This song encapsulates the sea-change Will’s music underwent for his major label debut.
He recorded a tender, country-tinged heartbreaker version of this tune for his independent cassette release, “Slow Study,” but rocked it out once producer Roy Bittan took him and a team of top professionals into the studio for his eponymous MCA album.
To my ear, both versions work remarkably well. Although some Texas critics and fans dissed Will’s musical shift away from his regional roots, he would retain the rocking flavor of this tune as he shifted from regional recording artist onto the national and, indeed, global stage.
It’s been used, moved, and stolen,
Passed around and now,
It’s broken.
Well-worn, it’s torn apart —
I own this homeless heart.
It was burned, it turned so cold.
Now it’s scarred,
It’s hard to hold.
It reels when it feels a spark —
I own this homeless heart.
When love disowned me,
I pledged I’d stay apart.
I’m loyally lonely
To my own homeless heart.
If you see me start to rambling,
It’s not you,
But I’m through gambling.
Bad bets have left their mark —
I own this homeless heart.
Too used for a new start —
I own this homeless heart.
I’ve included 3 video clips for this song — the two studio recordings and a live performance from SpazioMusica in Pavia, Italy, recorded during his 2007 tour there.
Slow Study (1989) — produced by Lloyd Maines
Will T. Massey (1991) — produced by Roy Bittan
Live at SpazioMusica, 2007 — tour produced by Edward Abbiati
Interestingly enough, I recall a song Will wrote before this one called simply, “Loyally Lonely,” a lyric he reprised for this song. Wish I could find a recording of that somewhere. He wrote it for our Aunt Lyla Jo Stasney. When her beloved husband, Bill, died, Aunt Jo never stopped loving him. There was never a question of marrying again, as she had already enjoyed the deepest love any of us could ever want. None other would ever do.
Buller's back porch 