Music Review: Bonnie Tyler "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Bonnie Tyler
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Total Eclipse of the Heart
Album: Faster than the Speed of Night
Year: 1983
Bonnie Tyler is uncertain if she wants to stay in the off-again on-again relationship with her lover in the hammy "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
A gloomy piano starts the single then accompanies Tyler and a male background singer. The male background singer softly tells her to listen to him. He will continue to do so for every other lyric. She explains she misses him and wishes he were around more. She cries all the time. She sometimes thinks she made a mistake dating him when she could have gone out with her choice of men. She's scared the relationship will lead to nowhere. However, his gentle gaze gives her assurance. Her boyfriend (the male background singer) calls her by an affectionate nickname "bright eyes" as she says she breaks down. Their relationship causes her to be hopeless about her future. Meanwhile, he strives to understand her point of view and wants his point of view heard. ("Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round/Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears/Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit nervous/that the best of all the years have gone by/Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit terrified/and then I see the look in your eyes/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart.")
The second verse is next. Volcanic drums stir in the background, waiting to explode with cheese. Meek synthesizers are buried underneath. Once again, he tells her to not to leave (as he will do every other lyric.) She's been thinking of what it would be like to date other people and experience something out of her comfort zone. She needs him, though, to when she feels like the world is against her. She vents her displeasure to him by sobbing uncontrollably in his arms or taking it out on him by yelling. The last five lyrics of the first verse are repeated. ("Turn around/
Every now and then I get a little bit restless and I dream of something wild/Turn around/
Every now and then I get a little bit helpless and I'm lying like a child in your arms/Turn around/
Every now and then I get a little bit angry and I know I've got to get out and cry/Turn around/
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified but then I see the look in your eyes/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart.")
In the pre-chorus, the music creates a soap opera-esque tone. It swells up a little, noting the heightened emotion but holds some of it back. She realizes her boyfriend is a necessary part of her life. They have a relationship worth salvaging. She can feel his love guiding her. But yet she's conflicted. It's as though she's living the relationship in her mind. He doesn't communicate his thoughts about her to him. Although she thinks the relationship has potential, the love isn't there anymore.("And I need you now tonight and I need you more than ever/And if you only hold me tight we'll be holding on forever/And we'll only be making it right 'cause we'll never be wrong/Together we can take it to the end of the line/Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time/I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark/We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks.") The powder keg metaphor is among one of the most creative ones I've heard in a single.
The drums punctuate each of Tyler's declarations with a ceremonial pounding. A choir also joins in to "ahhh." She says their romance will have a fresh beginning tonight. ("I really need you tonight, forever's gonna start tonight/Forever's gonna start tonight.")
It's her and the bleak piano for the chorus. She used to be in love with him. But now, the relationship is causing her to stress out. She can't change it. It's the way she feels. She used to be optimisitic about him and their life together. However, she believes she's the only one who cares if the relationship survives or not. ("Once upon a time I was falling in love but now I'm only falling apart/There's nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heart/Once upon a time there was light in my life but now there's only love in the dark/Nothing I can say, a total eclipse of the heart.")
The bleak piano segues into the ceremonious drums. With each pound, the bold synthesizers get to show how dated this song has become. After nearly a half minute, the male background singer beckons her to change her mind. ("Turn around, bright eyes/Turn around, bright eyes.")
In the third verse, the drums are pronounced. She's realized he's not going to be the person she hoped he would be. He's been the only boyfriend who's put up with her faults and didn't mind them in the least. He's a great guy and she would be willing to do anything for him...but as a friend. ("Turn around/Every now and then I know you'll never be the boy you always wanted to be/Turn around/But every now and then I know you'll always be the only boy who wanted me the way that I am/Turn around/Every now and then I know there's no one in the universe as magical and wondrous as you/Turn around/Every now and then I know there's nothing any better, there's nothing that I just wouldn't do/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart.")
In the pre-chorus, the volcanic drums finally erupt with notes cheesier than lasagna.
The heartbroken piano returns again for the chorus. It continues for another 53 long seconds as the male background singer sings "Turn around, bright eyes/Turn around, bright eyes, turn around/ooohhh ahhhhh.")
With "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Tyler explains what she liked about the relationship and what she didn't. Finally, she decides the negatives outweight the positives, leading her to say "I love you...but I'm not in love with you." She offers a history of who they were. At times, it's as though she's letting the listeners in on snippets of their private conversations. But excellent songwriting cannot save the single from disaster.
Although "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is well-written, it suffers from poor execution and Tyler's scratchy vocals. It's a drawn-out ballad which is longer than it needs to be. The solo could've been shortened to a fraction of the time. It takes forever and a day to end. Tyler's vocals, by this point in her career, were damaged. It's not a problem for the first, second, and chorus. But the end of the song requires her to belt which she simply cannot do. She opts to shout at an ear-piercing level.
