This beautifully tender, melancholy number by the solo artist from Carleton, Oregon, takes the heart metaphor into literal territory, starts gently, swells wonderfully, but ends tragically, and comes from his new mini album, Blackberry. His singing style is reminiscent of Sheffield’s Richard Hawley crossed with the tender side of Elvis Presley. Broderick plays all the instruments including guitar, percussion and violins. Broderick, like his solo artist sister Heather Woods Broderick, is a solo a collaborator with the Danish group Efterklang. Peter Broderick is also married to Irish folk musician Brigid Mae Power. Prolific since his debut release in 2007, his latest album is out on Erased Tapes. More of his work can be enjoyed here.
What happened to your heart?
Was it just faulty from the start?
Sometimes I’ve wondered
If you locked something up in there
That gnawed and clawed
At the most vital parts of your most vital organ
Until bang!
That thing just stopped working, stopped working
So what happened to your heart?
Did you see it coming, Grandpa?
You must’ve known the family history
Felt yourself as a branch of that tree
Or maybe you thought that you were different
“Well, I’m not a branch, I’m a fruit
And I’m gonna get eaten up by a big old crow
And fly away from this old tree
Then I’ll be free . . . I’ll be free!”
But what happened to your heart?
Was there something you could have done differently?
It eats away at me, I would’ve loved to see
See you with a happy heart
Those ashes of yours scattered
Into the atmosphere
They break up so small
To human eyes they disappear
But maybe once the get that tiny
They finally just get to do what they want
No longer directed by the wind
Or any of these so-called forces of nature
They cruise around, they teleport
They’re swirling around us now
So Grandpa George, while you’re here
Would you please just tell me
What happened to your heart?
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