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.
City Life Won't Let Up
Mark Heard Lyrics
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Cold steel knife blade talking for a cold steel heart
The day goes on, the darkness creeps up like a storm
City life won't let up while you're waiting for the light to change
Steel-boned high-rise growing from the ground below
Hard-hat hammer crew beating to the radio
Vertical guns, the skyscrapers shoot at the sun
City life won't let up while you're waiting for the light to change
Half-baked traffic snake creeping in the evening sun
Clogged-up fast lane clears and the day is done
Everyone's gone: some went to Hell, some went home
City life won't let up while you're waiting for the light to change
The song "City Life Won't Let Up" by Mark Heard paints a vivid picture of the harsh realities of living in the city. In the first verse, Heard describes "street-wise tough-guys" who are "strutting on the boulevard." He also mentions a "cold steel knife blade," symbolizing the violence and danger that exist in the urban landscape. He adds that "city life won't let up while you're waiting for the light to change," highlighting how life in the city never stops or slows down, and how people are always hustling to survive.
In the second verse, Heard describes the construction industry and the buildings that dominate city skylines. He uses words such as "steel-boned high-rise" and "vertical guns" to convey the idea of progress and growth, but also hints at the destructive nature of urbanization. He notes that "city life won't let up while you're waiting for the light to change," emphasizing how the energy and momentum of the city never stop.
The final verse speaks to the traffic and the end of the workday. Heard notes that "everyone's gone: some went to Hell, some went home," hinting at the various outcomes and experiences of people living in the city. He again repeats the phrase "city life won't let up while you're waiting for the light to change," implying that the struggles of city life persist even after the day is over.
Overall, this song captures the grit and complexity of city life, highlighting the simultaneous excitement and despair that come with living in an urban environment.
Line by Line Meaning
Street-wise tough-guys strutting on the boulevard
Tough individuals walking down the street with a sense of confidence and danger.
Cold steel knife blade talking for a cold steel heart
A person with a cruel heart represented by a sharp weapon.
The day goes on, the darkness creeps up like a storm
As time passes, the darkness of the night gradually approaches with intensity.
City life won't let up while you're waiting for the light to change
The busy life of the city continues without stopping, even when you're waiting for the traffic light to change.
Steel-boned high-rise growing from the ground below
A tall building made of steel gradually growing upward from the ground.
Hard-hat hammer crew beating to the radio
Construction workers, wearing hard hats, working with hammers while listening to the radio.
Vertical guns, the skyscrapers shoot at the sun
Tall buildings reaching for the sky, with a resemblance of a gun, piercing through the sun's rays.
Half-baked traffic snake creeping in the evening sun
The slow-moving traffic at dusk resembling a slithering snake, barely moving forward.
Clogged-up fast lane clears and the day is done
The previously blocked fast lane of traffic slowly becomes clear, symbolizing the end of a long day.
Everyone's gone: some went to Hell, some went home
Everyone disappeared, some going to their homes while some have given up and fell into a life of sin and despair.
City life won't let up while you're waiting for the light to change
The busy life of the city continues without stopping, even when you're waiting for the traffic light to change.
Contributed by Jordan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Joe Dunn
👍
Steven Conrady
Sounds like Fleetwood Mac...
Joe Dunn
Beatlesque