The new wave band The Psychedelic Furs was formed in London, England, in 1977. They took a hiatus in the early 1990s, reformed in 2000 and are still active today. They are definitely up there on my top-thirty list of bands, and I often like to listen to their music. In fact, they were the first band I featured on this site, back on January 5, 2020, with “Heaven” from the 1984 album Mirror Moves. (It’s a song one of my brothers plays a lot and which always makes me think of him.) I later posted “No One,” a track from last year’s release, Made of Rain.
Today I’m sharing “Heartbeat,” which also comes from Mirror Moves. The record made it into the top 20 on the Canadian Albums Chart. And Toronto, Canada’s CFNY-FM, also known as 102.1 The Edge (where Canadian music historian and broadcaster Alan Cross spends some of his time) named it the number one album of 1984.
The song has a driving, almost urgent beat describing the heartbeat of all things; people, the street, traffic, the city, radio, even nightclubs when the music has ended for the night. Maybe it’s about wanting to keep the excitement up after all the day’s activities and nightlife have all faded.
Today, I took particular note of my heartbeat on my bike computer out on a 60-kilometre (37-mile) ride. While the temperature was quite pleasant on my way out, it spiked pretty quickly, and though it wasn’t that hot (25°C or 77°F), a lot of my route was away from the shade of trees, and the sun was quite intense, so the tarmac was probably a few degrees hotter and generously giving off that heat. I decided to abort the longer version of my planned journey. I also slowed down a bit for the last ten kilometres to keep my heart rate in a lower zone, especially when not in shaded areas. I was glad I did… I felt hot and a little depleted when I returned home. But, all hydrated again and relaxing in the sheltered coolness of the summer porch with my sweety.
She’s a heartbeat
Yeah, she’s a heartbeat
She’s a door at the end of a dead-end street
She’s a heartbeat
And footsteps
I hear her footsteps
Here comes rumours and lies
Here comes my life of crime
I hear footsteps
When the music goes down
And the traffic is stopped
And nobody talks at all
When they turn up the town
I hear a heartbeat
And I’ve shut all the shades
And the radio stops
And nobody moves at all
When the city’s asleep
I hear a heartbeat
I hear a heartbeat
In the shadows
Out in the shadows
It’s like walking on glass
It’s the end of the show
In the shadows
And sweet dreams
She sells you sweet dreams
It’s like movies and trash
Where there’s always a girl
And she’s sweet dreams
When the music goes down
And the traffic is stopped
And nobody talks at all
When they turn up the town
I hear a heartbeat
And I’ve shut all the shades
And the radio stops
And nobody moves at all
When the city’s asleep
I hear a heartbeat
I hear a heartbeat
She’s a heartbeat
Yeah, she’s a heartbeat
She’s a door at the end of a dead end street
She’s a heartbeat
And sweet dreams
She sells you sweet dreams
It’s like movies and trash
Where there’s always a girl
And she’s sweet dreams
When the music goes down
And the traffic is stopped
And nobody talks at all
When they turn up the town
I hear a heartbeat
And I’ve shut all the shades
And the radio stops
And nobody moves at all
When the city’s asleep
I hear a heartbeat
Heartbeat, I hear a heartbeat
When they turn up the town
I hear a heartbeat
Heartbeat, I hear a heartbeat
When the music goes down
I hear a heartbeat
Heartbeat
(“Heartbeat, by Richard Butler, John Ashton.
Unofficial lyrics are courtesy of AZLyrics.com.)
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.
Here’s the audio for the song from The Psychedelic Furs’ official YouTube channel:
Song of the Day for Today 