About The Song
Every time two country superstars get together for a duet, the result is nothing short of spectacular. So when Reba McEntire and Vince Gill recorded “The Heart Won’t Lie” in 1993, all eyes were on the duo.
Released as the second single from McEntire’s album It’s Your Call, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It remained in the top spot for two weeks, spending a total of twenty weeks on that chart.
Written by Donna Terry Weiss and Kim Carnes, “The Heart Won’t Lie” tells the tale of two people who were trying to hide their love for one another, but they find it too hard to do, because “the heart won’t lie.”
“Cause the heart won’t lie. Sometimes life gets in the way, but there’s one thing that won’t change. I know I’ve tried. The heart won’t lie. You can live your alibi. Who can see you’re lost inside a foolish disguise? The heart won’t lie,” the song goes.
No matter how hard they try, they can’t deny their love for one another, each one singing “seeing you across the room tonight just gives me away.”
“The Heart Won’t Lie” was Reba McEntire and Vince Gill‘s first duet together, and fans quickly fell in love with the harmonies of the two talented singers. But did you know the song was originally meant to be a duet between McEntire and Kenny Rogers? Unfortunately, things didn’t work out.
“Originally, Kenny Rogers and I were looking at doing this song as a duet, but we could never get it to sound just right because of the different ranges of our voices,” McEntire revealed.
Later on, when McEntire started working on a new album, she asked Rogers if she could record the song herself, to which Rogers agreed. She then asked Gill if he would like to sing the background harmonies on the song, but her co-producer suggested a better way to use Gill’s talent.
“Tony Brown, who was co-producing the CD with me, suggested letting Vince do more than just sing harmony on the song, so he took a couple of verses, and we decided to turn it into a duet,” McEntire said. “It worked out well in the end for everyone.”
Indeed, their decision paid off. Shortly after the song’s success, McEntire and Gill brought their passionate duet to the stage, much to the crowd’s delight. The pair performed the duet at the 1992 Academy of Country Music Awards, and again in 1994 during the Hot Country Jam at the Roy Acuff Theater.
At the end of every performance, the crowd gave McEntire and Gill a standing ovation.
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Lyrics
Looking back over the years
Of all the things I’ve always meant to say
But the words didn’t come easily
So many times through empty fears
Of all the nights I tried to pick up the phone
So scared of who might be answering
You try to live your life from day to day
But seeing you across the room tonight
Just gives me away
‘Cause the heart won’t lie
Sometimes life gets in the way
But there’s one thing that won’t change
I know I’ve tried
The heart won’t lie
You can live your alibi
Who can see you’re lost inside a foolish disguise
The heart won’t lie
Long after tonight
Will you still hear my voice through the radio?
Old desires make us act carelessly
Long after tonight, after the fire
After the scattered ashes fly
Through the four winds blown and gone
Will you come back to me?
You try to live your life from day to day
But seeing you across the room tonight
Just gives me away
‘Cause the heart won’t lie
Sometimes life gets in the way
But there’s one thing that won’t change
I know I’ve tried
The heart won’t lie
You can live your alibi
Who can see you’re lost inside a foolish disguise
The heart won’t lie
The heart won’t lie