Absence of the Heart
1998 single by Deana Carter

"Absence of the Heart" is a song written by Chris Farren, Chuck Jones, and co-written and recorded by American country music artist Deana Carter. It was released in September 1998 as the lead-off single from album Everything's Gonna Be Alright. The song was her most successful from the album; it peaked at number 16 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks and was her fifth Top 10 hit on the Canadian Country charts. "Absence of the Heart" became Carter's last single to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 to date.
Content
The song is a soft love ballad that features a light instrumentation with acoustic guitars. The song's lyrics speak of a narrator who realizes that there is an "absence of the heart" in her relationship.
We live together separately
We don't want to fall apart
But every time we kiss there's an emptiness
An absence of the heart
Music video
The music video for "Absence of the Heart" was directed by Roger Pistole. In the video, Carter is seen singing the song while in various rooms of a house; she stands beside a metal-framed bed with newspapers flying around her, looking at herself in mirrors that are in various locations, and looking through glass that has water pouring down it.
Chart performance
"Absence of the Heart" spent a total of 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, where it reached a peak position of number 16.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Absence of the Heart” is 1998 single by Deana Carter. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Absence, Heart and single, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1998 single by Deana Carter” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 5, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q4669699. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1998.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Absence of the Heart”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Absence of the Heart primary sources, Absence of the Heart archive and Absence research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Absence of the Heart”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Absence of the Heart” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.