If I Had a Heart

The song takes on a generally unconventional, dark, and experimental style with its slow tempo, organ backing, repetitive synth beat, and distinct vocals. Dreijer teamed up with long-term production partner Christoffer Berg (well known for his work with The Knife) for the production of "If I Had a Heart". The single, like the rest of the tracks on Fever Ray, was written by Dreijer themself. The lyrics were inspired by observation of their young children — a motif evident in the lyrics "Dangling feet from window frame / Will they ever ever reach the floor / More give me more give me more".{{cite web |url=http://feverray.com |title=Fever Ray Biography |publisher=feverray.com |accessdate=2009-11-21}} Also featured on the single is a remix by Stockholm-based techno/electropop artist Familjen. In a Q&A, Dreijer stated that they achieved the pulsating production in the song by sampling an acoustic guitar recording to make a loop.{{cite tweet |user=feverray |number=953711743888510981 |date=17 January 2018 |title=it's an acoustic guitar i recorded, sampled and made a loop from}}

The official video, directed by Andreas Nilsson, was nominated for Best Indie/Alternative at the 2009 UK Music Video Awards.{{YouTube|EBAzlNJonO8|"If I Had a Heart"}}{{cite web |url=https://www.promonews.tv/news/2009/09/28/uk-music-video-awards-2009-here-are-nominations/3448 |title=UK Music Video Awards 2009 - here are the nominations! |publisher=.promonews.tv |date= |accessdate=7 January 2019}}

The single received universal acclaim from various music critics. Daily Music Guide likened the track to scenes from a film Jim Jarmusch would make, as well as to the Francis Ford Coppola film Apocalypse Now (1979). Their review went on to describe the song as "dark and hypnotic", and "[taking] an echo of a Native American cry, but still [...] maintaining the song's dark undertone."{{cite web |url=http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/fever-ray-16122008-1923.aspx |title=Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart (Rabid Records) |publisher=Daily Music Guide |accessdate=2009-11-21}} Mark Pytlik of Pitchfork Media reviewed it as "a shivering, timely meditation on greed, immorality, and lust for power that dovetails nicely with AIG and Madoff."{{cite web |last=Pytlik |first=Mark |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12845-fever-ray/ |title=Fever Ray: Fever Ray |publisher=Pitchfork Media |date=20 March 2009 |accessdate=2009-11-21}} Anthony Balderrama from Consequence of Sound positively opined that "the most notable quality of 'If I Had a Heart' is its similarity to some of the quieter tracks on Silent Shout, particularly 'From Off to On'", whilst describing it as "a four-minute dirge that bemoans inadequacy as much as it professes love."{{cite web |last=Balderrama |first=Anthony |url=https://consequence.net/2009/01/20/album-review-fever-ray-fever-ray/ |title=Album Review: Fever Ray – Fever Ray |publisher=Consequence of Sound |date=20 January 2009 |accessdate=2009-11-21 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} PopMatters's Ian Mathers ranked "If I Had a Heart" among Ray's best work, boasting it as "[marrying her] more introspective side with something like the withdrawn inverse of Silent Shout{{'}}s low, twinkling throb."{{cite web |last=Mathers |first=Ian |url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/71581-fever-ray-fever-ray/ |title=Fever Ray: Fever Ray |publisher=PopMatters |date=26 March 2009 |accessdate=2009-11-21}} Graeme Thomson of The Observer labelled the track as an "ancient shamanic chant piped through an iPhone."{{cite web |first=Graeme |last=Thomson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/mar/15/fever-ray |title=Electronic review: Fever Ray, Fever Ray |work=The Observer |publisher=guardian.co.uk |date=15 March 2009 |accessdate=2009-11-21}}

In October 2011, NME placed it at number 145 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/list/150-best-tracks-of-the-past-15-years/248648/page/1|title=150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years|work=NME.COM}}

;iTunes EP

1. "If I Had a Heart" – 3:48
2. "If I Had a Heart" (Familjen Remix) – 3:54
3. "If I Had a Heart" (Fuck Buttons Remix) – 8:26

• Swedish promo CD single

1. "If I Had a Heart" – 3:50

• Swedish 12" single

:A. "If I Had a Heart" (Fuck Buttons Remix) – 8:26

:B. "If I Had a Heart" (Familjen Remix) – 3:54

• UK 7" single

:A. "If I Had a Heart" (Original Version) – 3:50

:B. "If I Had a Heart" (Fuck Buttons Remix) – 8:26

{{Reflist|1}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBAzlNJonO8 If I Had a Heart Fever Ray] YouTube

{{Karin Dreijer}}

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Category:2008 songs

Category:2008 debut singles

Category:Fever Ray songs

Category:Songs written by Karin Dreijer

Category:Television drama theme songs