Piece Of My Heart
Melissa Etheridge Lyrics


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Come on, come on, come on, come on

Didn't I make you feel like you were the only one, yeah
I said didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can
Honey you know that I did
Well each time I tell myself that I, I think I've had enough
Oh, I am gonna show you baby, a woman can be tough
I want you to come on, come on, come on, come on
And take it, take another little piece of my heart now, baby
Break it, break another little bit of my heart now, darling
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Have a, have another little piece of my heart now, baby
You know you got it, if it makes you feel good, ooh yes it does, yeah

You're out on the street lookin' good
And honey deep down in your heart, child, you know that it ain't right
You never, never, never, never, never hear me when I cry out at night
And honey I, I cry all the time
And each time I tell myself that I, I can stand the pain
You take me in your arms, and I'm singing once again

I want you to come on, come on, come on, come on
And take it, take another little piece of my heart now, baby
Break it, break another little bit of my heart now darling
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Have a, have another little piece of my heart now baby
You know you got it, if it makes you feel good

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Come on, come on, come on, come on
And take it, take another little piece of my heart now, baby
Break it, break another little bit of my heart now darling, yeah
Have a, have another little piece of my heart now, baby
You know you got it, wow

Take it, hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Break it, take another little piece of my heart now, darling, yeah




You got to have a, have another little piece of my heart now, baby
You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good

Overall Meaning

In "Piece of My Heart," Melissa Etheridge sings about a past relationship where she gave herself completely to her partner, only to be left feeling hurt and neglected. The song is a cover of the classic Janis Joplin tune from 1968, but Etheridge's version brings a gritty rock edge with her powerful and emotive vocals.


In the first verse, Etheridge sings about how she made her partner feel like the only one, and gave her all that a woman possibly can. Despite this, she finds herself constantly feeling like she has had enough and is determined to show her toughness. It's a common theme in relationships where one person gives everything they have and still feels like it's not enough.


In the chorus, Etheridge pleads with her lover to take another piece of her heart, symbolizing how vulnerable she has allowed herself to become. She knows it's not right and that they are not good for each other, but she cannot help but be drawn back in by their touch.


Overall, "Piece of My Heart" is a raw and emotional portrayal of love and heartbreak, and Etheridge's raw vocals bring a new depth to the classic tune.


Line by Line Meaning

Come on, come on, come on, come on
Encouragement to take another piece of the singer's heart


Didn't I make you feel like you were the only one, yeah
Questioning if their intimacy meant anything


I said didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can
Asserting that the singer gave their all to the relationship


Honey you know that I did
Reinforcing that the singer fulfilled her part of the relationship


Well each time I tell myself that I, I think I've had enough
Narrating how the singer has dealt with severe emotional distress


Oh, I am gonna show you baby, a woman can be tough
Making a promise to show that she is not weak


And take it, take another little piece of my heart now, baby
Handing over another piece of the heart


Break it, break another little bit of my heart now, darling
Encouraging the lover to take a piece of her heart and break it again


Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
An expression of excitement and joy


Have a, have another little piece of my heart now, baby
Giving more of her heart away.


You know you got it, if it makes you feel good, ooh yes it does, yeah
Confirming the worth of the heart and giving it away feels right


You're out on the street lookin' good
Noticing that the lover is doing quite okay


And honey deep down in your heart, child, you know that it ain't right
Perceiving the lover's wrongdoings in the relationship.


You never, never, never, never, never hear me when I cry out at night
Emphasizing how the lover does not empathize with their emotional distress


And honey I, I cry all the time
Expressing how the singer feels


And each time I tell myself that I, I can stand the pain
Narrating how the singer tries to move on


You take me in your arms, and I'm singing once again
Expressing how the lover seems to make the pain go away.


You got to have a, have another little piece of my heart now, baby
Urging the lover to take more of her heart.


You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good
Confirming that giving the heart away feels right




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Bert Berns, Jerry Ragavoy

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Mier

September 2022
This IS and will always BE my most powerful powersong ever!
This exact performance of it.
Melissa sang it many times, but everyone FEELS this one is different, better, deeper, rawer, painfuller… you name it.

Even though Joss Stone is certainly a very good singer herself, she was lost here.
Joss sang the song, Melissa LIVED the song.

Whenever I need to ‘charge’ myself, I put this song on. I skip to where Melissa starts (Sorry Joss, not in this performance for me)

I ALWAYS (!!) FEEL BETTER AFTER HEARING THIS SONG, THIS PERFORMANCE.
THANK YOU MELISSA, FOR SHARING YOUR FEELINGS WITH THE WORLD.

ALSO: Thank you for uploading this video!!



All comments from YouTube:

P K

I watched this on TV and had chills all over. Melissa's strength made me cry !❤❤❤

Lori McDevitt

They both nailed it!

Fleetwood

She said in an interview that by the middle of the song she felt tired, and she still had the big scream coming. But if you ask me, I only saw sparkles and glow on that stage! A performance that will always stick with me.

Ashley

Her wife has said that they were in agreement to NOT go FULL POWER lol and then added how much it was so close to stroking her out lol. She was infiltrated by Janis's damn spirit lol. I don't even think she got to do any practices with Joss. Joss was born in the wrong era FOR FRIKN SURE 😂. I'D be so down for anyone doesn't matter if they are super famous or not so much. Too many of the BEST musicians are gone esp. the last few years like Tom Petty, Christine McVee of Fleetwood Mac, Amy Winehouse, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Tina Turner just died last week but I hat knowing all the greatest music will never be played live. A 27 club tour... Or something... They'd be pumped for the simple reason of getting to sing THEIR favorites. Probably bored af doing the same songs of theirs. Sry so long just missing so much music 🎵🎶 when start to finish albums were played.

Ashley

I just noticed your username lol... I'm the biggest Stevie Nicks fanatic (obviously FM too) but She's just special lolol😅

Jeanette O'Brien

Melissa Etheridge just rocked this out I know it’s been years now but I keep coming back to it as a breast cancer survivor and now recurrent that woman took her power back!

C Torres

Wow ... Melissa Etheridge's vocals were great...Joss didn't do bad but Melissa dusted her in seconds because she didn't just do the vocal acrobatics, you knew that she really felt the song and LOVED the scream toward the end ... great performance!

Robbiesgranny

Melissa is singing this while going through breast cancer treatment. SHE ROCKS THIS SONG!!! And she looks amazing while bald. Takes a lot of strength and courage to perform this while ill.  I have been there, as I am a survivor too of breast cancer. SING IT, MELISSA!!!

Jeanette O'Brien

I am off low as survivor. But mine has Reoccurred.. Melissa Etheridge is everything I want to live to be.

potion27

I remember when I saw this on TV, I just could not stop from tearing up. What a triumphant final slap down to the cancer that she fought!!!! I agree, she is radiant here, and is among the few who could give this tribute to Janis the justice it deservd.

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