I was watching Judd Apatows latest DVD release “Funny People” again and I had a strange thing happen to me. There is a scene fairly early on in the movie, it takes place in Adam Sandlers home. Seth Rogens character is making an iTunes playlist for Sandlers ipod, at this point in the movie, Rogen knows Sandler is dying and he just wants to help. So naturally Sandler is giving him a hard time about this idea and asks him to play the songs for him. The first song is so far off base that it is funny, Bob Marley’s “Three little birds” (aka, every little thing is gonna be all right) next up is “I’ve had the time of my life” from Dirty Dancing, which is even funnier because Rogens character actually believes that this is a good song and deserves to be second on a playlist. Now the third song comes on and the entire mood of the scene changes. It goes from Sandler giving Rogen a hard time for his song selection to a scene of sadness and reality. That song is Warren Zevons “Keep Me in Your Heart”
Shadows are falling and I’m running out of breath
Keep me in your heart for awhile
If I leave you it doesn’t mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for awhile
The first time I saw this movie, I appreciated the shift in tone at this point, but I didn’t really get the implied importance of what was going on. Luckily for me, I had my iPhone and the awesome magic app that is called Shazam. Basically what Shazam can do is listen to any song and tell you what it is called and who wrote it. I have used it plenty of times and it is hardly ever failed me. So I “Shazamed” this song and found out it was “Keep me in your heart” by Warren Zevon. Not being a fan of Zevon’s music, this had little impact on me at the time. I went and got my hands on the song and listened to it and was completely floored by the beauty and simplicity of it. It really made me appreciate the song writing ability of Zevon and I wanted to start digging through his back catalogue.
When you get up in the morning and you see that crazy sun
Keep me in your heart for awhile
There’s a train leaving nightly called when all is said and done
Keep me in your heart for awhile
I didn’t have to get far to have this song and its impact just kick me right in the face. In 2002 Zevon was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and he immediately went into the studio to record an album. That album was called “The Wind” and the last track on that album was “Keep me in your heart” It was released on Aug. 26th 2003. Zevon died on September 7th of that same year.
Sometimes when you’re doing simple things
around the house
Maybe you’ll think of me and smile
You know I’m tied to you like the buttons on your blouse
Keep me in your heart for awhile
I do not know if that is why this song was picked to be in the movie at that exact moment, but I can’t help but feel that it was. It sums up so many things about what is happening to Sandler’s character at that moment and it works so perfectly that it wouldn’t surprise me if the entire movie was written around that one scene. And I also like to believe that you don’t have to know the backstory for it to be poignant. The lyrics just do that by themselves.
Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view
When the winter comes keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to youEngine driver’s headed north to Pleasant Stream
Keep me in your heart for awhile
These wheels keep turning but they’re running out
of steam
Keep me in your heart for awhile
I have walked around the city all day today with this song and these words in my head. I don’t know why they make me feel these crazy-conflicting-happy-sad feelings. Maybe I can relate? Maybe I am sad that I never discovered Zevon’s music until now? Maybe I am happy that I just did? Maybe I can relate to being alone in this world? Maybe I am happy that I am not? Maybe its because he says everything we are feeling when we are with people we care about. Keep me in your heart for a while.
Sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhileSha-la-la-la-la-la-la-li-li-lo
Keep me in your heart for awhileKeep me in your heart for awhile
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Warren Zevon – Keep Me In Your Heart |  |
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Found at skreemr.com |  |
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Be happy that you’ve found Warren’s music at all. As a long-time Zevon fan, I believe it’s so important to keep his music alive, and people like you discovering him does just that. And do dig into his back catalog. He was one of the few people whose songwriting was as strong at the end as at the beginning.
If you are interested in field recordings and even DVDs, go to the link for the bulletin board on http://www.warrenzevon.com. All free for the asking.