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.
One Night Stand
Mark Heard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I would've flown but I can't stand planes
I'm just a blur in Luis Obispo
I'm just a nose on a windowpane
I'll stay only for an evening
I'll play just a one man band
I'll stay only till I'm leaving
I'll play just a one night stand
I hit the depot half-past seven
I took the bus to a cheap motel
I went to sleep and I dreamed of Heaven
When I awoke I was back in Hell
I'll stay only for an evening
I'll play just a one man band
I'll stay only till I'm leaving
I'll play just a one night stand
I caught the train for to see Seattle
I would've flown but I can't stand planes
People go by like so many cattle
I'm just a nose on a windowpane
I'll stay only for an evening
I'll play just a one man band
I'll stay only till I'm leaving
I'll play just a one night stand
The lyrics to Mark Heard's song One Night Stand tell the story of a musician who is traveling from town to town, playing one-night stands. The first verse talks about the musician taking the train to San Francisco because he cannot stand planes. He describes himself as a blur in Luis Obispo, and a nose on a windowpane. These descriptions suggest that he feels like he is just passing through, and that his life on the road is a bit blurry and unclear.
The second verse describes the musician arriving at a cheap motel, going to sleep, and dreaming of heaven, only to wake up the next morning and feel like he is back in hell. This could be interpreted as the highs and lows of life on the road, where one night can feel like heaven and the next can feel like hell.
The chorus repeats the idea that the musician is only staying for one evening and playing a one-night stand. The last verse describes the musician catching a train to see Seattle, again unable to fly, and feeling like people are passing by like cattle. The song ends with the repetition of the chorus, suggesting that the musician's life on the road is a cycle of one-night stands and fleeting moments.
Line by Line Meaning
I caught the train to San Francisco
I travelled to San Francisco on a train.
I would've flown but I can't stand planes
I don't like to travel by plane, so I chose the train instead.
I'm just a blur in Luis Obispo
I'm not staying in Luis Obispo for long, so I'm just passing through quickly.
I'm just a nose on a windowpane
I'm just observing the passing scenery from the window of the train.
I'll stay only for an evening
I'm only planning on staying in this place for the duration of the evening.
I'll play just a one man band
I won't be performing with other musicians, just by myself.
I'll stay only till I'm leaving
I plan on leaving this place soon after my performance.
I hit the depot half-past seven
I arrived at the train station at 7:30PM.
I took the bus to a cheap motel
I opted for a budget-friendly motel and took a bus to get there.
I went to sleep and I dreamed of Heaven
I had a pleasant dream about Heaven while sleeping.
When I awoke I was back in Hell
I woke up to harsh, unpleasant reality.
I caught the train for to see Seattle
I took another train to travel to Seattle.
People go by like so many cattle
I notice a lot of people but they all seem unimportant and uninteresting.
I'll stay only for an evening
Again, I don't plan on staying in this place for long.
I'll play just a one man band
I'm only performing by myself.
I'll stay only till I'm leaving
As soon as my performance is over, I plan on leaving soon after.
Contributed by Jonathan H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.