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Total Eclipse of the Heart (Glee version)
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One of the greatest songs of all times, now in a new version as shown on the British TV series Glee.

Original Version (Bonnie Tyler)
Played By "Rachel Berry, Finn Hudson, Noah Puckerman, Jesse St. James, and New Directions"
Season 1x17 "Bad Reputation"
Official Full Performance

Watch the original version here: Total Eclipse of the Heart

Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears
Turn around
Every now and then I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes
Turn around bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart

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 together
We can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight

Once upon a time there was light in my life
Now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart

Turn around bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
Turn around bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart

And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And we'll only be making it right
Cause we'll never be wrong together
We can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight

Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
Total eclipse of the heart

Turn around bright eyes

EVERY NOW AND THEN= Sometimes, often.

LONELY= If you are lonely or feel lonely, you are sad because you are or feel alone and you need company.

COMING ROUND= Coming to visit me, coming to be with me.

TIRED OF LISTENING= Remember that after prepositions and conjunctions we always use –ING (of + -ing).

FALL APART= Break, collapse, be destroyed. If a person falls apart they have an emotional collapse or a nervous breakdown (often crying too).

HOLD ME TIGHT= Embrace, hug me strongly.

IF YOU ONLY HOLD ME TIGHT= The complete sentence here is a conditional one: “if you only hold me tight, we’ll be holding on forever”. We use ONLY with IF to express a wish, something that we think is probably not going to happen, but that we'd very much like to happen (so it's a sad wish).

HOLD ON= Continue holding. The verb particle ON very often expresses the idea of continuity:
- Keep on dancing = continue dancing, don’t stop.
- She went on talking forever = she continued talking forever, she never stopped.
- Move on, we’re late = don’t stop, keep moving.
The verb “to hold on” can also mean “to wait” (hold on a minute, I have to finish this), but not in this sentence.

WE’LL ONLY BE MAKING IT RIGHT= We’ll be doing exactly the right thing.

CAUSE= Because.

TO THE END OF THE LINE= To the limit.

YOUR LOVE IS LIKE A SHADOW ON ME= Your love is always with me, like a presence covering me. But a dark presence, a presence that leaves me in the dark, confused, helpless.

I’M ALWAYS IN THE DARK= I’m always confused, I don’t know what to do.

A POWDER KEG= A little box for holding gunpowder (dynamite) or other explosives.

GIVING OFF= Sending out, emmitting.

SPARKS= Little particles of light.

GONNA= (coll.) Going to.

FOREVER’S GONNA START TONIGHT= Tonight is going to be the beginning of eternity.

ONCE UPON A TIME= This is the way fairy tales usually begin: “once upon a time a beautiful princess found a little frog…”.

I WAS FALLING IN LOVE= To fall in love is to start loving someone deeply and irrationally.

A TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART= A total eclipse is when the moon completely covers the sun and it all gets dark. A total eclipse of the heart is when your heart is destroyed and disappears (a poetical expression invented for this song). Notice the pronunciation of HEART /hɑ:*t/

For those confused by the lyrics it might help to know that the writer was inspired by Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship in the novel "Wuthering Heights". Theirs was an intense and passionate --but also self destructive and toxic-- relationship. The song is about a love affair that draws you in and won't let you go, even though it would be healthy to get away. The "total eclipse of the heart" lines refer to the lover overshadowing one's life so much that the sun's light is blocked out, plunging the person's heart in darkness. If you wanna be technical/scientific …imagine a solar eclipse with the sun’s light being blocked from reaching earth/heart by the moon/toxic lover.
- Doc, Nashville, TN

The line "turn around, bright eyes" has the essence of her battle. He's got bright eyes (because they look so beautiful), but at the same time, she wants to escape from those hypnotic bright eyes, so she tells him "turn around", so I can't see those eyes I love so much.

 

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