Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' Explained
It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for: Bonnie Tyler will make hearts fade to black across the Caribbean as she performs her chart-topping song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” during the actual total solar eclipse.
The Welsh singer is set to perform her emotional 1983 hit as the moon covers the sun during the moment of totality in Monday’s solar eclipse. Tyler, accompanied by Joe Jonas’s band, DNCE, will sing the pop ballad as Royal Caribbean’s Total Eclipse Cruise sails through the Caribbean and along the eclipse’s direct path around 1 p.m.
The song, in which Tyler sings about a “time there was light” in her life to later “only love in the dark,” runs almost two minutes longer than the actual eclipse. The moment of totality, during which the afternoon sky will go completely black as the moon blocks out the sun’s light, is expected to last only about two and a half minutes, while Tyler’s iconic song is about four and a half minutes. Tyler’s song will be abbreviated for the solar eclipse.
While appearing on Good Morning America on Monday, Tyler, who was aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis, said she was excited to sing the song during an actual total solar eclipse.
“I never get tired of singing the song,” she said. “It’s a great song and it gets everyone in the mood.”
The total eclipse will surely be a phenomenal experience for those who get to see it firsthand, and Tyler is more than likely right about getting cruisers in a particular type of mood as she belts out the love song.
On the original track, which dominated Billboard’s Hot 100 and U.K. Singles charts upon its release, Tyler hints at a love lost and equates the experience to a “total eclipse of the heart” as she belts out the song’s chorus:
“And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We’ll be holding on forever
And we’ll only be making it right
Cause we’ll never be wrong”
The song’s ending is anything but sunny:
“Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart”
Check out the full lyrics to Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” here.
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