John Mark Heard (1951-1992) was a record producer, singer, and songwriter o… Read Full Bio ↴John Mark Heard (1951-1992) was a record producer, singer, and songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia.

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 Looking Through You
Mark Heard Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm looking through you,
Where did you go?
I thought I knew you,
What did I know?
You don't look different, but you have changed.
I'm looking through you, you're not the same.

Your lips are moving,

I cannot hear.
Your voice is soothing,
But the words aren't clear.
You don't sound different,
I've learned the game.
I'm looking through you,
You're not the same.

Why, tell me why, did you not treat me right?
Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight.

You're thinking of me,
The same old way.
You were above me,
But not today.
The only difference is you're down there.
I'm looking through you,
Any other way.

Why, tell me why did you not treat me right?
Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight.

I'm looking through you,
Where did you go?
I thought I knew you,
What did I know?
You don't look different,
But you have changed.

I'm looking through you,
You're not the same!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "I'm Looking Through You" by Mark Heard describe the feeling of looking at someone and realizing that they are not the same person you knew before. The song talks about the disappointment and bitterness of seeing the person you love change and not recognize them anymore. There is also a hint of confusion and disbelief in the lyrics as the singer tries to figure out what happened and why things have turned out this way.

The song starts with the lines "I'm looking through you, Where did you go? I thought I knew you, What did I know?" which set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer is trying to find the person they knew before and is questioning where they went. The second verse talks about the frustration of not being able to understand what the person is saying even though their voice is soothing. The lines "Why, tell me why, did you not treat me right? Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight." reflect the disappointment and anger of the singer as they come to terms with the fact that love can be fickle and unpredictable.

In the third verse, there is a hint of superiority and arrogance from the singer as they mention that the person was once "above" them but not anymore. The lines "The only difference is you're down there. I'm looking through you, Any other way." imply that the singer is now in a better position but still feels let down by the person they love.

Overall, "I'm Looking Through You" is a powerful song that captures the pain of realizing that the person you love has changed and that you cannot connect with them anymore. The lyrics are poetic and insightful, and the melody complements the mood of the song perfectly.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm looking through you,
I can see through your facade

Where did you go?
You've changed and I don't know where you went

I thought I knew you,
I believed I understood who you were

What did I know?
But I was wrong

You don't look different, but you have changed.
You may appear the same on the outside, but inside, you're different

I'm looking through you, you're not the same.
I can see that you're not the person you used to be

Your lips are moving,
You're speaking

I cannot hear.
But I'm not really listening or understanding what you're saying

Your voice is soothing,
Your tone is calming

But the words aren't clear.
But I can't comprehend the meaning behind them

You don't sound different,
Your voice hasn't changed