My song today is ‘Heartache Tonight’. This song was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bob Seger, and J.D. Souther. The song was recorded by the ‘Eagles’ and features Glenn Frey on lead vocals. The track was included on their album ‘The Long Run’ and released as a single in 1979. It reached Number 1 on the U.S. ‘Billboard Hot 100’ chart in November 1979 and was certified Gold by the ‘Recording Industry Association of America’, representing one million copies sold. It was the Eagles' final chart-topping song on the ‘Billboard Hot 100’ chart. The recording received a 1979 ‘Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal’.
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Heartaches are always bad but seem to be worse at nighttime. There is something about the descent of darkness at the end of the day that makes one’s emotional sadness more disturbing to the mind and body. It is as though sunlight seems to distract one’s mind away from sad thoughts and darkness amplifies the focus of them in our mind (not too dissimilar to the difference in mood swings experienced on both good and bad weather days).
I have worked with and have known so many unhappy people who fear the coming of bedtime; especially when they sleep alone and just know that as soon as their head hits the pillow, their mind will start working overtime, and before they know it, they will be crying themselves to sleep, or thrashing about restlessly in bed, tossing and turning, trying to get off to sleep.
Sometimes, one’s heartache may be the result of a failed relationship. ‘Love’ leaves a memory that cannot be stolen from one’s mind, but unrequited love can leave a heartache that no one else can heal and an emotional hole that nothing can fill. Whatever the cause of your heartache may be, our body requires it to be healthily processed if we are to re-emerge without the minimum of emotional disturbance. The greatest aggravating factor, which as a worker I encountered with this type of problem situation, was often the initial denial of the very existence of the problem itself. Please take it from me that heartache hurts the most when we start pretending that it does not exist.
‘Loss’ is another reason for a broken heart. Imagine the death of a loved one; a partner with whom you have lived happily for half a century, or a partner who developed Alzheimer’s in their later years and had to be cared for in a Nursing Home, and who no longer recognises their visiting son or daughter, or another family member. Imagine the heartache caused by the death of one’s unborn child, where the mother-to-be often grieves in the silence of her own sorrow for the rest of her life, and especially whenever the shadow of anniversaries annually arrive. Imagine the death of your child, partner, family member, or closest friend from cancer or some other painful end that robbed them of both mind and body in their final moments. Imagine the heartache all of those people who have lost loved ones to Covid-19 during this recent pandemic virus, and who were prevented from being at the bedside of their loved ones to hold their hand during their final moments, and who later, were not even allowed to attend their funerals!
People often wrongly perceive those with a broken heart as being helpless and weak, when in fact the presence of a broken heart at least shows the indisputable sign of strength; the strength of having been there for someone. It shows that the person with a broken heart has tried for something which did not work out instead of just letting it passively happen to them. Heartache is never a passive thing; you have to feel love, loss, and life to experience it!
Love and peace Bill xxx