Why do you have to be a heartbreaker,
When I was bein’ what you want me to be?
Suddenly everything I ever wanted has passed me by..

Dianne Warwick’s “Heartbreaker” is a great song written by the Bee Gees. The Bee Gees would release their own version but it doesn’t compare to the version where they split the lead with Warwick. Warwick has a stronger voice than the Gibb brothers, and that works better for the verses. For the chorus, the Bee Gees Falsetto is perfect. The song’s melody is rather complex. It is another one of those songs that sounds like it could have been split into two songs, but as one song, it blends fantastically well.

The lyrics are outstanding. I don’t think the Bee Gees get enough credit as lyricists, songwriters or performers. They are an amazing band with tons of hits and great songs. The story of the song is simple, the narrator is in love with a man who is not present. She feels that love should be “everything or nothing at all”. What is this spell that she is under? She was being everything he wanted her to be. Another unrequited love song.

The change in the melody on the bridge is amazing: (Only to find any dream that I follow is dying.) And again, the melody change at the chorus is also fantastic. I think this song is one everyone knows, but not many consider great. It is time we reconsider that.

Lyrics Heartbreaker
I got to say it and it’s hard for me,
You got me cryin’ like I thought I would never be.
Love is believin’ but you let me down;
How can I love you when you ain’t around?
And I,

Get to the morning and you never call.
Love should be everything or not at all.
And it don’t matter what ever you do;
I made a life out of lovin’ you.

Only to find any dream that I follow is dying.
I’m cryin’ in the rain.
I could be searchin’ my world for a love everlasting,
Feeling no pain, when will we meet again?

Why do you have to be a heartbreaker?
Is it a lesson that I never knew?
Gotta get out of the spell that I’m under,
My love for you.

Why do you have to be a heartbreaker,
When I was bein’ what you want me to be ?
Suddenly everything I ever wanted has passed me by,
This world may end, not you and I.

My love is stronger than the universe.
My soul is cryin’ for you,
And that can not be reversed.
You made the rules and you could not see;
You made a life out of hurtin’ me.

Out of my mind, I am held by the power of you love.
Tell me when do we try, or should we say goodbye ?

Why do you have to be a heartbreaker,
When I was bein’ what you want me to be ?
Suddenly everything I ever wanted has passed me by.

Oh, why do you have to be a heartbreaker ?
Is it a lesson that I never knew ?
Suddenly everything I ever wanted,
My love for you, oh,

Why do you have to be a heartbreaker,
When I was bein’ what you want me to be ?
Suddenly everything I ever wanted has passed me by

Songwriters: Barry Alan Gibb / Maurice Ernest Gibb / Robin Hugh Gibb

Don’t you remember, you told me you loved me baby?
You said you’d be coming back this way again baby…

The Carpenter’s “Superstar” is a unique concept–the original title was “The Groupie Song”. “Superstar” is about a girl who is infatuated with a rockstar. She saw him at a show, they had a fling, and he told her he loved her.  She hears him and his music all the time in her head…oh, no, this time it’s just him on the radio.

“Superstar” works on a more basic level because people don’t listen to the words of the song, just the feel of the song. We hear the chorus: “don’t you remember you told me you love me you love me baby” and remember that we have had similar feelings of heartbreak. Is this is just a dedication of love?

Nope. In this particular case, the relationship was not that deep to begin with ( the girl might have been led on), but when Karen Carpenter starts singing the chorus, we all feel sentimental. Perhaps the lesson is that regardless of whether the relationship is serious or not, unrequited love hurts.

This is Karen Carpenter at her finest.

Superstar Lyrics

Long ago, and, oh, so far away
I fell in love with you before the second show
Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear
But you’re not really here, it’s just the radio

Don’t you remember, you told me you loved me baby?
You said you’d be coming back this way again baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby
I love you, I really do

Loneliness is such a sad affair
And I can hardly wait to be with you again
What to say to make you come again?
Come back to me again and play your sad guitar

Don’t you remember, you told me you loved me baby?
You said you’d be coming back this way again baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby
I love you, I really do

Don’t you remember, you told me you loved me baby?
You said you’d be coming back this way again baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby
I love you, I really do

Songwriters: Leon Russell / Bonnie Bramlett / Delaney Bramlett

Something happens and I’m head over heels…
It’s hard to be a man when there’s a gun in your hand.

“Head over Heals” by Tears for Fears is an 80s classic about a man who has fallen in love with a woman. We get the sense that she holds all the cards, and is either not reciprocating or not giving him any indication one way or another whether she is interested in him.  Perhaps she is hung up on the past. She seems to parry his advances.

In the beginning of the song it sounds rather innocent but by the end it appears that this girl is occupying his mind so much that it is affecting his life in a negative way: his family used to have aspirations that he’d be a doctor and now just look at him, he’s a mess.

The line about how “it’s hard to be a man when there’s a gun in your hand”, seems to be a point of contention. I think he is expressing his unease about connecting with her. When you are holding a loaded gun you have to be super careful because if you pull the trigger there are no takebacks.

Likewise, at this stage of their relationship, he has done nothing to earn her trust and he feels like one misunderstood word could leave her running for the door. She is only entertaining him. One screw-up and she’ll move on to the next guy, He hasn’t earned her trust yet. It is hard to be man feeling and performing like this.

In the end he is still hoping it works out. It seems like he is waiting on her for a long time (“funny how time flies”). Overall, he feels emasculated and helpless. Something needs to change. Hopefully she will open up. She is so important to him.

The vocals, instrumentation and arrangement are all great in this song. The opening piano solo is classic. Also, excellent use of falsetto. The way he weaves in and out of falsetto is iconic.  We feel the narrator’s connection to the lyrics and make this a classic.

Head Over Heels Lyrics

I wanted to be with you alone
And talk about the weather.
But traditions I can trace against the child in your face
Won’t escape my attention.
You keep your distance with a system of touch
And gentle persuasion.
I’m lost in admiration, could I need you this much?
Oh, you’re wasting my time,
You’re just, just, just wasting time.

Something happens and I’m head over heels.
I never find out till I’m head over heels.
Something happens and I’m head over heels,
Ah, don’t take my heart, don’t break my heart
Don’t, don’t, don’t throw it away.

Throw it away.
Throw it away.
I made a fire and watching it burn.
Thought of your future.
With one foot in the past, now, just how long will it last?
No, no, no, have you no ambition?
My mother and my brothers used to breathe in clean in air,
And dreaming I’m a doctor.
It’s hard to be a man when there’s a gun in your hand.
Oh, I feel so…

Something happens and I’m head over heels.
I never find out till I’m head over heels.
Something happens and I’m head over heels,
Ah, don’t take my heart, don’t break my heart
Don’t, don’t, don’t throw it away.

And this my four-leaf clover!
I’m on the line, one open mind,
This is my four-leaf clover!
(La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)

In my head, my mind’s eye,
One little boy, wandering by.
Funny how time flies.

Songwriters: Curt Smith / Roland Orzabal