Music Review: Bananarama "Hot Line to Heaven"
Bananarama
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Hot Line To Heaven
Album: Bananarama
Year: 1984
Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, and Sarah Dallin witness a male friend's descent into drug addiction in the astute "Hot Line To Heaven."
Shrewd synthesizers and drums start the single. Bananarama sing the chorus. He's heading for death soon. One more dose of a hallucinogen could be his last. "You're on a hot line to heaven/ah ah ha."
He's a charismatic person with a bright future ahead of him. He could do anything he wants with his intelligent mind. He interviews well and networks with everyone he meets. However, he's scared inside he will not fulfill his promise. He's been taking acid to cope with his insecurity. But it's beginning to scramble his brain. He can't concentrate on anything anymore except for the voices he hears inside his head. It's causing him to go insane. "With your smile you're making plans/You've got the world right in the palm of your hands/Everything you touch is gold/
But your future life is bought and sold/It seems to me that you've got it made/But you never show that you're afraid/Now the voices in your head they make you scream and drive you mad."
In the chorus, they say he's by himself now. His friends are long gone and do not want to support his habit. "You're on a hot line to heaven/Now you're all alone/Riding on a hot line/
Riding on a hot line to heaven/standing on your own/you're on a hot line to heaven/ah ah ah."
He's gaunt and lifeless. Dressed in dirty clothing and unwashed, he meanders around the neighborhoods for his next fix. He can't fight his addiction and searches for a stranger to help him out. But no one will. He's not the man they remember. He buys more drugs from his dealer. He's slowly killing himself to fill the void he has. "Staring eyes as cold as stone/A wandering figure that stands alone/Reaching out to cry for help/Once a man but now you're just a shell/
You can make a deal, you make the break/But you're heading for an early grave/You've got to find it, got to try/Something special to get you high."
After the first chorus, a second chorus is sung. In it, Banananarama leave him behind. They can't stand to watch him disingerate anymore. "You're on a hotline to heaven/(Going up without me baby, I won't let you drive me crazy)/Now you're all alone/Riding on a hotline to heaven/(Going up without me baby, I won't let you drive me crazy)/Standing on your own/You're on a hotline to heaven/ah ah ah."
The last part of the first verse is sung again. "It seems to me that you've got it made...a thousand voices in your head/make you scream and drive you mad."
The first and second choruses are sung again.
The phrase "going up without me, baby" is repeated twice and segues into a guitar and drum machine break. The phrase is added into the section.
The choruses are sung again with the new instrumentation. For the next break, the guitar and bass have their solos. The choruses are sung again with only the guitar and bass to end the single.
The superb "Hot Line To Heaven" covers drug addiction without lecturing the listeners. They detail the experience of someone they knew who doesn't resemble themselves. The message comes across better than "this is your brain on your drugs" for one solid reason: the friend in the song is human. He's not a catchphrase or an actor.
Album: Bananarama
Year: 1984
Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward, and Sarah Dallin witness a male friend's descent into drug addiction in the astute "Hot Line To Heaven."
Shrewd synthesizers and drums start the single. Bananarama sing the chorus. He's heading for death soon. One more dose of a hallucinogen could be his last. "You're on a hot line to heaven/ah ah ha."
He's a charismatic person with a bright future ahead of him. He could do anything he wants with his intelligent mind. He interviews well and networks with everyone he meets. However, he's scared inside he will not fulfill his promise. He's been taking acid to cope with his insecurity. But it's beginning to scramble his brain. He can't concentrate on anything anymore except for the voices he hears inside his head. It's causing him to go insane. "With your smile you're making plans/You've got the world right in the palm of your hands/Everything you touch is gold/
But your future life is bought and sold/It seems to me that you've got it made/But you never show that you're afraid/Now the voices in your head they make you scream and drive you mad."
In the chorus, they say he's by himself now. His friends are long gone and do not want to support his habit. "You're on a hot line to heaven/Now you're all alone/Riding on a hot line/
Riding on a hot line to heaven/standing on your own/you're on a hot line to heaven/ah ah ah."
He's gaunt and lifeless. Dressed in dirty clothing and unwashed, he meanders around the neighborhoods for his next fix. He can't fight his addiction and searches for a stranger to help him out. But no one will. He's not the man they remember. He buys more drugs from his dealer. He's slowly killing himself to fill the void he has. "Staring eyes as cold as stone/A wandering figure that stands alone/Reaching out to cry for help/Once a man but now you're just a shell/
You can make a deal, you make the break/But you're heading for an early grave/You've got to find it, got to try/Something special to get you high."
After the first chorus, a second chorus is sung. In it, Banananarama leave him behind. They can't stand to watch him disingerate anymore. "You're on a hotline to heaven/(Going up without me baby, I won't let you drive me crazy)/Now you're all alone/Riding on a hotline to heaven/(Going up without me baby, I won't let you drive me crazy)/Standing on your own/You're on a hotline to heaven/ah ah ah."
The last part of the first verse is sung again. "It seems to me that you've got it made...a thousand voices in your head/make you scream and drive you mad."
The first and second choruses are sung again.
The phrase "going up without me, baby" is repeated twice and segues into a guitar and drum machine break. The phrase is added into the section.
The choruses are sung again with the new instrumentation. For the next break, the guitar and bass have their solos. The choruses are sung again with only the guitar and bass to end the single.
The superb "Hot Line To Heaven" covers drug addiction without lecturing the listeners. They detail the experience of someone they knew who doesn't resemble themselves. The message comes across better than "this is your brain on your drugs" for one solid reason: the friend in the song is human. He's not a catchphrase or an actor.