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.
Dinner at Grandma's
Mark Heard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
T'wasn't long before I learned to use it night and noon
Swore I'd eat at Hardees or the Krystal down the street
But the food I get at Grandma's is mighty hard to beat
Dinner at Grandma's--wash that chicken down
Buttermilk and lemonade--I love that gurglin sound
Black-eyed peas and cornbread--I could eat it by the pound
Never went away hungry--always ate my fill
Ate it from the table or sometimes the window-sill
But every week around Sunday you know where I would head
To Grandma's to stuff my face with good ol homemade bread
Dinner at Grandma's--wash that chicken down
Buttermilk and lemonade--I love that gurglin sound
Black-eyed peas and cornbread--I could eat it by the pound
Dinner at Grandma's--the very best in town
Grandma had the groceries and we all had a feast
We cooked and ate up such a storm that the neighbours called the Police
When the Law came round the corner with the sirens blaring loud
They looked into the window there and what you think they found
Dinner at Grandma's--wash that chicken down
Buttermilk and lemonade--I love that gurglin sound
Black-eyed peas and cornbread--I could eat it by the pound
Dinner at Grandma's--the very best in town
The song "Dinner at Grandma's" by Mark Heard is a nostalgic tribute to the simple joys of family and home-cooked meals. The lyrics describe the singer's love for his grandmother's delicious southern cooking, which he contrasts with his initial preference for fast food joints like Hardees and Krystal. The opening line of the song, "Born and raised in Macon--in my mouth a silver spoon," sets the tone for the rest of the song, highlighting the singer's privileged upbringing and the contrast between his affluent background and his grandmother's humble home.
As the song progresses, the singer vividly describes the mouth-watering dishes that he loves to eat at his grandmother's house, from black-eyed peas and cornbread to buttermilk and lemonade. The repetition of the line "Dinner at Grandma's--wash that chicken down" emphasizes the communal aspect of the meal, and how it brings the family together. The final verse of the song takes a comedic turn, as the singer describes a wild family dinner that ends with the police showing up due to noise complaints from the neighbors.
Overall, the song is a heartfelt tribute to the importance of family and the joys of simple pleasures like a home-cooked meal. It celebrates the enduring power of tradition and the power of food to bring people together.
Line by Line Meaning
Born and raised in Macon--in my mouth a silver spoon
I was brought up in Macon, with an affluent lifestyle, always eating with silver cutlery.
T'wasn't long before I learned to use it night and noon
I quickly learned how to eat with my silver spoon, night and day.
Swore I'd eat at Hardees or the Krystal down the street
I thought I would eat at fast food restaurants like Hardees or Krystal's that were close by.
But the food I get at Grandma's is mighty hard to beat
But after tasting the dishes prepared by my grandma, it became difficult for me to find better food anywhere else.
Never went away hungry--always ate my fill
I never left grandma's house with an empty stomach, always satisfying my hunger.
Ate it from the table or sometimes the window-sill
I often ate the food from the table, or sometimes even from the windowsill.
But every week around Sunday you know where I would head
Despite all my eating options, every Sunday I knew I would head to grandma's house for dinner.
To Grandma's to stuff my face with good ol homemade bread
I would go to grandma's to eat large portions of delicious homemade bread.
Grandma had the groceries and we all had a feast
My grandma had a lot of groceries, so we always had an abundance of food for our feast.
We cooked and ate up such a storm that the neighbours called the Police
We cooked and ate so much food that our neighbors thought there was a disturbance and called the police.
When the Law came round the corner with the sirens blaring loud
The police arrived with sirens blaring loudly in front of grandma's house.
They looked into the window there and what you think they found
The police looked through the window and saw what was happening inside grandma's house.
Dinner at Grandma's--wash that chicken down
Dinner at Grandma's always involves washing down the chicken with a refreshing drink.
Buttermilk and lemonade--I love that gurglin sound
I love the sound of gurgling drinks like buttermilk and lemonade when I'm having dinner at grandma's.
Black-eyed peas and cornbread--I could eat it by the pound
I could eat endless quantities of black-eyed peas and cornbread made by grandma.
Dinner at Grandma's--the very best in town
Dinner at grandma's house is the best meal you can have in town.
Contributed by Makayla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.