Music Review: Taylor Dayne "Heart Of Stone"

Taylor Dayne

Heart of Stone

Album: Can’t Fight Fate

Year: 1990

           Taylor Dayne tries to convince herself her relationship is working  in the smirking  “Heart of Stone.”

            Accomdating synths open the single, setting a calcuating tone. He puts his fingers on his temple, rubbing out all the stress. She asks him if he’s ok. He raises his head and snaps that he’s fine. She nods and says she could rest on the couch with him. He doesn’t have to say anything. They can just be with each other. She says he is the one person who will get her to open up. He has shown her belief in love is possible. He has given her confidence back. (“We need to lay in each other's arms, there's no where else to go/It's all so easy and I want you to know/There'll never be another one who could get this close to me/Everything you give to me is everything I've dreamed of.”)

           In the pre-chorus, he glares at her and goes the bar, making himself a drink. He steps into his office and shuts the door. She sits down on the couch, knowing he may be upset but he appreciates her trying. By tonight, he’ll join her in bed. Tomorrow, he’ll start telling her what’s on his mind in pieces. (“Even when you turn your back now/I can feel you reaching for me/Even when you walk away/I'll still know where you're hiding.”)

In the chorus, she says he’s not the distant type, keeping his emotions down. She got home early from work one day and caught him sobbing in the kitchen. She waited for a moment to say something. However, once he saw her, he wiped his face quickly and formed a big grin. Cold and hardened by uncontrollable circumstances. It’s not the man she fell in love with. (“I can't believe you've got a heart of stone/I've seen your tears fall when you thought you were alone/I can't believe you've got a heart of stone/I can't believe it.”)

             Sometimes he’ll blame her, claiming she doesn’t care. He’ll tell her she ruined whatever is left of him. She tries not to take it personally. She rationalizes that he doesn’t mean it. He has never handled stress well. She responds she is the one person in his life he trusts. She knows him really well, despite him pretending that he’s some mysterious guy who cannot be touched. In desperation, she says she can be who he needs, if he would let her. (“You try to make like I'm not there to show me how you feel/You don't have to hurt me with the hurt that you won't reveal/There'll never be another one who could get this close to you/I can give you everything that you've ever dreamed of.”)

                  The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.

                  In the second chorus,  she adds that she can see through him. (“I can't believe you've got a heart of stone/The more you try to hide your love, the more it shows/I can't believe you've got a heart of stone/I can't believe it.”)

         In the bridge, she says when he looks at her, she knows his feelings. But she has to hear him talk about it. (“Oh, I feel it baby/Oh, I feel the lovin' in me/I need it.”)

              A smug saxophone solo follows, congraluting itself on how right it is.

            The second chorus is sung again.

In the third chorus, she says he talks in code, which she can intrepret. His expressions tell her all she needs to know. (“I can't believe you've got a heart of stone/Your eyes say, "Yes" even when you tell me no/I can't believe you've got a heart of stone/I can't believe it.”)

         An edited third chorus is sung again to end the single. (“I can't believe you've got a heart of stone, no no/Your eyes say, "Yes" even when you tell me no/I can't believe you've got a heart of stone.”)

          Dayne’s insistent vocals nag, henpecking him to talk to her and then proclaim they are the only ones who would tolerate the other. She tells him how he feels and if he offers something different, she rewrites it in her mind. The relationship has to fit her narrative in which he’s the brooding man-child who doesn’t understand and she is the mature woman, saving him from himself.

               The dysfunctional  “Heart of Stone” has a messed-up dynamic in which neither person is happy but enjoy making the other miserable.