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.
Treasure of the Broken Land
Mark Heard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know you better than I knew you then, all I can say is, “I love you,”
I thought our days were commonplace; thought they’d number in the millions,
Now there’s only the aftertaste of circumstance that can’t pass this way again.
Treasure of the broken land,
Parched earth, give up your captive ones,
Waiting wind of Gabriel, blow soon upon the hollow bones.
I saw the city at its tortured worst, and you were outside the walls there,
You were relieved of a lifelong thirst, I was dry at the fountain,
Knew that you could see my shame, but you were eyeless and sparing,
I awoke when you called my name, I felt the curtain tearing.
Treasure of the broken land,
Parched earth, give up your captive ones,
Waiting wind of Gabriel, blow soon upon the hollow bones.
I could melt the clock hands down, but only in my memory,
Nobody gets a second chance to be the friend they meant to be,
I see you now and then in dreams; your voice sounds just like it used to,
I believe I will hear it again,
God, how I love you.
Treasure of the broken land,
Parched earth, give up your captive ones,
Waiting wind of Gabriel, blow soon upon the hollow bones,
Treasure of the broken land,
Parched earth, give up your captive ones,
Waiting wind of Gabriel, blow soon upon the hollow bones,
Yeah, blow soon upon the hollow bones.
The song "Treasure of the Broken Land" by Mark Heard is a tribute to lost loved ones. Heard sings about seeing someone only in his dreams and realizing that he loves them. He laments the fact that he thought they would have millions of days together, but now he can only taste the aftertaste of circumstance that has passed. Heard contemplates the possibility of a second chance to be the friend he meant to be, but ultimately knows it can only happen in memory. As the song comes to an end, Heard implores the waiting wind of Gabriel to blow soon upon the hollow bones.
Line by Line Meaning
I see you, now and then, in dreams; your voice sounds just like it used to,
Although I don't see you much anymore, I often dream of you and your voice sounds just as wonderful as I remember it.
I know you better than I knew you then, all I can say is, “I love you,”
Even though I didn't fully understand you when we were together, I still love you deeply and always will.
I thought our days were commonplace; thought they’d number in the millions,
When we were together, I took our time for granted and assumed we had an endless supply of mundane days ahead of us.
Now there’s only the aftertaste of circumstance that can’t pass this way again.
Now that our time together is over, all that's left is a lingering feeling of the situations we were in that will never happen again.
Treasure of the broken land,
Referring to the people who are left behind after tragedy or tough times as precious, unpolished gems.
Parched earth, give up your captive ones,
Asking for the people who are stuck, unable to move on from a difficult event, to be released from their prison-like state.
Waiting wind of Gabriel, blow soon upon the hollow bones.
Waiting for a fresh breeze to come, whether metaphorically or spiritually, and give life to those who feel empty and lost.
I saw the city at its tortured worst, and you were outside the walls there,
Describing witnessing a place suffering and broken, while his loved one was outside of the turmoil and feeling relieved.
You were relieved of a lifelong thirst, I was dry at the fountain,
While the other person was finally getting what they desired their whole life, he realized that he himself was left unsatisfied.
Knew that you could see my shame, but you were eyeless and sparing,
Feeling like his faults were obvious to the other person, yet they were graceful and understanding regardless.
I awoke when you called my name, I felt the curtain tearing.
Feeling a sudden jolt and moment of clarity when the other person called out to him.
I could melt the clock hands down, but only in my memory,
Wishing he could somehow reverse time, but ultimately knowing that it's impossible except in his own thoughts.
Nobody gets a second chance to be the friend they meant to be,
Regretting not being the best friend to the other person and realizing it's too late to change it.
I see you now and then in dreams; your voice sounds just like it used to,
Reiterating how he thinks of the other person often and reminiscing on the sound of their voice.
I believe I will hear it again,
Hoping and having faith that he will be reunited with the other person someday.
God, how I love you.
Expressing his love for the other person and recognizing its strength.
Yeah, blow soon upon the hollow bones.
Echoing the earlier sentiment to be revitalized and rejuvenated from a state of depletion.
Contributed by Zachary S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.