The Tell-Tale Heart
Wizzard Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

The slow beats of the heart
Echoes from the past in my round-the-clock nightmares
Though I see disbelief in the faces of the men in white
I know they are real

As long as I remember I had hated him
The old goat, the black sheep of my kin
At nights I used to watch him in his sleep
Dreaming of the sleep lasting eternally

As much as I hated his words and his deeds
For long I dared to do nothing but dream
Yet in the late hours of that night
I sneaked into his bedroom with murder in my eyes

And I stabbed him over and over again
Till I bathed in his stinking blood
I hid his dismembered corpse
Into a small hole under the floor

I had been thorough so I could never be caught
So I remained calm when the police came to my door
I asked them in for a cup of tea
Those chattering fools, they never suspected me

That sound... what on earth is it?
It seems to be coming from... below the floor
The pounding sound... as if there was... a heart beating!
Oh my god, this is going to be my end

Though every beat was louder than the one before
The police kept on chatting as if they had heard nothing at all
Soon my whole universe was just a beating heart
With my screams of panic collapsed my calm facade


Revealed by the heart

Overall Meaning

beats, the singer in Wizzard's "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a murderer plagued by guilt, paranoia, and growing terror. The slow beats of the heart, reminiscent of the thumping heart of Edgar Allan Poe's horror tale, serve as a relentless reminder of the singer's crime. Despite the singer's desire to convince himself that the heartbeats are but echoes from the past, he knows they are real. As the story unfolds, we learn that the singer had harbored a strong hatred for the victim, an old goat, and that he had dreamed of murdering him for years. With murder in his eyes, the singer sneaks into the victim's bedroom and stabs him over and over again until he is bathed in his blood. He dismembers the corpse and hides it under the floor.


The singer's guilt and paranoia consume him as he questions whether the police investigating the murder know of his involvement. The eerie pounding of the heartbeats from beneath the floor intensifies, and the singer's calm facade crumbles, revealing his guilt to the police. The song's haunting lyrics reveal the devastating psychological toll of guilt and remorse on an individual.


Line by Line Meaning

The slow beats of the heart
I constantly hear the beating of the heart of the person I killed


Echoes from the past in my round-the-clock nightmares
The memory of the murder haunts me day and night


Though I see disbelief in the faces of the men in white
The doctors don't believe what I'm saying about hearing the heart


I know they are real
But I know the sound of the heart is real


As long as I remember I had hated him
I despised the person I killed for as long as I can remember


The old goat, the black sheep of my kin
He was the outcast of my family and I never liked him


At nights I used to watch him in his sleep
I spent some nights watching him as he slept


Dreaming of the sleep lasting eternally
Wishing he would never wake up


As much as I hated his words and his deeds
I despised everything he said or did


For long I dared to do nothing but dream
I never acted on my hatred, only dreaming of harming him


Yet in the late hours of that night
But one night I finally acted on my feelings


I sneaked into his bedroom with murder in my eyes
I entered his room with the intention of killing him


And I stabbed him over and over again
I repeatedly stabbed him until he died


Till I bathed in his stinking blood
I was covered in his foul-smelling blood


I hid his dismembered corpse
I concealed his body parts in a small space beneath the floor


Into a small hole under the floor
I placed his remains in a concealed spot under the floor


I had been thorough so I could never be caught
I made sure to cover my tracks and not leave any evidence behind


So I remained calm when the police came to my door
When the police arrived to investigate, I acted calm and collected


I asked them in for a cup of tea
I invited them inside my house for a beverage


Those chattering fools, they never suspected me
The police didn't suspect me of any wrongdoing, despite their conversation with me


That sound... what on earth is it?
I begin to hear the sound of the victim's heart beating


It seems to be coming from... below the floor
I locate the source of the sound to be underneath the floorboards


The pounding sound... as if there was... a heart beating!
The sound of the heart becomes increasingly louder and more noticeable


Oh my god, this is going to be my end
I begin to panic, realizing that the sound of the heart will lead to my capture


Though every beat was louder than the one before
The sound of the heart becomes increasingly louder and persistent


The police kept on chatting as if they had heard nothing at all
The police continue to talk, oblivious to the sound of the heart


Soon my whole universe was just a beating heart
The sound of the heart takes over my thoughts and becomes all-consuming


With my screams of panic collapsed my calm facade
I become overwhelmed with fear and lose my composure, revealing my guilt


Revealed by the heart
The sound of the victim's heart ultimately reveals my guilt and leads to my downfall




Contributed by Lily W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found

jeff


on Ball Park Incident

These are not the lyrics to ball park incident

More Versions