Cash released her first single in 1979, a duet with Bobby Bare called "We Don't Need No Memories Hangin' 'Round". Two years later, she had her first country No. 1 (and the biggest commercial hit of her career), "Seven Year Ache". Although Cash was a prominent country star throughout the '80s, alongside fellow decade-defining artists Emmylou Harris, Juice Newton, and Dolly Parton, her music was anything but traditional: She topped the charts with songs written not only by herself, but by her father ("Tennessee Flat Top Box"), John Hiatt ("The Way We Make a Broken Heart"), Tom Petty ("Never Be You") and the Beatles ("I Don't Want to Spoil the Party"), "I Don't Know Why You Don't Want Me", which won her a Grammy in 1985, and "It's Such a Small World", a 1987 duet with Rodney Crowell on his album Diamonds & Dirt, provided further hits. A sampling of these songs and more are included on the compilation Hits 1979-1989. In 1979, she married Rodney Crowell, who was to produce most of her hit records. Their stormy marriage lasted until 1992; its break-up is chronicled in Cash's Interiors and in Crowell's album Life Is Messy. Cash later married John Leventhal, who produced her albums The Wheel, 10 Song Demo, Rules of Travel, and Black Cadillac.
To date, Cash has had more than twenty top 40 country singles, including eleven chart-toppers, but none since 1990, and she has left Nashville in both spirit and body to pursue her artistic vision. Although she had recorded all of her hits for Columbia Records' Nashville division, she released 10 Song Demo for the pop division of Capitol. Cash resurfaced in 2003 with Rules of Travel. The album features guest appearances by Sheryl Crow and Steve Earle, as well as a tune penned by Joe Henry and the Wallflowers' Jakob Dylan. Cash's latest album, entitled Black Cadillac, was released by Capitol Records in January 2006 to critical acclaim. Many of the songs were written by Cash and address the losses (within a 24-month span) of her step-mother, her father, her step-sister (Rosey Nix Adams) and then finally her mother on Cash's fiftieth birthday.
Take These Chains From My Heart
Rosanne Cash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're grow cold and no longer care for me
All my faith in you is gone but the heartaches linger on
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
Take these tears from my eyes and let me see
Just a spark of the love that use to be
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
Give my heart just a word of sympathy
Be as fair to my heart as you can be
Then if you no longer care for the love being there
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
Rosanne Cash's song "Take These Chains From My Heart" is a classic country breakup ballad. The lyrics express the singer's yearning to be free from the chains of a failed relationship. The first line "Take these chains from my heart and set me free" sets the tone for the entire song, calling on the subject of the song to release the singer from emotional imprisonment. As the song progresses, the singer makes it clear that the relationship has grown cold, and all faith in it has disappeared. However, the pain of the heartache lingers on, as expressed in the line "All my faith in you is gone but the heartaches linger on." The singer's plea for freedom is reinforced in the chorus, "Take these chains from my heart and set me free", which is repeated twice.
The second verse of the song, "Take these tears from my eyes and let me see, just a spark of the love that use to be," reveals the singer's desire to remember the good times that have now faded away. However, if the subject of the song has moved on to love someone new, the singer requests the same opportunity in the line "If you love somebody new then let me find a new love too." The final verse of "Take these chains from my heart and set me free" asks for a small act of kindness from the person who holds the singer's heart: "Give my heart just a word of sympathy, be as fair to my heart as you can be. Then if you no longer care for the love being there, take these chains from my heart and set me free." Again, the singer pleads for release from the chains they feel bound by, this time with the caveat that the subject of the song show fair and humane treatment as they part ways.
Line by Line Meaning
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
I am suffocating in this relationship and desperately need to break free from it
You're grow cold and no longer care for me
Your feelings for me have faded and you are no longer emotionally invested in our relationship
All my faith in you is gone but the heartaches linger on
I have lost all trust in you, but the emotional pain and memories of our relationship still haunt me
Take these tears from my eyes and let me see
I am constantly crying over the loss of our love, and I need to see a glimmer of hope and love again
Just a spark of the love that use to be
I am yearning for even the slightest reminder of the love that we shared in the past
If you love somebody new then let me me find a new love too
If you have moved on and found love with someone else, then I need to be allowed to do the same and find someone new to love
Give my heart just a word of sympathy
I am emotionally broken and just need some comfort and understanding from you
Be as fair to my heart as you can be
Please be kind and gentle with my heart as I try to heal and move on
Then if you no longer care for the love being there
If you have truly fallen out of love and no longer want to be together, then it's time to let me go
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
I am pleading with you to release me from this heavy burden and let me go free
Take these chains from my heart and set me free
This repetition emphasizes my desperation to be released from this painful relationship and start anew
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Fred Rose, Hy Heath
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind