The Story and Meaning Behind “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” the Smash Hit That Brought Yes Back From the Brink

It’s never wise to completely count out talented musicians, even if they seem to be slumping, feuding, or suffering from the fickle winds of popular taste. Yes, the 1970s prog-rock mainstays, were doing all of those things directly prior to recording “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”

The 1983 song not only gave the British band a reason to reunite, it turned into the biggest hit of their career and one of the most successful of the ’80s as a whole. Here’s how they pulled it all together for one of the best comeback stories of that decade.

A Band in Disarray

Even from their earliest days, Yes was known for changing lineups with frequency. But the run-up to the making of their 1983 album 90125 put all that to shame in terms of shifting allegiances and members coming and going. Try to stay with us for the CliffsNotes version.

The ’70s version of Yes imploded following their disappointing 1978 album Tormato. The three holdover members hired Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn of the new wave band Buggles for their 1980 album Drama. That version of the group largely splintered off into the group Asia, while another faction of players with ties to the group were putting together songs for a project they were planning to call Cinema.

This latter collective had been joined by Trevor Rabin, who was new to the Yes extended family, and brought with him some striking new material. Since this bunch had three Yes stalwarts involved, including keyboardist Tony Kaye (who’d been out of the picture for a decade), it was decided it should be a Yes album. Estranged singer Jon Anderson rejoined the fold to make it official.

“Heart” Sounds

One of the demos Rabin had put together featured a striking bass line and some cool synth effects. The chorus to “Owner of a Lonely Heart” was also largely in place. Some of the other members of the group thought it didn’t feel it like a Yes track. But Trevor Horn, no longer in the band but hired to produce the album, pushed for its inclusion.

Since the song didn’t have much in the way of finished lyrics, besides the chorus and the Move yourself hook (which Horn had contributed), Anderson sat down with bassist Chris Squire and largely filled in the gaps. Horn’s production was bold and punchy, somewhat out of character for a band known for its long, freeform instrumental passages.

Reluctant though some in Yes might have been to get behind this song, others who heard it believed in it almost instantly. The record company got behind it in a big way, and an expensive video was shot. The end result: the first U.S. No. 1 song in the band’s illustrious career.

The Meaning Behind “Owner of a Lonely Heart”

“Owner of a Lonely Heart” makes the case for decisive action when it comes to a relationship. The chorus is sarcastic: Owner of a lonely heart / Much better than the owner of a broken heart. That’s not at all what Yes want us to believe, instead pushing for the person they’re addressing, which stands in for the audience as a whole, to make a stand: You are the move you make / Take your chances, win or lose her.

They blast away any countering arguments: Say you don’t want to chance it / You’ve been hurt so before. Instead, they advise a proactive approach: Be yourself / Give your free will a chance / You’ve got to want to succeed.

In many ways, Yes was following this advice when they recorded “Owner of Lonely Heart.” They put aside lingering differences and trusted in a musical approach foreign to their legacy to that point. Needless to say, they were richly rewarded for it.

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns