Hearts Without Chains

Album: Halcyon Days (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Goulding penned this breathless ballad with songwriter Fraser T Smith, who also co-penned Adele's hit single "Set Fire to the Rain." Smith was also responsible for producing UK chart-toppers for Tinchy Stryder ("Never Leave You," "Number 1"), Pixie Lott ("Boys and Girls") and Taio Cruz ("Break Your Heart").
  • This piano-backed ballad finds Goulding crooning about the misery of a long distance relationship. Her lover (most likely American electronic musician Skrillex) is about to fly away to New York and the misery she feels is "weightless as a stone." "It's my favorite song of the batch," she told Rolling Stone. "It has a folky English quality to it. Plus, it's quite nice to listen to and not be in the state I was when I wrote it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Def Leppard Quiz

Def Leppard QuizMusic Quiz

Can you name Def Leppard's only #1 hit in America? Get rocked with this adrenalized quiz.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Tom Keifer of Cinderella

Tom Keifer of CinderellaSongwriter Interviews

Tom talks about the evolution of Cinderella's songs through their first three albums, and how he writes as a solo artist.

John Waite

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.

The Punk Photography of Chris Stein

The Punk Photography of Chris SteinSong Writing

Chris Stein of Blondie shares photos and stories from his book about the New York City punk scene.