The Grapes of Wrath are a Canadian rock band. Formed in 1983, they enjoyed … Read Full Bio ↴The Grapes of Wrath are a Canadian rock band. Formed in 1983, they enjoyed their greatest commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group split in 1992, although throughout the 1990s, most of the band continued to record as Ginger while the "Grapes of Wrath" band name was tied up in litigation. Vocalists Tom Hooper and Kevin Kane briefly reunited as The Grapes of Wrath for one album in 2000. With the addition of Chris Hooper, the three founding members reunited in July 2010. They now tour various Canadian cities on an annual basis, mostly in Ontario and Western Canada, and are again active as a group.

Disambiguation: The psychedelic trance group is at Grapes of Wrath.

Breaks My Heart
The Grapes Of Wrath Lyrics

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My heart is a cannonball
And I'm staring at the wall
All night, I'm going through my life
And I'm coming up with empty hands
This pain clings like a stain
That I can't seem to get out
My heart is a cannonball
And it weighs a million pounds

So hard to love from afar
So hard to love from afar
So hard to love from afar
Until the pain's so great
It breaks my heart

My heart is a cannonball
And I'm staring at the phone
All night I've been trying to call
And all night you're not at home
My friends have left me on my own
They've all got better things to do
My heart is a cannonball
And I hate these thoughts of you

So hard to love from afar
So hard to love from afar
So hard to love from afar
Until the pain's so great
It breaks your heart

Breaks your heart

My heart is a cannonball
And I'm staring at the phone
All night I've been trying to call
And all night you're not at home
This pain clings like a stain
That I can't seem to get out
My heart is a cannonball
And it weighs a million pounds

So hard to love from afar
So hard to love from afar
So hard to love from afar
Until the pain's so great
It breaks my heart

Breaks your heart

Overall Meaning

The Grapes of Wrath's song "Breaks My Heart" reflects the theme of unrequited love and the pain that comes with it. The opening line of the song, "My heart is a cannonball," sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The metaphor compares the singer's heart to a weighty object that's difficult to move because of the emotional burden it carries. The singer is staring at the wall and the phone waiting for their love interest to respond or reciprocate. But it seems like the person is not responding or doesn't care, which leads to the pain of rejection.

The repeated line, "So hard to love from afar," emphasizes the helplessness of the person loving someone whom they cannot be with. They are struggling to deal with the pain of unrequited love and realizing that it's breaking their heart. The song paints a picture of solitude, with the singer's friends leaving them alone, and they are left feeling helpless and lost.

The repeated lines also suggest the cyclical nature of the pain associated with unrequited love. The pain is not just one-sided, but it breaks both hearts, the one loving and the one rejecting. The song's repetition symbolizes the weightiness of unrequited love and how it lingers like a stain that cannot be wiped clean.

Line by Line Meaning

My heart is a cannonball
My emotions are heavy and overwhelming

And I'm staring at the wall
I feel stuck and stagnant

All night, I'm going through my life
I am reflecting on my experiences and struggling to find meaning

And I'm coming up with empty hands
I feel like I have nothing to show for my efforts

This pain clings like a stain
My emotional distress lingers and won't go away

That I can't seem to get out
I am unable to shake off this feeling

And it weighs a million pounds
The weight of my emotions is almost unbearable

So hard to love from afar
Loving someone from a distance is incredibly difficult

Until the pain's so great
The emotional distress becomes overwhelming

It breaks my heart
It causes me significant emotional pain

And I'm staring at the phone
I am hoping for a connection or response