to know how their stories conclude
It was a love to end all bogus devotion
His former relationship was false and meaningless
It was a war to end all hostile belief
The conflict he faced destroyed his faith in others
Such a bittersweet notion
It's a complicated and mixed feeling
Now I can’t get to sleep
He's unable to get rest despite everything
Bleary eyes, dusky skies
His tired eyes and dark surroundings
Take my mind to another place
He wants to escape his reality
Show me who, tell me what
He craves knowledge and understanding
Make me wonder why
He wants to question his experiences
Make a life flash in front of my eyes
He asks the universe for clarity
It was the best of times
There were good things that happened
And it was the worst of times
However, there were also bad experiences
Big screen kisses and bombed-out villages reigned
There were happy media moments, but also tragic real-life events
Some things never change
Certain things always stay the same, regardless of time
Lost in a lifetime
He's overwhelmed with the impact of everything he experienced
Awake in the nighttime
Even when it's time for rest, his mind is active
Awake in the nighttime
The repeated line emphasizes his restless state
Lost in a lifetime
Once again, he's preoccupied with memories, stories, and events
Awake in the nighttime
For the third time, he's emphasizing his inability to rest
Lost in a lifetime
Nothing has changed; he's still feeling overwhelmed
Awake in the nighttime
The last usage of this line drives home the theme of unrest and being stuck in his thoughts
Contributed by Evan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.