Songfacts®:

• Extreme lead singer Gary Cherone came up with an interesting heartbreak metaphor on this track: he has a hole in his heart, and there's only one girl who can fill it. The singer comes off a little needy, as he can't find happiness and is convinced he never will without her.
• Guitarist Nuno Bettencourt wrote the music for this track right after his new guitar arrived: his first-ever 12-string. In our interview with Bettencourt, he told the strange story of how it happened. "I wrote it on the toilet!," he said. "I got kind of excited that I had my first 12-string, and it made me want to go to the toilet. I sat down, took my time, and dare I say, the ideas just came out. They came pouring out."
• Musical inspiration for this acoustic track came from Led Zeppelin III, which Bettencourt had been listening to at the time. That album contains most of Zeppelin's more mellow, acoustic songs.
• Extreme released their first album in 1989, but their breakthrough came with their next set, Pornograffitti, which contains the acoustic ballad "More Than Words." That song shot to #1 in the US and got a lot of airplay on MTV. "Hole Hearted" was the follow-up, and also did very well. Many listeners only knew the band from these two songs, and didn't realize that a lot of their music is hard rock. This resulted in some surprises when folks came to their concerts expecting an evening of easy-going acoustic tunes.
• The video shows the band cavorting in the streets, having a grand old time in contrast to the heartbreaking lyric. The clip was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the husband-and-wife team that did the "More Than Words" video. Like "More Than Words," with used a black-and-white, sepia look.