We had a promise made/
Four hands and then away.

In “Heartbeats”, The Knife’s sound like a mix between the 80s, synthesizer music and Blondie. I find it hard to justify the choice of a synthesizer in almost all songs. It rarely sounds like the ideal choice–but here it is fantastic.

Jose Gonzales’ cover version is extremely different and equally amazing. You rarely hear a cover version so different. That is exciting. Both seem to capture a different essence of the song. But what is the song trying to say?

The lyrics of “Heartbeats” tell the story of two people who meet each other and agree to a casual arrangement (see the quote above). They call it a “promise”—but these things cannot be promised. The two have a whirlwind two-week affair. The narrator falls in love. The narrator broke the promise.

At some point along the way the narrator believes that the terms of their arraignment had changed on both sides. Perhaps it was due to their lover’s cold heart and devilish hands, perhaps it was a misunderstanding. Regardless, at the end of the two weeks, the relationship is over, and the narrator is devastated and not even God could comfort them.

Jose Gonzales’ version of “Heartbeats” presents the story as a sad tale of heartbreak. The Knife’s version sounds like an angry, confused retelling of the events. Just as each of us would respond to the events differently it makes sense that there could be two different interpretations of the same tale.

Heartbeat Lyrics

One night to be confused.
One night to speed up truth.
We had a promise made,
Four hands and then away.

Both under influence,
We had divine scent.
To know what to say,
Mind is a razor blade.

To call for hands of above
To lean on.
Wouldn’t be good enough
For me, no.

One night of magic rush,
The start a simple touch.
One night to push and scream
And then relief.

Ten days of perfect tunes,
The colors red and blue.
We had a promise made,
We were in love.

To call for hands of above
To lean on.
Wouldn’t be good enough
For me, no.

To call for hands of above
To lean on,
Wouldn’t be good enough…

And you, you knew the hands of the devil.
And you, kept us awake with wolfs teeth.
Sharing different heartbeats
In one night.

To call for hands of above
To lean on.
Wouldn’t be good enough
For me, no.

To call for hands of above
To lean on.
Wouldn’t be good enough…

written by The Knife