Did You Know? Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart (1983)

You'll probably never listen to this song the same way ever again.

Did you know that "Total Eclipse of the Heart", the massive 1983 radio hit by Bonnie Tyler may actually have pedophilia elements?

True, the song sounds harmless enough- heck, the listening public loved it, and continues to play on hundreds of radio stations and mp3 players all over the world.

The song is completely overplayed in the Philippines, though, but the fact that Max Weinberg (music director on Late Night with Conan o'Brien, band leader for the Max Weinberg 7 and resident drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band) played the drum tracks on "Total Eclipse of the Heart" just made it awesome for me once again.

But check this out: watch the video closely, and look at the various elements in it. It would seem that Bonnie Tyler (the singer) is floating around in a dream, going through a hallway with rooms- lots of rooms, with lots of boys- in a classroom, some with bright orbs for eyes ("bright eyes", indeed), others dancing around, etc.

As the song goes on, everybody is worked up to a dancing frenzy (at least some form of intetpretative dance, anyway), and then a teenage boy in underpants with giant wings growing out of his back (an angel, apparently), wraps his arms around a crying Bonnie Tyler.

Video concludes with a scene on the steps of a private school, and we see Bonnie Tyler's character is, apparently, a school teacher. She gets introduced to the boys in her class- seemingly harmless enough- until one of them grabs hold of her hand and looks at her with...bright orbs for eyes- "Bright Eyes" Boy from the dream!

So the dream was probably all about the schoolteacher's fantasies about her students- and that the events that transpired the night before probably wasn't even a dream after all!

Read more about "Total Eclipse of the Heart" on Wikipedia, here. In the meantime, check out the video provided below, and watch for yourself. Lyrics provided if you want to sing along- just in case. Of course, you'll probably want to read them all over again and you might actually find some hidden meaning behind the lyrics, now that you know what the video was all about. Again, that's Max Weinberg on drums.

Cheers everyone!

Bonnie Tyler
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" (1983)

(Turn around) Every now and then
I get a little bit lonely
and you're never coming around
(Turn around) Every now and then
I get a little bit tired
of listening to the sound of my tears
(Turn around) Every now and then
I get a little bit nervous
that the best of all the years have gone by
(Turn around) Every now and then I get a
little bit terrified
and then I see the look in your eyes

(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart



(Turn around) Every now and then
I get a little bit restless
and I dream of something wild
(Turn around) Every now and then
I get a little bit helpless
and I'm lying like a child in your arms
(Turn around) Every now and then
I get a little bit angry
and I know I've got to get out and cry
(Turn around) Every now and then
I get a little bit terrified
but then I see the look in your eyes

(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart

And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you'll only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
(All of the time)
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight

Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart

(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around bright eyes)
Every now and then I fall apart

And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you'll only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
(All of the time)
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight

Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
(Turn around bright eyes)
(Turn around bright eyes, turn around)

Other "Total Eclipse of the Heart" trivia you might want to know:

1. This song was written by Jim Steinman- same dude behind a lot of Meatloaf's songs, including the power ballad "I'll Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)." Notice the tendency for surreal imagery, elaborate production, and a comparatively long running time- the song clocks in at 6:51.

2. The radio edit of the song takes away the third verse and fades the ending out earlier, chopping the song to a more radio-friendly 4:28.

3. The song was featured prominently in the 2001 movie Bandits. Cate Blanchett's character loves the song, describing it as "The ultimate haiku to the complexity of love." She soon finds out that Bruce Willis' character also loves the song, and so now they have a relationship of sorts going on, much to the dismay of Billy Bob Thornton's character.

4. In addition to Max Weinberg, another E Street Band member- Roy Bittan- also played on the song. Roy played the keyboards.

5. From Songfacts: A wedding band sings a surprisingly vulgar version of this in the movie Old School. It was performed by The Dan Band, which is a real group specializing in obscene versions of songs made popular by female singers. Here's a video of The Dan Band in action- their version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart".



Did You Know? is a continuing project of "My Thoughts In Stereo" to educate the music-listening radio audience. There's a lot more to your songs than you might actually know. And with more stories about your favorite songs, you might actually appreciate them more.

Cheers once again!