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Warren Zeiders - ‘Can A Heart Take’
Official Release Date: January 10th, 2025
Album: Relapse, Lies, & Betrayal
Songwriters: Randy Montana, Ross Copperman, Ryan Beaver & Warren Zeiders
The Background:
On January 10th, 2025, Warren Zeiders finally dropped his brand new track, ‘Can A Heart Take’, after sharing a plethora of teasers across socials. In tandem with the despairing song's arrival on streaming platforms, the country prodigy revealed it would be appearing on his forthcoming deluxe album, Relapse, Lies, & Betrayal, which serves as an expanded version of Zeiders’ celebrated 2024 project, Relapse.
‘Can A Heart Take’ is joined on the record, which drops on March 14th, by other new tracks such as ‘Lies’, ‘Love In Letting Go’ and ‘Every Single Version Of You’, with the project seemingly doubling-down on the initial album's core narrative of an agonising break-up.
The Sound:
‘Can A Heart Take’ captures the stormy, brooding atmosphere that Warren Zeiders often leans towards, with the ‘Relapse’ hitmaker building the sense of drama across a sparse instrumental, before launching into the fiery, anthemic hook. Zeiders’ distinctive, raspy vocals take centre-stage, with ‘Can A Heart Take’ once again reminding listeners why the Pennsylvania native is quickly building a reputation as one of the most compelling vocalists in the modern country landscape.
The Meaning:
“Gold is a night, lonely lullaby
No mockingbird gon' sing
Her goodbye cut like a knife
Won't be no diamond ring
On a pretty left hand
I ‘bout to understand”
Warren Zeiders begins ‘Can A Heart Take’ by setting a dismal, gloomy scene, with the protagonist seeing the world through the tinted glasses of his recent heartbreak. He describes how there will be no reassuring sound of a mockingbird singing, nor a diamond ring on the finger of his old flame, with their romance in tatters.
“How much pain can a heart take?
How long till the hurt fades?
How much whiskey does a man drink
Till the "you ain't here" is gone?
How dark is a storm cloud?
How hard is the come down?
How much rain till the dam breaks?
How much pain can a heart take?”
Throughout the intense chorus, Warren Zeiders bellows into the abyss as he desperately asks how much pain and grief one heart can take before it packs in. He continues this theme as he questions how much whiskey will be required to numb his pain, and how much rain has to lash against the dam before it breaks, with Zeiders using a powerful example of pathetic fallacy to convey how he sees no way out.
“On my head, hold it all back
Keep it in, cowboys don't cry
Saddle on up, go and get stuck
Ride until the morning light”
Here, Warren Zeiders attempts to conform to the traditional image of a stoic cowboy who keeps his emotions in check, and refuses to allow his heartbreak to get the better of him.
However, this strategy of burying his feelings beneath a hard exterior ultimately proves futile, with Warren Zeiders unable to leave his pain in the rearview mirror for the time being.
“Can it take what you've given me?
Can it take all these memories?
Can it take all I'm feeling now?
Well, I figure I'ma figure out”
The titular phrasing of ‘Can A Heart Take’ is given a new dimension in the bridge, as Warren Zeiders frames the lyric as though his heart is receiving pain that is being actively given to him by his old flame, with their break-up being portrayed as a toxic ‘give-and-take’. Zeiders reluctantly acknowledges that, as he tries to deal with his heartbreak, he's going to find out just how much torment one heart can take.
What has Warren Zeiders said about ‘Can A Heart Take’?
Warren Zeiders has so far remained relatively tight-lipped about the inspiration behind ‘Can A Heart Take’, which he penned alongside Randy Montana, Ross Copperman and Ryan Beaver. The ‘Pretty Little Poison’ crooner did, however, tease the impending album announcement with his latest snippet of ‘Can A Heart Take’ on the eve of its release, commenting, “Big big big news tonight y’all! Be on the look out”.
For the full lyrics so far to Warren Zeiders’ ‘Can A Heart Take’, see below:
“Gold is a night, lonely lullaby
No mockingbird gon' sing
Her goodbye cut like a knife
Won't be no diamond ring
On a pretty left hand
I ‘bout to understand
-
How much pain can a heart take?
How long till the hurt fades?
How much whiskey does a man drink
Till the "you ain't here" is gone?
How dark is a storm cloud?
How hard is the come down?
How much rain till the dam breaks?
How much pain can a heart take?
-
On my head, hold it all back
Keep it in, cowboys don't cry
Saddle on up, go and get stuck
Ride until the morning light
-
How much pain can a heart take?
How long till the hurt fades?
How much whiskеy does a man drink
Till the "you ain't herе" is gone?
How dark is a storm cloud?
How hard is the come down?
How much rain till the dam breaks?
How much pain can a heart take?
-
Can it take what you've given me?
Can it take all these memories?
Can it take all I'm feeling now?
Well, I figure I'ma figure out
-
How much pain can a heart take?
How long till the hurt fades?
How much whiskey does a man drink
Till the "you ain't here" is gone?
How dark is a storm cloud?
How hard is the come down?
How much rain till the dam breaks?
How much pain can a heart take?”
For more on Warren Zeiders, see below:
