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.
We Know Too Much
Mark Heard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was sitting on catastrophe’s knee,
I was expecting Armageddon to come,
Oh, the highway was choked with its usual clots of pickups and loud radios,
The airwaves were full of the obvious, and I was muttering, “What have we done?”
You cried out to stop me, you cried out to stop me,
I said, “It’s too late – you and me, we know too much,” – hey,
You and me, we know too much, hey.
Hey, well, I dreamed that we found bloody guns as we’re looking for holes in the air,
Someone shouted that we were the ones so I stepped on the gas in despair,
I woke up from the dream in a sweat, with the knowledge of evil and good,
Oh, I looked at my own silhouette; it looked back with a bad attitude,
You reached out to touch me, you reached out to touch me,
I said, “It’s too true: you and me, we know too much,” – hey,
You and me, we know too much, hey.
Oh, in our hearts we are wandering gypsies,
In our minds we are heirs to the jewel,
To the poor we are swaddled in riches,
To the rich we ain’t nothing but poor,
We don’t know what became of our fortune; it could rescue or end other lives,
We are gathering speed through this tunnel, to go down to where the truth meets the lie,
You reached out to soothe me, you reached out to soothe me,
I said, “It’s too cruel – you and me, we know too much,”
Hey, we know too much,
You and me, we know too much,
Hey, we know too much,
You and me, we know too much,
We know too much,
We know too much,
You and me, we know too much.
We know too much,
Hey,
Oh, we know too much,
Hey, hey, hey,
We know too much.
The lyrics of Mark Heard’s “We Know Too Much” are about a person who has reached the end of the road along the sea and taken everything he owned with him. Despondent about the state of the world and its inevitable doom, he encounters someone who tries to stop him from further descent into his own despair. However, the singer believes it’s too late for them as they already have an understanding of the world that’s too complex and dire for others to comprehend. The lyrics of the song are filled with vivid imagery and a raw sense of despair.
The song touches upon the theme of people knowing too much and how that knowledge can be both a blessing and a curse. The lyrics suggest a sense of isolation and helplessness that arises from this knowledge – these catalysts seem to have shattered any hope of redemption the singer might have had. The use of metaphors like “bloody guns” and “looking for holes in the air” leaves a lot for the listener to interpret about the feelings of despair and the sense of impending doom.
Overall, “We Know Too Much” is a poignant commentary on the state of the world and how the weight of knowledge can shape one’s outlook. It’s a song that perfectly captures the angst and the empathy that one feels for oneself and for others in similar situations.
Line by Line Meaning
I went down where the road meets the sea and I took everything that I owned,
I left my old life behind and started anew, taking only what I had with me.
I was sitting on catastrophe’s knee,
My actions were close to leading to a disaster.
I was expecting Armageddon to come,
I believed that the end of the world was near and imminent.
Oh, the highway was choked with its usual clots of pickups and loud radios,
The road was crowded with typical vehicles and noise.
The airwaves were full of the obvious, and I was muttering, “What have we done?”
Media was filled with trivial content, and I was questioning our society's choices.
You cried out to stop me, you cried out to stop me,
Someone close to me tried to prevent me from continuing.
I said, “It’s too late – you and me, we know too much,” – hey,
I refused to stop because both of us were already aware of too much unpleasant truth.
Hey, well, I dreamed that we found bloody guns as we’re looking for holes in the air,
In my dream, we searched aimlessly but instead stumbled upon evidence of violence.
Someone shouted that we were the ones so I stepped on the gas in despair,
We were accused of something and I reacted with panic.
I woke up from the dream in a sweat, with the knowledge of evil and good,
I woke up realizing both the good and evil sides of the world.
Oh, I looked at my own silhouette; it looked back with a bad attitude,
Looking at myself, I saw a negative and pessimistic side of my personality.
You reached out to touch me, you reached out to touch me,
Someone tried to comfort me.
I said, “It’s too true: you and me, we know too much,” – hey,
I felt like the truth was too much for both of us to handle.
Oh, in our hearts we are wandering gypsies,
We carry a sense of wanderlust within us always.
In our minds we are heirs to the jewel,
We hold on to the idea that we deserve something valuable and rare.
To the poor we are swaddled in riches,
To those less fortunate, we appear to be wealthy.
To the rich we ain’t nothing but poor,
To the wealthy class, we seem insignificant and poor.
We don’t know what became of our fortune; it could rescue or end other lives,
Our current situation may have a severe impact on others around us.
We are gathering speed through this tunnel, to go down to where the truth meets the lie,
We are moving quickly towards the point where authenticity breaks down.
You reached out to soothe me, you reached out to soothe me,
Someone tried to reassure me once again.
I said, “It’s too cruel – you and me, we know too much,”
All the knowledge we have acquired had made us realize harsh realities.
Hey, we know too much,
Our knowledge of the world is much more than we can handle.
You and me, we know too much,
Both of us carry knowledge that's too heavy for us.
We know too much,
We have knowledge of the world that we wish we didn't have.
Hey,
An expression of exasperation.
Oh, we know too much,
We possess knowledge of the world's harsh realities.
Hey, hey, hey,
An expression of emphasis.
We know too much.
We have too much knowledge of the world's crude realities.
Contributed by Maya C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.