"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
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Christopher Neil
Wax singles chronology
"Systematic"
(1986) 		"Bridge to Your Heart"
(1987) 		"American English"
(1987)

"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".

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, where it remained for three consecutive weeks. 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 can't give you a written guarantee 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. Animation By Klasky-Csupo, Inc.

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

Formats and track listings

German 7" single
German maxi-12" single
UK/Australian 7" single
UK/U.S. 12" single

Charts

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. ^ "Top 100 Singles". Top100singles.net. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Wax – Bridge a Bridge to Your Heart" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  6. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Bridge a Bridge to Your Heart". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 39, 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Wax – Bridge a Bridge to Your Heart" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  9. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  10. ^ "Wax – Bridge a Bridge to Your Heart". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Wax: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wax – Bridge a Bridge to Your Heart" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1987". Ultratop. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  14. ^ "European Charts of the Year 1987: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 26 December 1987. p. 34. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1987". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1987". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
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