Novocaine Heart

Album: Soul Eyes (2016)
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Songfacts®:

  • Novocaine is used to numb the pain during dentistry. In this song, Kandace Springs sings about how so many people seem inured to the pain and sadness that surrounds them, as if Novocaine has dulled their hearts. She's determined to face it without anesthesia.

    "We wrote it at a time when there was a lot of turmoil in the country, and we wanted to express how we felt," Springs said in a Songfacts interview. "It's really about staying aware of what's going on, and not just being complacent."
  • The line, "This revolution will be televised" is a reference to the Gil Scott-Heron song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."
  • Springs wrote this song with the songwriters Brandon Alexander, Carl Sturken, and Evan Rogers. Sturken and Rogers, who produced the track, had decades of hits to their credit, including "P.A.S.S.I.O.N." with their group Rythm Syndicate and "Shut Up And Drive" for Rihanna.
  • This was released on Springs' debut album, Soul Eyes, issued on the jazz label Blue Note. Springs, who signed to the label in 2014, is the daughter of Scat Springs, a popular session singer in Nashville who made sure Kandace learned piano and vocals from some of the best teachers in the industry.
  • Springs performed this on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center on January 8, 2017 as part of a jazz series at the venue.

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