Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a rock band formed in 1976 from Gainesv… Read Full Bio ↴Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a rock band formed in 1976 from Gainesville, Florida, USA and led by Tom Petty.

Petty was supported by his band, The Heartbreakers, for the majority of his career. He has occasionally released solo work, as was the case with his 2006 album Highway Companion on which he performed most of the backing instrumentation himself. However, members of The Heartbreakers have played on each of his solo albums and the band has always backed him when touring in support of those albums.

After the Petty's previous band Mudcrutch disbanded, Petty, never one to give up, enlisted Mudcrutch members Tench (keyboards) and Mike Campbell (guitar), along with Gainesville musicians Ron Blair (bass) and Stan Lynch (drums) to form the now famous lineup that was dubbed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They released their first album, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in November 1976. In 2006, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of that release.

This lineup stayed intact for four records and was responsible for some of the most infectious songs ("American Girl", "Breakdown", "Listen To Her Heart", "Refugee", "I Need To Know", "Don't Do Me Like That") and one of the most critically acclaimed albums ("Damn the Torpedoes") of all time. Their tremendous success catapulted them from club band to arena rockers seemingly overnight.

Bassist Blair split the band in 1982 and was replaced by Howie Epstein, a protege of seminal rocker Del Shannon. Epstein's solid playing and soaring backing vocals further complemented the band's live attack. Without missing a beat, they headed back into the studio to record a string of successful albums, including the classic "Long After Dark". In 1994, Stan Lynch left the Heartbreakers to pursue other musical challenges and Steve Ferrone (well regarded for his work with the Average White Band and Eric Clapton) soon became the Heartbreakers' chosen drummer.

Most recently, at a time when many of their contemporaries have long since grown complacent, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have in 2002 released one of their finest and most controversial efforts - featuring some of Petty's most moving songs. Recorded both before and following the group's 2002 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, "The Last DJ", reflected Petty's strong views about the state of the music business and the culture generally. With the departure of Howie Epstein, "The Last DJ" marked another notable return: after two decades away, founding Heartbreaker Ron Blair returned to the band's rhythm section. In 2010, The Heartbreakers released the well received album "Mojo".

Petty died on 2 October 2017 following a cardiac episode earlier that day at his home in Malibu, California. Although some media outlets incorrectly reported his death following an erroneous police report, his death was confirmed later that day by his publicist and manager.

Deliver Me
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Every woman and every man,
Knows the feeling so well
Those times when the heart just can't understand,
The times when you never can tell

Chorus
So deliver me, deliver me
Baby take this heart, set it free

Take this chance, take this dream
Baby, take this heart
Deliver me --

I was born with something down inside of me

And it's carried me over, delivered me
Yeah delivered me, I'm standin' at your gate
Just out of reach of the hands of fate

(Repeat Chorus)

Sometimes I wonder if this is worth the trouble
Sometimes I wonder if this is worth the fight

I never have made my mind up about it
I've just decided to let it all ride --

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Deliver Me by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers speak of the universal feeling of heartbreak that every man and woman experiences at some point in their lives. The opening lines convey the familiarity of this feeling: every woman and every man knows it all too well. The times when the heart just can't understand and you never can tell what went wrong. The chorus then urges for deliverance - deliver me, deliver me, the singer appeals, as he demands to be set free from the pain of a broken heart. He asks his loved one to take a chance on him, to believe his dreams, and to take away the pain that he feels.

The verses then trace the roots of such a plea for relief. Petty sings about being born with something deep inside him that has carried him over and delivered him throughout his life. It's as if the hope that he still carries inside of him is what propels him to seek deliverance from heartbreak. He stands at the gate of his loved one's heart, but is just out of reach from her hands of fate. The final stanza reveals the singer's ambivalence about the worth of going through the heartache, but he accepts that he must let it all ride and hopes for deliverance.

Line by Line Meaning

Every woman and every man,
All people are familiar with this feeling

Knows the feeling so well
They understand this feeling very clearly

Those times when the heart just can't understand,
The times when emotions are overwhelming and difficult to comprehend

The times when you never can tell
When the future is unclear

Chorus
Refrain

So deliver me, deliver me
Save me from this feeling

Baby take this heart, set it free
Relieve my heart from this pain

Take this chance, take this dream
Take a risk and follow my aspirations

Baby, take this heart
Save my emotional state

Deliver me --
Help me overcome this feeling

I was born with something down inside of me
I was born with an innate feeling of restlessness