Heart – Alone

"Alone" as written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly....
I hear the ticking of the clock
I'm lying here the room's pitch dark
I wonder where you are tonight
No answer on the telephone
And the night goes by so very slow
Oh I hope that it won't end though
Alone

Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone
How do I get you alone

You don't know how long I have wanted
To touch your lips and hold you tight, oh
You don't know how long I have waited
And I was going to tell you tonight
But the secret is still my own
And my love for you is still unknown
Alone

Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone
How do I get you alone

How do I get you alone
How do I get you alone

Alone, alone


Lyrics submitted by Ice

"Alone" as written by Tom Kelly Billy Steinberg

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Alone song meanings
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33 Comments

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  • +6
    General CommentTo me, this song is about someone who typically loves being single and has never really fallen for anyone before. --"Till now, I always got by on my own; I never really cared until I met you." But they don't know how to approach the person --"How do I get you alone?" and tell them how they feel --"But the secret is still my own; & my love for you is still unknown." But I think the person they're falling for is someone they've been slowly falling for over a period of time. --"You don't know how how long I have wanted to touch your lips and hold you tight." Eventually, the person who is singing the song decides to tell the other person how they feel. --"You don't know how long I have waited; And I was gonna tell you tonight." But somehow, they couldn't, and they're still Alone.
    Stolen_By_Musicon January 07, 2010   Link
  • +4
    General CommentHeart is an extraordinary band.

    The lyrics to this song represents a woman's anguish about being in a close friendship with a guy and seemingly has unrequited feelings.

    She lives alone... has for years & had been content with her life & didn't care about being single or without any romantic relationships but her friend has stirred deep emotions & longing she hasn't experienced in years.

    She and him have such a close platonic friendship they often talk nightly on the phone.

    She finally worked up the nerve to tell him but he was no where to be found...

    She's unsure of his whereabouts & hopes he's not out with another woman in a romantic sense so there's still a possibility he'll come over to stay the night.

    She's pined away with this deep secret desire to experience all of him & daydreaming of it hence the lyrics:

    "To touch your lips and hold you tight.
    You don't know how long I have waited
    and I was going to tell you tonight"


    It chills her to the bone/frightens her to need another person as much as she needs him... She wants to get him "Alone" & away from other women... Basically she wants to have an everlasting romantic relationship.

    HopeFloatson April 18, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General CommentI totally have a different take on this- because I lived it. I dated a guy for a little over a year, and being indecisive as to whether I wanted him or my ex, I dumped him for the ex. Big mistake. Ex treated me like crap, and all I wanted was the guy I dumped back. It was like I had a big secret, and I could not get close to him to tell him. He wanted nothing to do with me- because I had humiliated him and broken his heart. I would run into him in social situations, but he avoided me. He didn't answer my phone calls. I wanted him back so badly. All I could think was "How do I get you alone" - so I could apologize and tell him what he meant to me. Never did "Get Him Alone." LOL
    mauimuffinon August 29, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General CommentThe first time I heard this song, it grabbed my attention because it so accurately described how I felt about someone I had recently met and had fallen for - very hard. I was in my early twenties, and had never been in love before...so the lines "till now I always got by on my own / I never really cared until I met you" were especially powerful. I really wanted to tell him how I felt, but I was so afraid to - and I never did. That terrible feeling of being torn is captured in the lines, "you don't know how long I have waited, and I was going to tell you tonight. / But the secret is still my own and my love for you is still unknown." Even now, almost 30 years later, I still get shivers down my spine when I hear this song.
    yeoman863on September 10, 2016   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI have a different outlook on this song. To me I take this beautiful song personal because I can relate to it. I had a hard break up awhile back and I couldn't find a girl worth the risk of getting my heart broken over again. And I finally found one who is so worth the risk but she is in a relationship. I've fallen for her hard and fell in love with her but I respected that she had a bf. So my secret was being in love with her and I longed for her every moment. So basically I'm asking "how do I get you alone?" but i respect her and that shes in a relationship so I cant tell her anything and it chills me to the bone that she might never be alone again.
    darkknight6on May 06, 2016   Link
  • +1
    General CommentThe first time I heard this song, it grabbed my attention because it so accurately described how I felt about someone I had recently met and had fallen for - very hard. I was in my early twenties, and had never been in love before...so the lines "till now I always got by on my own / I never really cared until I met you" were especially powerful. I really wanted to tell him how I felt, but I was so afraid to - and I never did. That terrible feeling of being torn is captured in the lines, "you don't know how long I have waited, and I was going to tell you tonight. / But the secret is still my own and my love for you is still unknown." Even now, almost 30 years later, I still get shivers down my spine when I hear this song.
    yeoman863on September 10, 2016   Link
  • +1
    MemoryI had heard at one point that this song was originally written from the perspective of somewhat deranged stalker, sitting by the clock all night wondering where the guy she's obsessed is with and what he's doing. She's thinking of how to get him alone, thinking of the things she'd say, and generally being an obsessed, depressed, psychotic mess.

    If you listen to the words, the delivery, and the haunting piano melody (which is beautiful but slightly dark and 'off', it makes sense.
    k.11168589on March 10, 2018   Link
  • 0
    General Commentthis song came to my world in a time i was down...
    how long where those nights...
    junnchoon January 16, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThis song is amazing. It reminds me of telling someone you are in love with them and you need them. But, the secret is yours until you tell them--"the secret is still my own" and not telling someone can be lonely.
    CandyKane7on May 21, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General CommentGoing through this right now.....Only I havent worked up the courrage to tell him, someday some how I will, songs like this are kinda encouraging.
    MayorMenleyon December 23, 2004   Link

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