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.
Just the Same
Mark Heard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was surprised to hear your voice
And a hundred miles of wire
Brought in your thoughts, and I rejoiced
And then we said good-bye
And I hung up the telephone
It seemed like you were here
But in an instant you were gone
And the distance is to blame
Though I ain't in Mississippi
Still I miss you just the same
Well you know you're just as real when you're here
When you're away
But it sure is hard to realize
Though I try the live-long day
If I forget your face
When space and time make you a dream
How real the Lord must be
Though he remains unseen
And I don't know what you're doing
And the distance is to blame
Though I ain't in Mississippi
Still I miss you just the same
The lyrics of Mark Heard's song, "Just the Same," are filled with emotion and longing for someone who is at a distance. The opening verse talks about receiving a surprise phone call from the person in question and being overjoyed to hear their voice, despite the physical distance between them. The mention of the "hundred miles of wire" shows just how far away they are from one another. The goodbye is bittersweet, with the singer feeling as though the person was almost there with them, but then gone in an instant. The chorus repeats the sentiment that, despite the distance between them, the singer still misses this person just as much as if they were in Mississippi, emphasizing the power of their connection.
The second verse is where Heard delves deeper into the theme of distance and separation, using it as a metaphor for his relationship with God. The line "You know you're just as real when you're here/When you're away" could apply to both a human relationship and a spiritual one. The singer is struggling to maintain their connection with someone who is not physically present, be it a loved one or their deity. The final line, "Though he remains unseen," suggests that this spiritual connection is even more profound and mysterious than a physical one. By linking his personal longing to his faith, Heard taps into a powerful emotional undercurrent that resonates with many listeners.
Overall, "Just the Same" is a moving meditation on longing, distance, and the power of human and divine connections.
Line by Line Meaning
When the phone rang Sunday night
On a Sunday night, my phone rang
I was surprised to hear your voice
I felt a sudden emotion of surprise upon hearing your voice
And a hundred miles of wire
The phone line that connected us spans a distance of one hundred miles
Brought in your thoughts, and I rejoiced
I was happy to receive and hear your thoughts through the phone line
And then we said good-bye
Our conversation ended with a farewell
And I hung up the telephone
I terminated the conversation by putting down the phone
It seemed like you were here
I felt as though you were physically present with me
But in an instant you were gone
Your presence disappeared in a snap of a finger or a momentary lapse of time
And I don't know what you're doing
I am not aware of your current activities
And the distance is to blame
The cause of our separation is the physical distance between us
Though I ain't in Mississippi
Even though I am not present in the state of Mississippi
Still I miss you just the same
I still have a strong desire to be with you despite the distance between us
Well you know you're just as real when you're here
When you are physically present, you are just as tangible and real as ever
When you're away
However, when you are absent or far away from me
But it sure is hard to realize
It becomes challenging to perceive and understand this reality
Though I try the live-long day
Despite my best efforts all day long
If I forget your face
In case I ever forget what you look like
When space and time make you a dream
Due to the physical distance and passing of time, you may appear like a mere fantasy or illusion
How real the Lord must be
This makes me ponder how truly genuine and authentic the Lord must be
Though he remains unseen
Despite not being able to see the Lord, his existence and presence are abundantly evident
Contributed by Ryan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@alannamac8720
Just the Same
When the phone rang Sunday night
I was surprised to hear your voice
And a hundred miles of wire
Brought in your thoughts, and I rejoiced
And then we said good-bye
And I hung up the telephone
It seemed like you were here
But in an instant you were gone
And I don't know what you're doing
And the distance is to blame
Though I ain't in Mississippi
Still I miss you just the same
Well you know you're just as real
when you're here
When you're away
But it sure is hard to realize
Though I try the live-long day
If I forget your face
When space and time make you a dream
How real the Lord must be
Though he remains unseen
And I don't know what you're doing
And the distance is to blame
Though I ain't in Mississippi
Still I miss you just the same
Written by Mark Heard
© 1980 Palmfrond Communications