listening to “heartbeat” is like a religious experience. or maybe it just seems that way because of the song’s hyperactive organ, hand claps, rumbling drums and the roaring voice of gloria jones. if any song was ever meant to shake your soul (and limbs), it’s this one.
written and produced by ed cobb (who also wrote “tainted love” and brenda holloway’s “every little bit hurts,” which i wrote about here), “heartbeat” is pure fire and, like your heart, doesn’t stop pumping until it, well, stops. it’s a song that doesn’t require any deep lyrical evaluations, just a clear mind and your feet stomping. essentially though i think the song (with as much energy as it has injected into it) is about that intense connection you can make with another person on the dance floor.
“with your big eyes / you say more than a thousand words…” “with your sweet kiss / you thrill me with a holy kind of bliss…” “so come closer…”
lock eyes, start necking each other, wrap yourselves together—you know the rest. also, if “a holy kind of bliss” isn’t the most erotic lyric you’ve heard in a while, maybe it’s time to slip on those dancing shoes and one-two step it.
did i just analyze it? a little? oops. anyway, watch ms. jones tear it up on an episode of shindig in 1965.
