The little-known Aerosmith song, “No Room in My Heart,” has been the subject of much speculation and debate. It emerged from the creative crucible of Aerosmith’s resurrection project, the esteemed album Permanent Vacations, produced by Bruce Fairbairn.
This was a period of unabashed experimentation for Aerosmith. During the seminal 1987 sessions at Little Mountain Studios, they toyed with divergent styles and fresh perspectives. Two tracks, “Once is Enough” and “No Room in My Heart,” manifested an intriguing country influence, with the latter conceived as a country duet with a female artist from the start.
“I really don’t remember if we ever recorded “No Room In My Heart” with a country artist. If the band ever did, I’m not sure. It was always the concept that it would be recorded with a female country singer.”
John Kalodner 2004 via his website
In 2005, a snippet of a live studio demo from March 17, 1987, found its way onto the Internet. The demo featured a mysterious female voice ad-libbing lyrics and melodies. Her identity remains a mystery, though at times she bears an uncanny vocal resemblance to Kate Bush. This demo is underscored by a pulsating 128BPM drum loop, a descending riff on a clean guitar, and bass tones from a Korg keyboard. The female lead takes center stage, driving the verses while Steven Tyler provides a counterpoint, harmonizing in his higher range during the chorus.
From all appearances, the leaked session represents an early draft of the song, a raw take as the band grappled with learning and adapting the piece. The spotlight on the female lead is surprising, with Steven Tyler mainly contributing occasional vocal cues, like “one more”, “do it again”, “here we go”, and so forth.
As to why “No Room in My Heart” didn’t make the cut, we can only surmise that it simply didn’t blend with the album’s overall tone. While Aerosmith has shown a deftness for blending rock and country, this track, perhaps, didn’t illuminate their finest hour.
Interestingly, the chord progression featured in this demo echoes that found in “Walking on Danger Street,” another outtake from these sessions. This musical connection might suggest that the fledgling idea for “No Room in My Heart” was ultimately refashioned into “Walking on Danger Street.”
The lyrics reveal a story of emotional independence and resilience. The song’s narrator is evidently drawing a line, asserting they will no longer tolerate a love interest’s manipulative behavior.
From the words, it appears that the love interest once had a grip on the narrator and likely took the relationship for granted. However, the narrator is now breaking free, signaling a change of heart and attitude.
The chorus underscores this message of personal strength and resolve. This suggests that the narrator has reached a point of saturation with their love interest’s behavior and is standing up for themselves, deciding to close the door on the relationship.
The song’s theme, therefore, seems to revolve around self-respect, liberation from emotional manipulation, and the empowering act of reclaiming personal agency in a relationship. It speaks to the strength that can be found in asserting oneself and drawing boundaries when love becomes detrimental to one’s emotional well-being.
No Room In My Heart demo lyrics:
So you think,
You had me there,
Right in the palm of you hand,
Yeah I was yours,
Thats what you thought/said,
There’s been a little change in plans,
Yeah and by the way,
You didnt think,
A little bit of our time,
But I have news for you baby,
This time it’s gotta stop,
No room in my heart for your baby,
No room in my heart for your love,
No room in my heart for your baby,
Because I had enough…
Verses: E – A
Pre-Chorus: F#m – B
Chorus: E – A – F#m – B – E
Riff: B – A
The Back-Burner: Aerosmith Outtakes & Demos 