Hiatt tells the tale of a simple, nice day with a woman, invoking the imagery of a cherry red corvette as a metaphor for his swelling feelings toward this woman.
Hiatt employs a lot of clever wordplay throughout, by ending a sentence with one meaning, and then starting the next sentence with an alt...
[Verse 1]
I was thinking back to the first time we met
Over plangent chords in a sad vignette
You were waving goodbye in a cherry red Corvette
And your lips were too
Cherry red, that is; with the sky so blue
It was almost mean, and your eyes were too
So blue, that is; now I am too
And my heart burns cherry red for you
[Chorus]
Now my heart burns cherry red for you
Like a fire of Beech wood, the saw don't like it
But you get some cut, one match will strike it
And the embers glow 'til the wee small hours
When the old seems almost new
That's when my heart burns cherry red for you
[Verse 2]
It was cherry red, with the custom flames
At the hot rod show, when the Kingsmen came
And that bass guitar, it rattled my frame
And it shook you too
That Corvette was Big Daddy Roth's design
Get your picture for a dollar and have it signed
First you got yours, then I got mine
And my heart burned cherry red for you
[Chorus]
Now my heart burns cherry red for you
Like a fire of Beech wood, the saw don't like it
But you get some cut, one match will strike it
And the embers glow 'til the wee small hours
When the old seems almost new
That's when my heart burns cherry red for you
[Bridge]
That's when my heart burns cherry red
My heart burns cherry red
That's when my heart burns cherry red for you
[Verse 3]
Now that fake blue sky, it sure looked real
Like you were going to California to make a deal
With the God of youth, with the man of steel
Waving toodle-loo
Now if I was young, I might track you down
But this old picture is all I found
Now my bones are shakin', my teeth are ground down
But my heart burns cherry red for you
[Chorus]
Yeah my heart burns cherry red for you
Like a fire of Beech wood, the saw don't like it
But you get some cut, one match will strike it
And the embers glow 'til the wee small hours
When the old seems almost new
That's when my heart burns cherry red
That's when my heart burns cherry red
That's when my heart burns cherry red for you
Cherry Red was written by John Hiatt.
Cherry Red was produced by John Hiatt.
John Hiatt released Cherry Red on Tue May 27 2008.