One night to be confused
One night to speed up truth
We had a promise made
Four hands and then away
Both under influence
We had divine scent
To know what to say
Mind is a razorblade

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no

One night of magic rush
The start: a simpel touch
One night to push and scream
And then relief
Ten days of perfect tunes
The colours red and blue
We had a promise made
We were in love

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough

And you
You knew the hand of a devil
And you
Kept us awake with wolves teeth
Sharing different heartbeats in one night

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough for me, no

To call for hands of above, to lean on
Wouldn't be good enough



Lyrics submitted by Elin, edited by sorchale, Dressed2Depress

Track duration: 03:52

"Heartbeats" as written by Karin Elizabeth Dreijer Andersson, Olof Bjorn Dreijer

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Heartbeats song meanings
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94 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:They were somewhere in the world like Las Vagas. Love at first sight. Drink or drugs, implusive, high on life.. They got married.

    "Mind is a razorblade."
    -- Disjointed memories of what actually happened.
    "We had a promise made ...We were in love"
    -- Their vows.

    "One night of magic rush ...The start: a simpel touch"
    -- The magic of conception began with a simple touch.
    "One night to push and scream ...And then breathe."
    -- A baby is born.
    "Ten days of perfect hues.. The colours red and blue"
    -- For a few days... Happiness... Dreams of the baby's future.

    "... You knew the hands of a devil"
    --- He may not be the father.
    ".. You kept us awake with wolves teeth."
    -- The bitter, angry arguments. Lies, denials and accusations.
    "Sharing different heartbeats in one night."
    -- Two men ...

    "To call for hands of above, to lean on
    Wouldn't be good enough "
    -- Not even asking for divine help will ever help him to forgive her betrayal.
    Flag yepYepYEPon May 14, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:My interpretation:
    it's about mother/parents and child that died suddenly.

    Sharing different heartbeats in one night - mother and child in utero or while sleeping together.
    One night to be confused - the birth.

    To call for hands of above to lean on
    Wouldn't be good enough for me, no - child is talking from the other world, etc.

    One night of magic rush
    The start - a simple touch
    One night to push and scream
    And then relief ----- that's about birth, running to hospital then push and screem and relief

    You can think about the remaining parts.
    Hope you like it, it's just my vision, and what I felt suddenly during the listening.
    Flag abukoon April 11, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The beauty of English language songs written by foreign bands is that the thoughts often end up a little disjointed and are lost in translation. As a result, the song can have dozens of equally valid meanings. This song is no exception and cover artists have treated it with incredible diversity over the years.

    I'm reaction to the José Gonzalez take.

    This song has always reminded me of how I met and married my wife. We were friends for a long time, dated briefly, then drifted away. It was a stunning and beautiful moment that left us both breathless and unfulfilled.

    Half a decade later, we ended up getting married. We always had a promise to take care of one another; one of those silly 20-something cliches about marrying someone by 35. We actually ended up doing it, though we didn't realize that until after the fact.

    That one night was never enough. We were completely in love years before we ever had a real relationship but we weren't ready to face what it meant. We weren't yet ready for one another. These lyrics, performed acoustically, suddenly fit that memory like they were written for it.

    So many valid interpretations, and yet this one fits for me and me alone.

    Sometimes a song has a very specific meaning. Other times if you know enough about the artist, you can deduce it (example: Massive Attack's teardrop was a reaction to the death of Jeff Buckley but if you don't know that it could mean a million other things - none of which are any less valid to the listener).

    I don't see tragedy and breakup or drug use here. I see the promise of young love fulfilled years later. I'm 99.99% sure that's not where The Knife was going but it sure is where José Gonzalez was headed when he did his acoustic rendition.

    Keep enjoying the music and remember, whatever you feel it means is the correct interpretation for you! The arts are not meant to be pedantic.
    Flag isarmstrongon December 19, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the one-night stand ideas and the drug references overlap some.
    How bout adding the birth to the above?

