Jar of Hearts

Christina Perri's Jar of Hearts is the kind of incredible ballad that you rarely come across. It's also rare for a ballad to stay on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for long but this song managed to spend 23 weeks there. The song first came out on her The Ocean Way Sessions EP then her debut album Lovestrong.

General information

Writers: Christina Perri, Drew Lawrence, and Barrett Yeretsian
Producer: Barrett Yeretsian
Genre: AC (adult-contemporary), pop, rock
Tempo: 76 beats per minute
Key: C minor
Vocals span from E♭3 to C5.
Instruments: lead and background vocals, piano and strings
Duration: 04:06
The song ends without a fade out.

Jar of Hearts Chords

Christina herself shared the Jar of Hearts chords with her fans in one of her blog posts. She also mentioned that she doesn't read or write sheet music. This shows that you can be an amazing songwriter and not be very knowledgable about music theory. However, it does help you if you learn the basics of music theory. You'll be able to communicate more effectively with other musicians and co-writers.

Verses: Cm, E♭, B♭, Fm (play A♭ the second time)

Pre-Choruses: Fm, A♭, E♭, B♭, Fm, A♭, B♭sus

Choruses: E♭, B♭, Cm, A♭, (A♭m) and end with: E♭

Bridge: Cm (played with your right hand) and walk down C, B, B♭, A (bass note) A♭, G

Outro: A♭, B, F

If you need help with reading chords, visit the piano chords chart page.

Structure

Jar of Hearts has a pretty usual hit song structure: Verse 1 / Pre-Chorus / Chorus / Verse 2 / Pre-Chorus / Chorus / Bridge / Chorus / Chorus / Outro. I like outros a lot because they always summarize the song's message really well and give you a closure while leaving you wanting to hear more. They do all this, really :)


Melody
The melody is very simple but powerful. You've probably noticed that often the simplest songs are the ones that most profoundly move you. Another amazing thing about the simplicity of the melody and the chords that they almost "disappear" in the background and help Christina Perri show off her amazing, melanchoic vocals.


The dynamics are really well-crafted: the intense and calmer periods follow each other in the proper places.


The transitions from verse to pre-chorus to chorus also work great. They are the kind of transitions we are already familiar with from other successful songs but that's something to like about it. It's part of why it's so sticky and gives you an ear worm for hours :)


Lyrics
The lyrics to Jar of Hearts are amazing. Anybody can see that. But what's so special about them? First of all, there is a perfect 'repetition vs. new' balance. The song breaks a couple of "rules", however. For example, in the last two choruses the last lines of the lyrics are changed to give it more impact. This works great in this song. You get the repetition and something new at the same time.

The title "Jar of Hearts" summarizes the song's message perfectly. When you hear the title, you can literally see the guy with a jar of hearts in his hands. The lyrics do a really good job involving you in the scene from the first line. You immediately start asking questions like "why can't you take one more step towards him?" or "why is there so much regret?".
The verses don't have a very consistent rhyme pattern but you can't notice that during the performance. The pre-choruses have an AA, the choruses have an AAAABBCD and the bridge an AABBCC rhyme pattern.


The number of syllables is more in the verses (usually 11 and 8) and less in the choruses (around 7-8). This is a great strategy because you can give plenty of contrast to your song this way. It makes the verses faster and the chorus more heartfelt, melodic.


Jar of Hearts if full of great metaphors. First of all, the title, of course. Then there is my favorite one: "you're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul". I love such clever, graphic and telling lines. There is also the "who do you think you are" expression which is very conversational therefore it's easy to imagine and empathize with it.


What Can We Learn From All This?
This is a love song like almost all other songs on the charts. But it approaches the theme in a completely new, different, creative and unpredictable way. There are several metaphors, action verbs and scenes described in Jar of Hearts that the listeners can imagine with no effort on their part. The dynamics, the contrasts, the melody all work perfectly together and they feel like they are inseparable. The song sounds as if it has just been written at the time of its performance because it's very natural and raw. But if you look a little closer, you'll realize that it's a professionally crafted song and you can find an amazing amount of talent and passion in it.


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