Album: Faster than the Speed of Night
Year: 1983
Bonnie Tyler is uncertain if she wants to stay in the off-again on-again relationship with her lover in the hammy "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
A gloomy piano starts the single then accompanies Tyler and a male background singer. The male background singer softly tells her to listen to him. He will continue to do so for every other lyric. She explains she misses him and wishes he were around more. She cries all the time. She sometimes thinks she made a mistake dating him when she could have gone out with her choice of men. She's scared the relationship will lead to nowhere. However, his gentle gaze gives her assurance. Her boyfriend (the male background singer) calls her by an affectionate nickname "bright eyes" as she says she breaks down. Their relationship causes her to be hopeless about her future. Meanwhile, he strives to understand her point of view and wants his point of view heard. ("Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round/Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears/Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit nervous/that the best of all the years have gone by/Turn around/Every now and then I get a little bit terrified/and then I see the look in your eyes/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart.")
The second verse is next. Volcanic drums stir in the background, waiting to explode with cheese. Meek synthesizers are buried underneath. Once again, he tells her to not to leave (as he will do every other lyric.) She's been thinking of what it would be like to date other people and experience something out of her comfort zone. She needs him, though, to when she feels like the world is against her. She vents her displeasure to him by sobbing uncontrollably in his arms or taking it out on him by yelling. The last five lyrics of the first verse are repeated. ("Turn around/
Every now and then I get a little bit restless and I dream of something wild/Turn around/
Every now and then I get a little bit helpless and I'm lying like a child in your arms/Turn around/
Every now and then I get a little bit angry and I know I've got to get out and cry/Turn around/
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified but then I see the look in your eyes/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart.")
In the pre-chorus, the music creates a soap opera-esque tone. It swells up a little, noting the heightened emotion but holds some of it back. She realizes her boyfriend is a necessary part of her life. They have a relationship worth salvaging. She can feel his love guiding her. But yet she's conflicted. It's as though she's living the relationship in her mind. He doesn't communicate his thoughts about her to him. Although she thinks the relationship has potential, the love isn't there anymore.("And I need you now tonight and I need you more than ever/And if you only hold me tight we'll be holding on forever/And we'll only be making it right 'cause we'll never be wrong/Together we can take it to the end of the line/Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time/I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark/We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks.") The powder keg metaphor is among one of the most creative ones I've heard in a single.
The drums punctuate each of Tyler's declarations with a ceremonial pounding. A choir also joins in to "ahhh." She says their romance will have a fresh beginning tonight. ("I really need you tonight, forever's gonna start tonight/Forever's gonna start tonight.")
It's her and the bleak piano for the chorus. She used to be in love with him. But now, the relationship is causing her to stress out. She can't change it. It's the way she feels. She used to be optimisitic about him and their life together. However, she believes she's the only one who cares if the relationship survives or not. ("Once upon a time I was falling in love but now I'm only falling apart/There's nothing I can do, a total eclipse of the heart/Once upon a time there was light in my life but now there's only love in the dark/Nothing I can say, a total eclipse of the heart.")
The bleak piano segues into the ceremonious drums. With each pound, the bold synthesizers get to show how dated this song has become. After nearly a half minute, the male background singer beckons her to change her mind. ("Turn around, bright eyes/Turn around, bright eyes.")
In the third verse, the drums are pronounced. She's realized he's not going to be the person she hoped he would be. He's been the only boyfriend who's put up with her faults and didn't mind them in the least. He's a great guy and she would be willing to do anything for him...but as a friend. ("Turn around/Every now and then I know you'll never be the boy you always wanted to be/Turn around/But every now and then I know you'll always be the only boy who wanted me the way that I am/Turn around/Every now and then I know there's no one in the universe as magical and wondrous as you/Turn around/Every now and then I know there's nothing any better, there's nothing that I just wouldn't do/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart/Turn around, bright eyes/Every now and then I fall apart.")
In the pre-chorus, the volcanic drums finally erupt with notes cheesier than lasagna.
The heartbroken piano returns again for the chorus. It continues for another 53 long seconds as the male background singer sings "Turn around, bright eyes/Turn around, bright eyes, turn around/ooohhh ahhhhh.")
With "Total Eclipse of the Heart," Tyler explains what she liked about the relationship and what she didn't. Finally, she decides the negatives outweight the positives, leading her to say "I love you...but I'm not in love with you." She offers a history of who they were. At times, it's as though she's letting the listeners in on snippets of their private conversations. But excellent songwriting cannot save the single from disaster.
Although "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is well-written, it suffers from poor execution and Tyler's scratchy vocals. It's a drawn-out ballad which is longer than it needs to be. The solo could've been shortened to a fraction of the time. It takes forever and a day to end. Tyler's vocals, by this point in her career, were damaged. It's not a problem for the first, second, and chorus. But the end of the song requires her to belt which she simply cannot do. She opts to shout at an ear-piercing level.
I'm glad you enjoyed my joke.