    Chemically influenced one-night stand leads to pregnancy...

    Second verse could imply sex (first two lines) the labor/birth (lines 3-4)

    Not sure bout perfect tunes. Red & blue could refer to gender colors (pink for girls, blue for boys)
    The child would be a promise made, in a sense.
    Flag SqueeDABon April 17, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:Great song, enjoyed reading some of the interpretations posted.

    Not sure if it's correct, but Legolas' idea of a breakup after a 10-day passionate relationship, that kicked off when they were "both under influence," sounds appealing to me... the sad fatalist, that I am.

    "Push and scream" could be them pushing and screaming at each other.
    "and then release" could mean them "letting go" (... not just orgasm ;^)

    I can understand the idea of it being "anti-religion," but it seems "anti-religion" is too strong a description.

    "... hands of above to lean on" reminds of an old gospel lyric, "leaning on the everlasting arms," but all she's saying is that it wouldn't be enough; She needs hands from down here (a person) to lean on too.

    So many views, only they know what they meant.

    The "birth" idea is pretty cool too.
    Flag rrrrrrrushon April 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think that this song has something to do with two drug addicts in love. Magic rush I'm guessing is like meth or something.
    Flag smariachon November 18, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General Comment:This song is a confessional about the situation and after-effects of an encounter between two people.

    The initial verse is about the meeting. We learn that she is already disoriented and "confused" about what happened from the meeting and that this was the one chance to "speed up" the truth and to act upon their attraction for one another. We also understand that she and him knew one another prior to their meeting due to them having "a promise made" to simply be physical. Both of them are "under influence" which could either mean they are either drunk on love/lust/alcohol, all of which are enhancers of emotions and can disorient. In this state of drunkenness they "know what to say" to one another because they knew how the other felt; however, she refuses to think about the situation and the "promise made" of simply being physical because the "mind is a razor blade" and can cut and ruin the magic of the encounter.

    The second verse is about the encounter itself and the after effects. To her the one night was "a magic rush" that was started by a "simple touch" from him. This physical discourse eventually leads to them having sex where they "push and scream" and are finally have "relief" either sexual orgasm or mental relief knowing the night was over. Afterwords we find out that she is so "in love" that she is seeing everything more vividly and wildly, in what she states as being "red and blue". We also find out the couple made another promise after ten days that they are "in love".

    Sadly we find out things don't go according to plan. She finds out that he was stealthy and cunning in wooing her that she believes him to know "the hand of the devil". Even after all of their intense sex which she compares to "wolves teeth" she realizes that he was "sharing different heartbeats in one night". You can either take this as he is A) seeing another woman or B) Simply not in love with her b/c his heartbeat (aka: his intentions) wasn't the same as hers.

    And for the chorus, she feels so awful and low that she believes that not even God, himself can help her woes from heartbreak and rejection from this man.

    Overall a great song with EXTREMELY deep lyrical content. My interpretation of course. :)
    Flagged danielp1on October 26, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:To me the song seems something more like, instead of a one-night stand that leads to love, it's more like these people in love only have one night to spend together. There's a lot of contradicting imagery, suggesting both something sweet and sharp, good and painful. Perhaps consummation and then being separated. So it makes me think of them having this last chance before being pulled apart. And then the chorus, "Wouldn't be good enough for me" maybe expressing something like regret, being left in wanting.

    That's what I got out of it anyway.
    Flag noodlesoupon October 18, 2011   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning:A brief but passionate relationship. One night the man knew the hand of a devil, his feelings and intentions changed, he kept them awake with horns, teeth, sharing different heartbeats in one night. The song is sung by the heartbroken girl who made the realization that while she was in love he ultimately ended up using her. Hauntingly beautiful.
    Flag amanteroon October 11, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:honestly i think this song is about meeting someone falling in love while drunk or high and the one of them dying of falling out of love and God could stop it from happening.
    Flag skonnon April 29, 2011   Link

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