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.
To Diane
Mark Heard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sing a song of Jesus for me, my friend
Sing as a bird with breath drawn from God's Word
Tell me of the life that never ends
Sing a song of Jesus for me friend
Sing in the night with the candles burning bright
Sing to the world all day forever
Smile Jesus' smile and talk to me awhile
Oh Diane, flute of heaven's band
Sing about the Love for which you stand
Softly repeat melodies sweet
Sing about the Love for which you stand
Words that tell of Jesus' healing hand
Sing in the night with the candles burning bright
Sing to the world all day forever
Smile Jesus' smile and talk to me awhile
Diane I feel so blessed to be your friend
The song "To Diane" by Mark Heard seems to be a song dedicated to a friend named Diane, who is described as someone who sings about Jesus with an almost divine quality. The lyrics ask Diane to sing a song of Jesus, as if her voice could transcend human limits and convey something eternal. The lyrics describe Diane as a vessel for Jesus' love and healing, able to repeat melodies sweetly and with a power that comes from being touched by God's Word. The song is an ode to the friendship between the singer and Diane, acknowledging the blessing of having this person in their life.
The song seems to have a deeply spiritual and personal meaning for Heard, who was known for his Christian faith and his poetic lyricism. It's possible that Diane was a real person who inspired Heard with her faith and her music, or she could be a symbol for the kind of pure-hearted, inspired faith that he felt was missing from mainstream Christianity. The song is simple but evocative, with its repeated chorus and its image of candles burning bright in the night.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Diane tell me once again
Requesting Diane to sing a song of Jesus again
Sing a song of Jesus for me, my friend
Asking Diane to sing a song about Jesus for him
Sing as a bird with breath drawn from God's Word
Urging Diane to sing with the same purity and beauty as a bird whose voice is inspired by God's Word
Tell me of the life that never ends
Asking Diane to sing about eternal life through Jesus
Sing in the night with the candles burning bright
Inviting Diane to sing even in the dark, with the candles symbolizing hope and light in the midst of darkness
Sing to the world all day forever
Encouraging Diane to share her message of Jesus' love and grace to the world constantly
Smile Jesus' smile and talk to me awhile
Asking Diane to reflect Jesus' compassionate smile and have a conversation with him
Diane I feel so blessed to be your friend
Expressing gratitude for Diane's presence in his life
Oh Diane, flute of heaven's band
Comparing Diane's voice to a beautiful instrument of the heavenly choir
Sing about the Love for which you stand
Encouraging Diane to sing about the love of God, which she stands for
Softly repeat melodies sweet
Asking Diane to sing with gentle and comforting melodies
Words that tell of Jesus' healing hand
Urging Diane to sing about Jesus' power to heal, physically and spiritually
Contributed by Natalie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.