"Bloodstained Heart" is a song by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-based

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n singer

Darren Hayes Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the frontman and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden until their disbandment. Their 1997 album ''Savage Garden (Savage Garden album), Savage Garden'' peaked a ...

, released as the second overall single from his fourth studio album, ''

Secret Codes and Battleships ''Secret Codes and Battleships'' is the fourth studio album from Australian singer-songwriter Darren Hayes. It was released 21 October 2011 on Mercury Records in Australia, on EMI Records in the United Kingdom on 24 October, and on his own labe ...

'', on 26 February 2012.

Background

The track received an early release in

, being made available as the album's second single on 5 September 2011. The song debuted and peaked at #80 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in October 2011. The single was later made available internationally on 26 February 2012, as the album's third overall single. This time, the single was backed with two exclusive B-sides: "Ending Before I Begin", which was partially revealed in one of Hayes' videos on the making of ''Secret Codes and Battleships'', and "I Need You", a track written exclusively for the 7" vinyl single.

Composition

The song was one of four songs on the album written with Swedish producer Carl Falk. Explaining the meaning of the song during an interview Hayes said: "The song means so much to me because I wrote it about a time in my life when someone close to me was going through a horrible time, and I wished more than anything that I could step in and take the bullet for them. We've all experienced that helpless feeling of standing by idly while someone you love is suffering—and wished that you could absorb the impact for them. It's about those situations in life where, maybe you feel you are losing the battle, but you'll never lose your dignity."

Music video

The music video for "Bloodstained Heart" premiered on Hayes' official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

account on 17 September 2011, at a total length of four minutes and six seconds. The music video depicts Hayes with a woman at a beachside resort, performing with her whilst in bed or on the beach, by the sealine. The music video was directed by Chris Cottam, and was filmed during August 2011. It was released for airplay to the Australian music channels on 12 September 2011.

Track listing

* Australian digital download # "Bloodstained Heart" – 3:51 * Australian digital download – remix # "Bloodstained Heart" (

Monsieur Adi ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of resp ...

Remix) – 5:04 * Digital download – EP # "Bloodstained Heart" (radio mix) – 3:14 # "Bloodstained Heart" (

Remix) – 5:04 # "Bloodstained Heart" (Kryder Club Mix) – 5:35 # "Ending Before I Begin" – 3:57 * 7" vinyl # "Bloodstained Heart" – 3:51 # "I Need You" – 3:53 * Promo CD single # "Bloodstained Heart" (radio mix) – 3:14 * Promotional EP
/ref> # "Bloodstained Heart" – 3:51 # "Bloodstained Heart" (radio mix) – 3:14 # "Bloodstained Heart" (

Remix) – 5:04 # "Bloodstained Heart" (Kryder Club Mix) – 5:35 # "Ending Before I Begin" – 3:57 # "I Need You" – 3:53

Release history

References

{{authority control 2011 singles 2012 singles Darren Hayes songs Songs written by Carl Falk Songs written by Darren Hayes Mercury Records singles 2011 songs Song recordings produced by Carl Falk