My Cleveland Heart

Album: Downhill From Everywhere (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song has nothing to do with the city of Cleveland, Ohio. A "Cleveland Heart" is an artificial heart made and installed by the Cleveland Heart Institute, a renowned medical center. In the song, Browne wants a new heart because his old one keeps making the same mistakes over and over. If he can get a dispassionate mechanical device in his chest, he'll be able to move forward more rationally (this is all purely metaphorical, Browne's actual heart is just fine).
  • Browne got the idea for this song when he was driving in Cleveland with a friend, who pointed out the Cleveland Heart Institute and explained that they make artificial hearts. "Yeah, I need one of those," Browne thought.
  • I'm going to make a few changes right away
    The way I leap and the way I fall
    The way I need somebody else's eyes to see me
    The way I need anyone at all


    "We do need other people's eyes to see us," he said in a public broadcasting interview. "That's what's comical about the song: it's defiant. 'I don't need anybody.' It's like a Swiftian modest proposal: I'm just going to replace my heart with something that works because this one I've got has had it."
  • The music video was directed by Alissa Torvinen Kouame. It shows Browne going under the knife for an artificial heart, with his band members playing the medical team. Phoebe Bridgers also shows up, playing a nurse who gets stuck holding his heart, which she starts eating. Browne and Bridgers have teamed up before: He sang on her track "Christmas Song" in 2018, and also on a version of her song "Kyoto" earlier in 2021.
  • Browne wrote this song with his guitarist, Val McCallum. They had the music done long before the lyrics. It was the first song they completed for the Downhill From Everywhere album.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Don Felder

Don FelderSongwriter Interviews

Don breaks down "Hotel California" and other songs he wrote as a member of the Eagles. Now we know where the "warm smell of colitas" came from.

Amy Lee of Evanescence

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.