THE GREAT LOST ART OF CONVERSATION
(words and music by Rick Springfield) 

I must be blind
I can't see why
We can't work this out
It gets so tangled
When we try to talk and sort it out

There's people dying for what they believe
And I can't even choose should I stay or leave
And we're supposed to be in love

And the great lost art of conversation
Is lost on this man tonight
And the late crossed heart of good intention
Is forgotten in the heat of the fight

We count the scars to see who won
You wear them on your heart
It feels so strange you feel so numb
I thought I'd fall apart

I'll take my leave
You take your lace
Let's leave it now with some semblance of grace
No point in trying to talk anymore

And the great lost art of conversation
Is lost on this man tonight
And the late crossed heart of good intention
Is forgotten in the heat of the fight

And no I won't keep holding on
I'm not that strong
End it, it's time we both moved on
No point in trying to talk anymore

And the great lost art of conversation
Is forgotten in the heat of the fight
And the late crossed heart of good intention
Is lost on this man tonight

(total playing time: 3:07)

Song Facts:

This song appears on the following releases:
Hard to Hold (soundtrack).  It was the B-side of Love Somebody, the first single to be released from the album.
Rick attempted to do this song live at Joe's Bar in Chicago on 11/5/99.

According to Rick:  it's a very personal song about loss of communication in a realationship and he's experienced that many times, and that's a great killer of a relationship when you no longer communicate and  one or the other refuses to talk about it and make it better - RLS Birthday Luncheon, Las Vegas, NV 8/24/02

"The Great Lost Art of Conversation" is about getting to know a person so well that you don't talk anymore. Sometimes when I argue I get an actual verbal block where I can't talk or think of anything to say. I know I'm doing it to myself so I'll force an argument or whatever out of my head so I won't have to face it. I have this horrible habit of cutting off my emotions when I argue with someone that I love, and just don't remember what's going on or what I'm arguing about. It's frustrating to the other person when I just flip out and go somewhere - the walls just come down...Rock Magazine, 4/83

 According to US

This is my favorite song from the H2H soundtrack. I remember buying the Love Somebody single before the soundtrack or the movie had come out. I listened to Love Somebody, thought it was a great song, flipped it over and listened to this one. I loved it from the start. I played it over and over and could not wait for the rest of the songs or the movie.

I must be blind, I can't see why, we can't work this out.. I have a full understanding for this part right now. When you are at odds with someone, and you think you're right, and you just know when you explain your side that they are going to change their mind, and then they don't.

It gets so tangled, when we try to talk and sort it out ... as a matter of fact, often, trying to talk it out just make it worse.

There's people dying for what they believe, and I can't even choose should I stay or leave, and we're supposed to be in love ... And often the things that you are fighting about are so much more unimportant than so many other things that are going on.

And the great lost art of conversation, is lost on this man tonight, and the late crossed heart of good intention, is forgotten in the heat of the fight ... In the middle of the fight, you forget what your original point was and often it just starts getting personal.

I'll take my leave, you take your lace. Let's leave it now with some semblance of grace. No point in trying to talk anymore ... I love the word "semblance". - rlh

This is such a "real" song. It's all about how when you love someone so much and your arguments get so heated and passionate,you often can lose sight of what the original argument was. Nothing gets solved because the anger takes over and things are said in anger that you so wish you could take back. After a while you just become so angry you want to shut down and shut them out completely and the conversation is over.

This was one of the better songs on the soundtrack in my opinion. I like the music and actually think it would have done well on adult
contemporary radio. Rick's vocal was excellent on this. He "knew" what he was singing about and it came through. - Elizabeth S.

Where do you turn when pages end? Sometimes when you are at the end of your rope, you let go because you don't have the strength to hold on anymore. Wondering how you got to that place is part of the pain, and this song sings it all.

The music compliments these lyrics perfectly. Beautiful, sad, and honest. I love the line:
'And the late crossed heart of good intention'. and I also love: 'We count the scars to see who won. You wear them on your heart'. 

It is ironic that I cant find the words to describe The Great Lost Art of Conversation. I have never loved a sad song so much as I love this one. - Kat M.

I can't even really put into words what I get out of this song. I can hear it and feel it in my head, but writing it down is almost impossible. Strange, I know, but it's just how I interpret the whole thing. I love the song and I have listened to it, at times, over and over again. I guess for me, it's like a sad thing and it really makes me feel very emotional at some points. This is a 'giving up' song where you just have to let go and end things and that has always been very hard for me, personally. 

Rick even has that sound of desperation in it when he sings and that makes it more intense I find. Beautiful song. - Amy L.