Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" was the first single from Stevie Nicks' debut solo album Bella Donna. The album's only song that was neither written nor co-written by Nicks, it was written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell as a Tom Petty and the Hearbreakers song, but Jimmy Lovine, who was also working for Stevie Nicks at the time, arranged for her to sing on it. Petty sang with Nicks in the chorus and the bridge, whilst his entire band (save Ron Blair, whose bass track was played by Donald "Duck" Dunn insted) played on the song.

A performance of the song in the stuido was used as the promotional video.

The song reached #3 on the American Billboard Hot 100. This song was not successful in Europe, where it reached only #50 in Britain.

The two singers also duetted on the songs "Insider" (from Petty's 1981 album Hard Promises) and "I Will Run to You" (from Nicks' 1983 album The Wild Heart), and frequently performed impromptu live versions of these and 1960s classic "Needles and Pins" in many shows throughout the 1980s.

Content
The lyrics are about a woman who feels weighed down by relationships and wants to part dispite a strong sentimental attachment to her lover. The melody is described by All Music as "darker than sinister", probably because of the dense drumming of Stan Lynch which is the most prominent feature of the song's rhythm. Apart from the intro before the first verse and a solo however, the guitar sound is laid-back in typical Hearbreakers style. The producers felt the song came from a female-point-of-view and it was left unreleased until it was agreed to be put on Bella Donna instead. A demo version of the song, recorded without Nicks, was eventually released on Petty's boxed set Playback in 1995.

Single release formats
"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" was released as 7" vinyl single in the picture sleeve featured above in many territories. Promo 7" singles were also released in some territories, including the US, in the same picture sleeve, but the disc featured the title track on both sides.

A highly collectable 12" promo single in a unique glossy sleeve was released in the US.