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If I Had a Heart Lyrics

this will never end
cause i want more
more, give me more, give me more

this will never end
cause i want more
more, give me more, give me more

if i had a heart i could love you
if i had a voice i would sing
after the night when i wake up
i'll see what tomorrow brings

if i had a voice i would sing

dangling feet from window frame
will i ever ever reach the floor?
more, give me more, give me more

crushed and filled with all i found underneath and inside
just to come around
more, give me more, give me more

if i had a voice i would sing
Song Info
Copyright
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Writer
Karin Dreijer Andersson
Duration
5:06
Producer
Fever Ray
Release date
2008-12-15t00:00:00
Sentiment
Negative
Submitted by
sithie On Dec 17, 2008
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Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

Death. The song is about death. Death has nor heart,death has no voice. But death always wants more...

Song Meaning

Norwegian Viking folk music constellation WARDRUNA - which features multi-instrumentalist Einar "Kvitrafn" Selvik, Gaahl (ex-GORGOROTH, GOD SEED), and vocalist Lindy Fay Hella - have their music featured in History Channel's new TV series, Vikings.

Original lyrics written by Fever Ray, and sung by Wardruna for the Vikings movie. It's a dark song about Death. Death has no heart, nor a voice, but always wants more. The tune is hypnotic, a tune Death would sing to you to entice you to give up the Battle, whatever battle you struggle with.

Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

This song, and especially music video, is about the childishness of people who are dependant on the concept of 'leadership'. It's about ignoring how the day-to-day of buisiness as usual negatively impacts people, and feeling unable to say anything about it, but hoping that by the morning a solution will have presented itself. It's about filling the void of freedom and equality with consumerism. The idea is that the average person is satiated by having and getting "stuff", and therefore nothing radical will change.

Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

The children are being taken away, escaping, from the materialistic society that has distorted them and robbed them of their voices. The adults are soul dead, despite their wealth, and have lost their humanity (heart.) They are obsessed with acquiring more and more and have lost the ability to see their children as beautiful beings, or even to love them. Fever Ray has used the unkempt swimming pool and powerful water imagery in other videos as well as images of aboriginal face and body paintings, perhaps to evoke a more real and earthy spirituality. Can't venture a guess as to what the German Shepherd dog means-perhaps it is looking for the children. It would appear one child was left behind in its distorted state-perhaps too fearful to leave.

great comment

Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

The song is about Death, as if sung by Death.

Norwegian Viking folk music constellation WARDRUNA - which features multi-instrumentalist Einar "Kvitrafn" Selvik, Gaahl (ex-GORGOROTH, GOD SEED), and vocalist Lindy Fay Hella - have their music featured in History Channel's new TV series, Vikings.

Original lyrics written by Fever Ray, and sung by Wardruna for the Vikings movie. It's a dark song about Death. Death has no heart, nor a voice, but always wants more. The tune is hypnotic, a tune Death would sing to you to entice you to give up the Battle, whatever battle you struggle with.

Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

A person who has been warped by the world. Namely, war. Finds himself without the ability to feel love, compassion, or even speak for himself. Trained to the world's war-torn banner, he only does what he knows. The "feel dangling from the window" can almost be interpreted as a desire to end his life from the misery of a life where he only knows how to serve.

My Interpretation
Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

I think this song is about our society and children representing the next generation. Our society wants more without considering the environmental and moral aspects, and our children are the "sacrifice" because they will suffer for our mistakes.

Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

These comments are about Fver Ray's "If I Had a Heart." I think the interpretations about post-natal depression are very good. However, I think this song is operating on an even more primitive level. Perhaps the PND is the triggering event in the present but I think there is a huge subsconscious component that is addressing her own preverbal experience when she was a baby (she is associating to that, whether consciously or not) and subsequent experiences when she was very small (hanging feet from window frame, will they ever ever touch the floor?). This could be an image of a child attempting or wishing to escape from a traumatic situation or event. The deep baseline contributes to the sense of something from the depths of her unconscious, or as the poet Theodore Roethke said, "Deep in the brain, way back."

My Interpretation

@magicconversation WOW! I like your idea. Maybe I missed your suggestion specifically but when you said

... "experiences when she was very small (hanging feet from window frame, will they ever ever touch the floor?). This could be an image of a child attempting or wishing to escape from a traumatic situation or event"

How about birth? I know most infants come out head first but not all of them and it fits what you said beautifully. Especially the trauma of experiencing a breech birth.

Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

I think the song is about greed. Greed never has enough. It doesn't have a heart or a voice just a need for more.

Song Meaning

@sofiaz I agree with this analysis. I think she's singing as a representation or personification of something like greed, evil hence why she sings if I had a voice, I would sing

Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

This song's ambiance adds to the downtrodden and brutally honest lyrics. What I gather from this one is a huge tribute to humanity's greed. I think she nails it with certain lines that tell me we have greedy attributes even as children in "Dangling feet from window frame, Will I ever ever reach the floor? More, give me more, give me more." Subtle greed, but yet, it's still present. I think she is saying that as we age we lose our innocence, and acquire a more primal want for whatever it is we want. "if i had a heart i could love you, if i had a voice i would sing. after the night when i wake up, i'll see what tomorrow brings." those lines tell me that humanity is focused so much on the future and expansion of our people that we've forgotten to love ourselves and forgot what true beauty is. "Crushed and filled with all I found, Underneath and inside just to come around. More, give me more, give me more" This line speaks of the moment we as humans get when we retrieve what we've yearned for and the bliss that almost immediately turns into boredom... so we march over that want and onto the next. This helps me imagine a horde of lumberjacks desecrating a forest from an overview. I love me some Fever Ray... and this is also the intro song for my favorite show Vikings... This song has quickly became one of my favorites, as well as the album.

My Interpretation
Cover art for If I Had a Heart lyrics by Fever Ray

I love the song. Same vocal pitch effects that she used to such great effect with The Knife, but much more ambient/drone based backing than anything that The Knife did.

I'm very anxious to get my hands on the album.