My Gen X Playlist: Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri

Daily writing prompt

Describe an item you were incredibly attached to as a youth. What became of it?

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We used to collect things as kids. Rocks from the mountains, shells from the beach. We collected baseball, basketball and football cards. I’m sure some of them must be 50 years old by now.

Between our baseball games, we used to walk around, kicking dirt and for some reason began collecting bottle caps. Soda caps. Beer caps. Some twist off. Others, not. Some were flat, some were bent. We liked the logos and the colors. There was even puzzles on the back of the Lucky Lager caps. Those were always a good find.

These collections are somewhere in my parent’s house. Probably in the same boxes stored in our old rooms. It’s easy to lose track of things, especially after 40 years. They’ve been waiting patiently for decades.

Not all collections feel right. Christina Perri released Jar of Hearts in 2011. It’s about a collection of a different sort that I’d never heard of before.

In this song, Christina Perri looks to distance herself from a guy who is worse than a heartbreaker – he’s a heart collector, keeping them in a (metaphorical) jar and tearing love apart.

She wrote the lyric about a serial heart collector she once dated. On her blog, she told the story behind the tune: “I wrote the song after I went home to Philadelphia for the holiday last December [2009]. I sat in my childhood bedroom and hid from the boy (with the jar of hearts) who wanted to see me. My heart wanted to see him, my head knew better.”

– Songfacts

I found myself mumbling this song for no reason and I’ve come back here years later. I had no idea what this song was about and now I’m 24, it feels different.

– YouTube comment from e.k.d6181

Most collections sit patiently, waiting to be found. A pile of shells, a handful of rocks, a stack of rookie cards or a shoebox of old bottle caps. Collections should be harmless, fun. Others are not meant to to be collected. They’re not ours to keep. Instead, they should gently remain where we left them. A memory in the past that we occasionally look back and sift through the moments, nothing more.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

I know I can't take one more step towards you
'Cause all that's waiting is regret
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most

I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?

I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms

And I've learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?

And it took so long just to feel alright
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed
'Cause you broke all your promises
And now you're back
You don't get to get me back

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Don't come back at all

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
Tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
Don't come back for me
Don't come back at all

Who do you think you are?

Who do you think you are?

Who do you think you are?