STATE OF THE HEART

 (Lyrics and Music by Eric McCusker / additional music, lyrics and arrangement by Rick Springfield & Tim Pierce)

Just a state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
In the state I'm in

I know your name
I told you mine
We've stopped and passed the time of day
You work in town
I work at night
That gives us six until seven to work this out

If I seem a little strange
It's just the state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
In the state I'm in

You are the moon
I am the sea
You pull me in and gaze on down at me
I was alone
I thought I was immune
It's good to know
The door can still be open wide

If I seem a little strange
It's just the state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
In the state I'm in

It's just the state of the heart
I wait in the dark
In the state I'm in

We get closer and closer
To falling out or falling in
I go over and over
But I can't change the state
This heart is in

If I seem a little strange
It's just the state of the heart
I'm waiting here for you
In the state I'm in

It's just the state of the heart
You know I wait in the dark
In the state I'm in

It 's the state of the heart
State of the heart
The state of the heart
State of the heart

Woe, oooo

The state of the heart
State of the heart
The state of the heart
State of the heart

Woe, oooooo

(total playing time 4:00)

Song Facts:
The opening of this song is started with a young boy saying "Who's There" over and over. It is in fact Tim Pierce's son speaking over a heartbeat in the background. The heartbeat actually belongs to Bill Drescher's daughter and was obtained through a sonogram.

Rick started performing this song live during the 1985 tour, and continues to perform it live.

State of the Heart appears on the following releases: Tao, Alive-Greatest Hits, Best 21 (Jpn), Best of, Best of Rick Springfield, Greatest Hits, Rick Springfield, Anthology (import), VH1's Behind the Music: The Rick Springfield Collection, The Best of Rick Springfield (Japan), Legendary, Platinum and Gold, Anthology (written in rock), We Are The '80s. It reached #22 on the Pop Charts, debuting 6/8/85.

Rick Says:
I was in Australia for a visit in '83 I think and I heard the song on the radio. I've always been a Ross Wilson fan, ever since 'Sons of the Vegetal Mother', (a band he had in the 60's) and loved the song. I was backstage at one of my shows in the States a few months later and started playing round with the idea of doing the song on my next record (Tao). I sped it up a little and wrote a 'bridge' and did some instrumental changes and it has become one of the more popular songs in concert tho' it wasn't that big of a hit initially. Actually it's the song my band likes to play most in the live show because it has such a great feel. - "Ask Rick" on www.rickspringfield.com (prior to access-rs) 

According to US

I never understood the "who's there" track before this song starts. I remember it confusing me somewhat back in the 80's, then because my brain could not figure it out I suppose I stopped wondering. I just kind of took it as something Rick wanted out there for whatever reason, it was there - period. It wasn't until years later that I learned it was Tim Pierce's son, with a sonogram heartbeat provided by Bill Drescher that we were hearing. Of course, "why" it's there is still unknown. What/who he is looking for, I have no idea. But in researching the whole "Tao" idea I've found that basically that's what taoism stands for. The search for yourself and your meaning and/or standing in this world. The boy asking, "Who's there?" could represent Rick in this time frame, feeling like the boy asking himself who the man is. Why this track is in front of this song instead of say, Walk Like a Man or The Tao of Heaven is a mystery to me.

I must confess right off the bat, I was a bit disappointed to find out Rick didn't really write this whole song. Upon listening to the original recording done by Mondo Rock to compare the two, I could not believe that Rick heard this song and liked it enough to remake it. I also developed a new appreciation for 'our man' in that he took this song and made it what it is today. So I'm a little biased, but I do believe it IS a better version than what it originally was. When I first saw the title, State of the Heart, my heart sank. Me being the LIO lover that I am did not like the similarity to AOTH. I now however, see a theme going... with Religion of the Heart on Karma. I'm starting to wonder which "...of the Heart" song we're going to get on the next album <wink>.

This song is totally "the dating song". A guy sees a girl he finds interesting, they keep passing each other on the way to work. They have very little time to get to know each other, yet he thinks there is something there that he should wait for - he should allow this slow, getting to know you phase play itself out. So now he feels that fluttery feeling in his stomach you get when you are attracted to someone, yet don't really know them. The metaphoric phrase, "You are the moon, I am the sea...you pull me in and gaze on down at me" symbolizes how women are like a heavenly body with this pull like the effect of the moon on the tides to a man. Sigh...poetic. So now he feels like his heart is directing his every move, he's in a "state". "If I seem a little strange, it's just the state of the heart". How many guys did you know who would/will act totally goofy because of the woman they love? Totally true sentence here. The music in the song behind the lyrics seem to support that light, walking on air feeling you get when you're first pursuing a relationship also.

I used to love when Rick did this whole song live, as opposed to now it's just sampled in the medley of hits strung together in the middle of the show. It's not a ballad per se, but did seem to allow him, the band, and the crowd a bit of a breather. One of my fondest live memories of this song, is when he performed this while holding my hand (for the entire song!) at Navy Pier in Chicago. It was like he was singing only to me. :-) Ok, I know it was purely for security, as if you've ever been to a show at that venue you know what a free-for-all it's like in that audience. He saw a familiar face and hung on while on his walkabout, and frankly I'm okay with that. LOL - Michelle P.