Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Darling, You Toyed with a Toilet Heart

#1

They say there are no dumb questions, we’ll see about that…

What is the lyric for the hook of the old Bill Monroe song Toy Heart? Every lyric site I check says it is, “Darling, you toyed with a toy heart”. However, when I hear it sung, there seems to be something more going on around the word ‘toy’. My ears hear an additional syllable thrown in. It sounds like “Darling, you toyed with a toyed-with heart”. For awhile I thought it was “Darling, you toyed with a toy-red heart”. The other day I thought I heard, “Darling, you toyed with a toilet heart”. I’m pretty sure that isn’t the lyric; but now I can’t get it out of my head.

Below is a version sung by Tony Rice and another by Ricky Skaggs.

So are they singing something more than ‘toy’, are they pronouncing the word ‘toy’ in some fancy multisyllabic way, or am I just crazy?

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#2

I too have thought that there was something extra there but now that I’ve studied those terrific links you provided I conclude that our ears are tricked by the fact that they are singing the word of one syllable with two notes and drag it out a bit making it sound like two syllables. This is the style it should be sung in. It is one of my top favourites. Thanks for making me listen extra close this time.

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#3

Tortured Perhaps ?

#4

I think it’s toyed with a toy heart sung with a southern diphthong (yes, I “coined” that phrase). It’s the same way my mama turns my name, Ben, into a 3-second, two syllable word: Beeeee-yiiiiin :joy:

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#5

Sounds like Yanni to me.

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#6
  • Sounds like Laurel in a blue dress to me.

  • Using a diphthong while talking about the word diphthong… Well played.

  • Thanks for the responses. I’ll try to convince myself that the lyric is simply “toyed with a toy heart”. It is hard though. There is a lot going on in that one syllable.

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#7

I always heard the word “tore” my toy heart. May be wrong. dunno.