Rowdy Heart, Broken Wing

Album: Souvenir (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Drew Holcomb first stumbled upon the phrase "a rowdy heart," while on tour. He found a place for the expression in this song about addiction and unfulfilled hope, inspired by a friend who's been through substance dependency and rehab and the added weight of "mistakes, missed starts and burned bridges."

    Holcomb explained to Billboard magazine that he is familiar with "the feeling of not having a place to call your own," both mentally and emotionally. He added: "I see that the one with rowdy heart and broken wing himself is a home for his friends and loved ones, myself included."
  • The black-and-white video focuses on Holcomb from several different perspectives. Director Eric Ryan Anderson explained how he designed the clip to match the song's lyrical content.

    "The video opens with a solo performance shot that holds a little longer than usual, and kind of represents the idea, or the dream we all have in our heads," explained Anderson. "As the song progresses, life (in the form of New York City) caves in and imposes its will. The song plays on at the center of things, but it gradually gets harder to feel the root of it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien Songs

The Truth Is Out There: A History of Alien SongsSong Writing

The trail runs from flying saucer songs in the '50s, through Bowie, blink-182 and Katy Perry.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.