Bacchanalia Magazine

by Reb Jordin

Maya Lane, a London based pop country/folk singer songwriter, released her single ‘Heart
For A Heart’ on April 18th just in time for your coastal cowgirl summer. With a sound hailing from the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell, Maya has big boots to fill something she most certainly does within this emotional turmoil laced song.

The single opens with a folky acoustic guitar, immersing the listener into the song
wholeheartedly. The lyrics ‘you left me on the beaches calling out your name. Rolling over
screaming hurt that can’t be tamed’ describe being abandoned by the person you thought was the one. The vivid imagery of a wild heartbreak is created here, a heartbreak so gut-wrenching you become a shell of what you once were, just lost in an all-consuming limbo of hallucinating what went wrong and where your person went in a whirlwind of pain. Right from the song’s beginning the words are so beautifully vulnerable that the listener can’t help but be intrigued by the story that’s about to unfold.

Soon we enter the chorus in a cacophony of luscious strings and a punchy drumbeat mixing perfectly with Maya’s delicately lush vocals. The lyrics, ‘you said you loved me it seemed way to easy to stop my heart, oh I barely survived’ convey living for a time in ignorant bliss before you recognise that deep down you have always known that your partner’s love wasn’t true.

The listener is soon blessed with a powerful bridge, stripped back to just the acoustic guitar again and housing standout lyrics, ‘forget an eye for an eye, I’ll take a heart for a heart.’ This moment paints the picture of being out for vengeance for the pain your partner caused when you were caught within the chains of their cruelty. Here Maya creates a much rawer term for the agreement of justice, saying you broke me when I gave you my love and my heart so it’s time you pay me back so I can be whole and healed again.

‘Heart For A Heart’ closes with the powerhouse chorus once more, reiterating that if the artist is going down then the person who hurt her is going down also through the final lyrics, ‘no this time we won’t make it out alive’.

So go and give ‘Heart For A Heart’ a listen to be blessed by a heartbreaking song that you just want to dance at the beach to.