"My Heart Is Broken" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. The song was written by Amy Lee, Terry Balsamo, Tim McCord, Will Hunt and Zach Wiliams, and was included on their self-titled third studio album Evanescence (2011). It will be the second single off the band's self-titled third album, Evanescence. The song begins with piano and Lee's vocals before the drums and guitars appear. Lyrically, the song is about broken heart, though Lee has stated in an interview that it was about her experience with sex trafficking. After the release of Evanescence, "My Heart Is Broken" received generally positive reviews from critics, with most calling it one of the album's highlights and praising Lee's vocals.

Background and recording

In a track-by-track interview with NME.com, Amy said: "Let's see, this is another one from that session when we wrote What You Want. Actually the song at first we were jamming Tim and Terry and I. I actually used to play that piano part on the harp because it was a lot slower and a little bit easier. And then it just got faster and faster at pre-production with the band. And when we get into recording I was cool, get in the harp and I was like 'Nah, this is not possible anymore, it's way fast'! So it's a piano part, actually I think it sounds better as a piano part. It's more prominent, it's a stronger instrument so you're hearing it a little bit more. I love that song, it's definitely one of the more passionate tracks on the album. And I hope that that's the second single, I think it might be.

Release

The song has yet to be given an official release date. On August 22, 2011 Lee went to Toronto's Liberty Studios, to preview 5 mastered songs from Evanescence to a selected crowd of thirty people. "My Heart Is Broken" was one of the five previewed songs.

Composition

My Heart Is Broken opens with soft piano and Lee's vocals before the drums kick in, followed by the guitars in the first verse. In the first verse, Lee sings the lines "I pulled away to face the pain/I close my eyes and drift away/Over the fear that I will never find a way to heal my soul/And I will wander til the end of time/Torn away from you". The chorus consists of the lines "My heart is broken/Sweet sleep, my dark angel/Deliver us from sorrow's hold". The song can be vaguely heard leading into the next song on the band's self-titled album, The Other Side, sandwiching My Heart Is Broken between The Change (which leads into My Heart Is Broken) and The Other Side (which My Heart Is Broken leads into). Lewis Corner of Digital Spy stated that the song contains a "skittling over growling guitar strums serving as a backdrop for [Lee's] emotive alto-soprano."

Track listing

• Digital download

1. "What You Want" - 4:29 (album version)

• CD Single

1. "What You Want" - 4:29
2. "What You Want" (Pop Mix) - 3:45

Chart performance