“At times love has already come to an end, and all you can ask for is a bit of time, a bit of honesty, and the dignity to leave with your heart undamaged.”
The song “A Heart’s A Terrible Thing To Waste”, which is the most recent thing released by The Sonic Travelers, has a certain quiet sadness about it. It was written by John Ingram and is based on a vocal performance which he first recorded in the mid-1990s; there is an odd impression that two different moments have been brought together in the same recording. Although the voice is from another time the emotion expressed in the lyrics still seems very much alive.
The song addresses a difficult aspect of a relationship in which one person is already planning to leave while the other is still attempting to grasp how things had come to this situation. The effectiveness of the writing lies in the fact that the narrator does not ask for one more chance during the song. Rather, there is a feeling of restraint since he knows he can’t make the other person stay, yet he still wishes for them to slow down and realise what they are losing. The line “Won’t you leave me with my pride? A heart’s a terrible thing to waste” expresses that feeling exactly. It contains a sense of heartbreak as well as self-respect; although the narrator is aware that he is being hurt, he doesn’t allow that hurt to turn into desperation. The way the song is arranged supports that style. “A Heart’s A Terrible Thing To Waste” is somewhere between country, singer-songwriter music and soft rock, the production providing sufficient room for the vocals and the lyrics to stay at the forefront. Warmth is achieved through the use of acoustic instruments, piano, a restrained rhythm and an expressive electric guitar, without making the arrangement seem too heavy. The most interesting aspect of the release is the fact that they have decided to use Ingram’s original vocal. Since it was recorded many years ago, it might have been substituted by a more recent performance. However, The Sonic Travelers have opted to create the new version around it because the original recording still contained the emotion that the song needed. This choice gives the track a feeling of authenticity. It is clear that this is not just a song being performed; it is a part of someone’s life being brought back to life.
The Sonic Travelers have for a long time based their approach to music on songwriting. Since the 1970s George Aiello and John Ingram have been not only friends but also collaborators, and their music shifts easily from country to folk-rock to Americana to pop to classic rock and other genres. Rather than forcing all their songs to fit into a single genre, they let each song determine its own requirements. The philosophy is appropriate for “A Heart’s A Terrible Thing To Waste” since the song doesn’t require a big production or an extremely powerful vocal performance in order to make its message clear. What gives it its power is the story and the uncomfortable truth it contains. There are instances when a relationship comes to an end before both individuals are ready. There are other cases when there is no point in trying to fix things. And in some situations the only thing you can do is express how you feel and then let the other person decide. It also seems appropriate that a song composed in the 1990s should be able to speak to people nowadays. Although technology and the methods of production have changed greatly, the feeling of seeing the person you love walk away remains the same. It is because of this that the song has such lasting appeal. “A Heart’s A Terrible Thing To Waste” is in the end a song concerning the experience of losing someone without in the process losing oneself. It realizes that being heartbroken can be quiet; it can be in the room with you without having to shout. And at times the strongest way of saying goodbye is just to ask the other person to remember that the heart they are leaving behind was once part of something that mattered.
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