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.
I'm Crying Again
Mark Heard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They lead you to believe that life and death are commonplace
Some believe it
And I'm crying again
I heard some good intentions and not all were second-hand
But bravado and pretension will not feed a hungry man
It's been said before
And I'm crying again
Very quietly
The world loses blood overnight
Without a fight
In the morning
The sickness will hide in the light
Out of sight
Running from a world that they will never understand
The masses ride their passions with the throttle in their hands
Nobody knows
What is waiting around the bend
Now and then the criminal in my skin lets out a sigh
He'd like to think he's innocent
But he cannot tell a lie
Truth is like a knife
And I'm crying again
In Mark Heard's I'm Crying Again, the lyrics reflect the common feelings of disillusionment and despair about the state of the world and its inhabitants. The opening lines describe the phenomenon of headlines in the news acting as a race-horse, leading readers to believe that death and tragedy are just commonplace occurrences. While some believe this, the truth is that these events can still affect people deeply, evidenced by the singer breaking down and crying again.
The middle section talks about how the world loses blood overnight without a fight and the sickness will hide in the light. This suggests how events can happen stealthily and escape the notice of most, then only revealed later in broad daylight. The masses can be driven by their passions, and nobody knows what is waiting around the bend. This may suggest that people are not equipped to fully understand the world around them and the danger that may be present.
The final verse of the song is particularly noteworthy. The singer reflects on their own internal struggle, admitting to a "criminal in my skin." This "criminal" seems to represent the singer’s own fallibility and the difficulties of staying true to oneself in a world where truth can be difficult to find. The line "Truth is like a knife" suggests that the truth can hurt and bring about a lot of pain. As a result, it’s no wonder that the singer is crying once again.
Line by Line Meaning
The headlines in the dailies are the horses in a race
Newspaper headlines try to be sensational to compete with each other, but they create misconceptions about what is really happening in the world
They lead you to believe that life and death are commonplace
Newspaper headlines create an illusion that every event is a matter of life and death, despite most news being trivial
Some believe it
Some people believe what the newspapers say without questioning its accuracy and relevance
And I'm crying again
The songwriter is upset that people are misled by newspaper headlines and that they accept it without critical thinking
I heard some good intentions and not all were second-hand
The songwriter received advice from people with good intentions, some from personal experience and others from hearsay
But bravado and pretension will not feed a hungry man
Confidence and arrogance will not alleviate poverty, and action is needed instead of empty words
It's been said before
The message of taking action instead of talking has been delivered countless times before, yet it is still not put into practice
And I'm crying again
The songwriter is frustrated that people are still not addressing the root cause of poverty, and only paying lip service to helping others
Very quietly
The problems of the world are not always visible to the naked eye, and often happening silently in the background
The world loses blood overnight
Bad things happen when people are not looking, and the consequences can be severe
Without a fight
The problems could be prevented if people took action and intervened before it was too late
In the morning
But these problems will not go away by themselves, and they will emerge after being ignored for too long
The sickness will hide in the light
The unpleasant realities of the world are often hidden in plain sight and ignored because they are uncomfortable to confront
Out of sight
But ignoring problems will not make them disappear, and the issues will continue to fester and cause harm
Running from a world that they will never understand
Many people are intimidated by the complexities and uncertainties of the world and choose to avoid facing them
The masses ride their passions with the throttle in their hands
People are driven by their emotions and desires, and they often act impulsively and without considering the consequences of their actions
Nobody knows
The future is uncertain, and nobody knows what will happen next
What is waiting around the bend
There could be unforeseen consequences to actions taken today, and people should consider the long-term effects of what they do
Now and then the criminal in my skin lets out a sigh
Although the songwriter tries to do the right thing, he sometimes feels conflicted and guilty for not doing more to help others
He'd like to think he's innocent
The songwriter wants to believe that he is free of guilt, but he knows deep down that he could be doing more to make a difference
But he cannot tell a lie
The songwriter is honest with himself and others about his shortcomings and is open to improving
Truth is like a knife
The truth can be harsh, but it is necessary for growth and positive change
And I'm crying again
The songwriter is emotional about the state of the world and the lack of progress towards addressing important issues
Contributed by Alexander O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.