1. Only Love Can Break A Heart (2:52) - This moderately slow song features orchestral strings, whistling, and a horn. The narrator did something the night before to hurt his girlfriend. He begs her to forgive him, citing that nothing except love can break or mend hearts.
2. It Hurts To Be In Love (2:33) - A flute plays lead in the middle instrumental. This moderately fast tune is my favorite song by Gene. His character cries every night and day because he loves a woman who loves another guy. Love does hurt, especially when unrequited.
3. I'm Gonna Be Strong (2:13) - The tempo is moderately slow. For the first minute and 10 seconds, Gene's voice and the instruments are soft. His character in this song realizes that his relationship with the girl is about to end. By "being strong," he means that he'll let her go and pretend he doesn't care. He'll save his tears for when she kisses him goodbye.
4. Half Heaven, Half Heartache (2:46) - That's what the narrator finds loving the girl to be. Though he's the guy she kisses, her mind is on another man. He hopes she can get rid of the heartache by getting over the other guy. Orchestral strings are the featured instruments in this moderate-paced songs.
5. Mecca (2:18) - The tempo is fast. While drums play in the right speaker, in the left is a certain woodwind instrument that gives the song a Middle Eastern feel. Also in the left speaker are chimes, a soprano voice singing the title, and (during the middle instrumental) a flute. The "mecca" described here is a brownstone house, the residence of the narrator's beloved. He lives on the west side, she on the east; people on the two sides apparently feud with each other. But he doesn't care; he prays every morning that he and the girl can be in love forever.
6. Town Without Pity (2:53) - This moderately slow song illustrates how a young couple's relationship can be tested by ridicule from everyone else in their town. Horns and a saxophone are among the instruments.
7. Last Chance To Turn Around (3:05) - Another title for this song could be "Last Exit To Brooklyn." The tempo is fast. During the chorus, horns play in the right speaker. I never heard this song prior to buying the disc, but the theme is very appealing: a narrator who is fed up with his girlfriend's lies and alibis. Now he's driving along a freeway; even as he approaches Brooklyn's final exit, he won't look back but rather will keep on driving far away from the girl.
8. She's A Heartbreaker (3:15) - This moderately fast song features horns and orchestral strings in the right speaker. Though the title refers to the girl in third person, in some lyrics the narrator sings TO the girl. Even if she does break hearts, he is too attracted to her to stay away. "She makes me feel like a king behind closed doors," he says of her.
9. 24 Hours From Tulsa (2:59) - The tempo is fast. This time the horns and strings are in the left speaker; backup vocals come from there also. The narrator writes a letter to his sweetheart, telling her that he will never come back to Tulsa; their relationship is over. The night before he was to return, he met and fell in love with another woman.
10. Backstage (2:34) - The tempo is moderate. Drums and a tambourine play in the left speaker while horns play in the right. The narrator is now a famous singer, signing autographs and granting interviews. But without the love of the girl he sings to, he still feels lonely. "What good is fame? It's just a game," he laments. He wishes that when he goes backstage he can find her awaiting him.