Bridge to Your Heart

"Bridge to Your Heart" is a song by Wax from their second studio album American English (1987). In many European countries the song was released under the title "Building a Bridge to Your Heart".

"Bridge to Your Heart"
Single by Wax
from the album American English
B-side"Ready or Not", "Heaven in Her Bed"
Released6 July 1987
Recorded1987, Westside Studios, London, England
Length4:14 (Album version)
3:51 (Single version)
LabelRCA Records
Songwriter(s)Andrew Gold, Graham Gouldman
Producer(s)Christopher Neil
Wax singles chronology
"In Some Other World"
(1986)		 "Bridge to Your Heart"
(1987)		 "American English"
(1987)

The song became the group's most popular single in their home country of the United Kingdom, reaching No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart[1] and reaching the top ten in other European countries such as the Netherlands and Sweden.

Background

In March 1987, band members Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman started writing and recording songs for the follow-up to their debut album Magnetic Heaven, American English. One of these songs was "Bridge to Your Heart".

The song was later released as the album's second single on 6 July 1987, on RCA Records. The song then debuted at No. 98 on the UK Singles Chart, and slowly rose to its peak position of No. 12 on the chart. The song instantly became their breakout hit, and the American English album became the duo's first and only album to chart in the UK, peaking at No. 59 on the UK Albums Chart.[2] The song became their only UK top 40 hit, making them a one-hit wonder there. Their only song after the release of "Bridge to Your Heart" to chart was "Anchors Aweigh", which barely scraped the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 95 on the chart.

In Europe, the song was also a hit reaching top 10 and top 20 in a number of countries.

Music and lyrics

The song opens with Gold counting from one to two, backed by drums; he then restarts the countdown, counting to four – "hold it.. NOW!". A majority of the song features Gold singing, backed by drums and pop-influenced music. The song also features a horn section, opened by Gold shouting "Horn!". The section starts after the song's final verse.

The song's lyrics talk about a failed relationship between a man and a woman, the man trying to rekindle the relationship by promising the woman a new beginning, and that he will treat her better ("I won't make you sad / but I'll be on my best behavior"). He then states on the chorus that he is "building a bridge" to the woman's heart.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Storm Thorgerson,[3] was released in 1987 and featured stop-motion animation, with shifting backgrounds and some scenes with more traditional animation. These scenes follow the context of the song's lyrics.

The video received some MTV airplay, including "Weird Al" Yankovic's AL-TV special.

It featured on the sixth episode of the first series of Phoenix Nights, where two men known as the Singing Builders performed the song during the Talent Trek grand final.

In 1999, Hamburger Schule artist Rocko Schamoni covered the song under the title Gegen den Staat, with the refrain now being "wehre dich gegen den Staat" ("defend yourself against the state").

Formats and track listings
German 7" single
  • A "Bridge to Your Heart" – 3:51
  • B "Ready or Not" – 3:31
German maxi-12" single
  • A "Bridge to Your Heart" (The Unabridged version) – 5:15
  • B1 "Bridge to Your Heart" (7" version) – 3:51
  • B2 "Ready or Not" – 3:31
UK/Australian 7" single
  • A "Bridge to Your Heart" – 3:51
  • B "Heaven in Her Bed" – 5:36
UK/U.S. 12" single
  • A "Bridge to Your Heart" (The Unabridged version) – 5:15
  • B1 "Bridge to Your Heart" (7" version) – 3:51
  • B2 "Heaven in Her Bed" – 5:36

Charts
Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 11
Netherlands[7] 6
Spain (AFYVE)[8] 8
Swedish Singles Chart[9] 9
UK Singles Chart[1] 12
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References
  1. "The Official Charts Company – Wax". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
  2. Official Charts Company – Wax – American English
  3. "Video Track" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100 no. 14. p. 57. Retrieved 22 March 2019 – via AmericanRadioHistory.Com.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. "Ultratop.be – {{{artist}}} – Bridge to Your Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  6. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Bridge to Your Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  7. dutchcharts.nl – Wax – Building A Bridge To Your Heart Archived 14 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  9. swedishcharts.com – Wax – Building A Bridge To Your Heart
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