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.
Love Is Not the Only Thing
Mark Heard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sun bleaches and we ponder it all
The fine line between the banker and the debtor
And what happens if the satellites fall
Too shy we are to come right out and say it
Too sly to let the other one know
Head full of this kaleidoscope of brain-freight
Heart full of something simple and slow
Love is not the only thing
It's the best thing
Love is never everything
But it's the best thing
Too tired to read another twenty pages
Too bored to see the anchorman's face
Too young to bear the burdens of the ages
Too old to keep an innocent pace
You see me like a prism sees a candle
I'm scattered into differing hues
Reality is happening at random
You're warming up the yellows and blues
Love is not the only thing
It's the best thing
Love is never everything
But it's the best thing
Let's go up on the roof beneath the neon
Pretend we're foreigners and drink the city in
Somewhere between the stairwell and the starlight
I find myself holding your hand
Half-cousins to the angels and the demons
Half-brother to the fatherless sons
I lay awake and wonder at the reasons
One kiss and I am lost in your charms
Love is not the only thing
It's the best thing
Love is never everything
But it's the best thing
The opening verses of Mark Heard's song "Love Is Not the Only Thing" set the scene for a conversation between two people, as they engage in small talk about the weather and ponder bigger questions about the world. The lyrics hint at a deeper connection between the two, but they are both too shy and sly to express their feelings directly. The singer's "head [is] full of this kaleidoscope of brain-freight," suggesting a busy, complex thought process, while their heart is "full of something simple and slow," perhaps hinting at a desire for a more straightforward emotional connection.
As the song progresses, Heard touches on some universal themes of youth and aging, boredom and weariness, and the complexity of human relationships. The repeated refrain, "Love is not the only thing / It's the best thing / Love is never everything / But it's the best thing," further emphasizes the complexity of emotions and the importance of love in our lives, without reducing it to a simple cliché or romantic ideal. The final lines suggest that despite all the complexities of life and relationships, one moment of intimacy and connection can be enough to make everything else fade away.
Overall, Heard's lyrics are filled with insightful observations and contrasts that capture the many shades of human experience, while still centering on the eternal importance of love and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Sun rises and we talk about the weather
We engage in small talk about the mundane, surface things in life like the weather.
Sun bleaches and we ponder it all
As we age and face the harshness of the world, we begin to question and reflect on everything that life has to offer.
The fine line between the banker and the debtor
There is a delicate balance between those who have and those who don't, and it can change quickly and easily.
And what happens if the satellites fall
We contemplate the possibility of catastrophic events that could alter our existence.
Too shy we are to come right out and say it
We struggle to express our true feelings and emotions, often holding back from revealing our true selves to others.
Too sly to let the other one know
While we may be hesitant to admit our feelings outright, we may subtly hint at them, hoping the other person picks up on our messages.
Head full of this kaleidoscope of brain-freight
Our minds are full of an ever-changing and overwhelming array of thoughts, ideas, and worries.
Heart full of something simple and slow
Despite the chaos in our minds, our hearts crave something pure and meaningful, something that is not complicated or rushed.
Love is not the only thing
While love is important, it is not the only thing that matters in life.
It's the best thing
However, love is still incredibly valuable and worthwhile - it is the best thing that life has to offer.
Too tired to read another twenty pages
We may be burnt out or exhausted from the demands of life, not wanting to take on any more challenges or responsibilities.
Too bored to see the anchorman's face
We feel uninterested in the trivial things that the media and society put in front of us, finding it dull and unstimulating.
Too young to bear the burdens of the ages
We are not equipped or experienced enough to handle the weight of the world's problems and injustices.
Too old to keep an innocent pace
We've seen too much and been through too much to maintain a wide-eyed and optimistic view of the world.
You see me like a prism sees a candle
The other person sees and understands us on a deeper level, seeing all the different colors and facets of our personality clearly.
I'm scattered into differing hues
Our multifaceted nature is revealed and appreciated, bringing together all the different parts of ourselves to create a coherent whole.
Reality is happening at random
The world is unpredictable and full of chaos, making it hard to make sense of what is happening around us.
You're warming up the yellows and blues
Despite the randomness of life, the other person brings warmth and color to our world, making everything seem more vibrant and meaningful.
Let's go up on the roof beneath the neon
Let's escape from the mundane and take in the beauty and energy of the city at night.
Pretend we're foreigners and drink the city in
Let's approach our surroundings with fresh eyes and curiosity, taking in all the newness and excitement as if we're seeing it for the first time.
Somewhere between the stairwell and the starlight
In this magical and surreal moment, we are caught between the world of the concrete and the world of the ethereal.
I find myself holding your hand
In this moment of beauty and wonder, we connect with each other on a deep and intimate level.
Half-cousins to the angels and the demons
We are neither entirely good nor bad, but somewhere in between - complex beings with both light and darkness within us.
Half-brother to the fatherless sons
We feel a sense of kinship and empathy with those who come from troubled or broken families, despite not sharing the exact same experiences.
I lay awake and wonder at the reasons
We stay up at night, pondering the mysteries and complexities of life and love, trying to make sense of it all.
One kiss and I am lost in your charms
The power of love and connection is so strong that it can overwhelm us, making us lose ourselves in the moment and in the other person's embrace.
Contributed by Grayson T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.