Viral Madonna song from 1992 may actually have a much deeper meaning
Madonna, pictured in 1990. (Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images)
An iconic Madonna song from 1992 is going viral on TikTok – but it may have a deeper meaning than listeners realise.
The “Vogue” singer’s “Thief of Hearts” from her fifth studio album Erotica, released in tandem with her provocative coffee table book Sex, has been doing the rounds on TikTok, with creators dancing to its deep house beat.
“Thief of Hearts”, which now has more than 3,660,100 streams on Spotify, begins with moody chords and the sound of glass breaking, before Madonna exclaims “b****”.
The anger-filled lyrics begin: “You’re a thief of hearts and now you’ll have to pay / How many licks does it take?/ You’re a thief of hearts and now you’ll have to pay /Which leg do you want me to break / You’ll be sorry.”
Erotica was created, with the help of “Vogue” producer Shep Pettibone and “Justify My Love” producer André Betts, to push boundaries and liberate Madonna’s creativity as well as sexuality.
The song calls out the “thief of hearts”, described by Madonna in the song as “Little Miss Thinks She Can Have What She Wants”, “Little Miss Black Widow”, and “Little Susie Ho-Maker”.
In the lyrics, Madonna explains that the thief, who acted like her best friend, stole her boyfriend – a “crime” she says in the song deserves an arrest.
The viral TikToks focus on the catchy bridge, but speculation around the rumoured subject is deeper than many may have thought.
As per TikToker Carlo De Santis (@thedivawhisperer), fans of the queen of pop have long speculated that “Thief of Hearts” is about American Beauty actress Annette Bening.
Santis explained in a TikTok: “The song is about a man-stealer, essentially, and in 1992, when Erotica was released, Madonna had broken up with Warren Beatty, and he got together with Annette [after] filming Bugsy together.”
Maddona was in a highly publicised relationship with Beatty throughout 1990, following their work on Dick Tracy.
However, Bening gave birth to Beatty’s first child, Stephen, in January 1992, meaning they conceived their son the year before. Stephen shared that he’s a trans man in 2012.
De Santis highlighted that there appeared to be a “quick turnaround”, made more obvious by how “scorned” Madonna sounds on the track.
De Santis’ take fits the lyrics of the song, which include: “Here she comes / Little Miss Thinks She Can Have His Child / Well, anybody can do it.”
He highlighted that Madonna has “never confirmed” if the song is about Bening and Beatty, adding: “A lot of fans think it’s about Robin Wright and Sean Penn. But because Madonna and Sean got divorced, I felt like Robin didn’t steal him from her.”
Time will tell whether Madonna will perform the song at future concerts.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
